Articles — NWFC

Worshipped, hunted, painted and protected… elephants lumber through India’s cultural landscape in remarkable ways. Library educator Sowmya Ravindranath traces their many trails in Indian children’s literature.

Publisher R. Sivapriya, who has been bringing out literary translations for a large part of her career, writes about a deeply-observed Telugu novel that brings to life the world of shepherds grazing their flocks in the Nallamala ranges of Andhra Pradesh. 

Writer, translator and journalist Sayari Debnath writes about a Hindi novel that chronicles the harrowing human cost of brutalising land.

Bibliophile and bookstore assistant Medha Rao mulls over the many faces of the majestic big cat found in Indian children’s literature.

Author, translator and editor Sohini Basak writes about a collection of Bengali stories that capture the whimsies of childhood.

Author and award-winning translator Srinath Perur writes about a Kannada book that shows meaningful ways of immersing ourselves in the natural world. 

Author Harshikaa Udasi goes down mango lane to pluck a rich harvest of children’s books about the king of fruits.

Author Mallika Ravikumar writes about a lyrical and philosophical book that celebrates oneness with trees. 

It doesn’t rot, rust, dissolve or yield, yet plastic has permeated Indian children’s literature in different ways. Educator and author Timira Gupta picks books that get drastic about plastic!

Conservation biologist and author Neha Sinha writes about a book that reminds us that we are never alone if we take the trouble to look at nature around us.

Zoos have long been places of wonder for children, where the wild seems just within reach. Varsha Varghese explores how they are portrayed in Indian children’s literature.

On the International Day of Forests, children’s librarians Radhika Sathe Mantri and Sudeshna Shome Ghosh show us how books can perhaps be the best guardians of our shrinking forested landscapes.

Journalist and award-winning author Kavitha Iyer recommends a book that reminds us to stand still long enough for the landscape to speak.

On World Bonobo Day, journalist and author Harshikaa Udasi curates a swinging collection of Indian children’s literature on monkeys.

Writer, critic and reporter Somak Ghoshal recommends a book that gave him his first taste of life in the wild. 

Newsletter editors Meghaa Gupta and Vidya Mani highlight some standout trends in eco-kidlit published in the year gone by.

On World Soil Day, library educator Sowmya Ravindranath explores how soil provides a fertile ground for ecological, social, ethical and political discourses in Indian children’s books.

Editor of Himal Southasian Roman Gautam writes about a book that makes him wonder what it is like to be an animal

Author and educator Theyiesinuo Keditsu writes about her favourite book, a deep and lyrical meditation on nature and childhood. 

Widely acclaimed Indian-American novelist, essayist and critic Karan Mahajan writes about his favourite book that lavishes enormous attention on small, living things. 

On World Sustainable Transport Day, educator Simrita Kaur takes a trip through Indian children’s literature to uncover the many ways in which it spotlights eco-friendly travel.

A long-time producer at the BBC’s Natural History Unit, Rupert Barrington writes about his favourite book that sums up the essence of the best nature writing. 

Bibliophile and bookstore assistant Medha Rao writes about why a harvest of children’s books on food security is perhaps the best thing to sow this World Food Day.

On World Rivers Day, editor-curator-independent bookseller Vidya Mani picks a selection of children’s books that capture the ebb and flow of our rivers.

Children’s author Nandini Nayar writes about her favourite book which shows how stories on stewardship of the natural world can be exuberantly silly and subtly magical.  

Majestic and fallible, feared and befriended, lions embody various moods and meanings in literature. Storyteller and educator Deeptha Vivekanand explores what lions do in children’s books, and what they let children do.

Writer and Journalist Samanth Subramanian writes about a series of children’s adventure novels set in England’s Lake District that opened his eyes to the wonder and pleasure of the great outdoors.

Bestselling children’s author Roopa Pai talks about her favourite nature book and why it’s a bushel of learning – and laughs!