Feature: Rama Adhikari
Though often ignored or taken for granted, children’s literature is much more important than its adult counterpart. Seth Lerar, author and critic says, countries with rich tradition of children’s literature have progressed much faster than those without such tradition. A scrutiny of the correlation between countries’ literary history and the pace of their development confirms this hypothesis.
Children’s literature in Nepal has a history of about a century now. No one can say how old its oral tradition of storytelling is, but in printed form, the genre started with translated texts, either from foreign sources, or from ancient texts, mythologies and folk literature to be precise. Over the decades, children’s literature has become a fact in Nepal, and in a subtle and invisible way, the category dominates Nepali book market.
Writers are the most important stack holders, as far as production of literature is concerned. What do the Nepalese writers of children’s literature think about the genre they are working in? We tried to collect opinions of some of the representative writers of children’s literature in Nepal. This write-up is based on their response.
Rambabu Subedi, who has been writing for children for about half a century, has a long literary experience in this field as a writer, lyricist, teacher, organizational head, editor, publisher, and activist. Former Chairperson of the Nepalese Society of Children’s Literature, Mr. Subedi is still handling a lot of publication projects dedicated especially to children. He thinks a lot is being written for kids today, but the works lack refinement. He cites the short story as a case in point, and observes that long sentences, complex diction and stylistic fuzziness are the rub. Such works, he thinks, lack literariness and are full of descriptions. He regrets that writers lack the urge to refine their works. He finds some respite in picture stories, though he feels the need for improvement there as well.
Compared to other genres, Mr. Subedi finds poems and songs much better, because of conscious efforts in refining them. He says, “Madhav Ghimire, Krishna Prasad Parajuli, Daibagya Raj Neupane, Prabha Bhattarai, Mitralala Pangeni and others have written wonderful poems and songs.” It must be acknowledge that Subedi himself is an accomplished song and poetry writer, and many of his songs are lip-possessions of our children. Subedi, however, laments the scarcity of plays, essays and novels in Nepali children’s literature. Similarly, he cites the lack of enough reading materials for children in the primary and pre-primary classes. He says, “The Curriculum Development Centre seems to be addressing this, but the materials produced by it lack quality.” He blames nepotism for this.
Laxmi Uprety, a senior writer and literary journalist, however, seems quite optimistic. She thinks writers should carefully understand the interest and psychology of their target audience age-wise, before writing. Says, “Instead of prioritizing one’s own interest, an authors of children’s literature should become, albeit in imaginations, the children themselves, and write their thoughts and languages. They should be extra careful in each word and sentence they write. Use of easy words enables children to read and understand things with ease.”
Uprety also stresses the use of illustrations as crucial. Illustrations, she thinks, attract children. In the wake of a boom of many good and bad audio-visual deliveries for children, there often are items that do not suit our kids, and many times, leave a negative impact. Beautifully illustrated works, she thinks, can be a good alternative. Since curriculum cannot incorporate everything, she thinks children’s literature is an indispensable complement.
Lalita Doshi, author and lyricist, feels good about the quantitative increase in Nepali children’s literature, but has a mixed opinion about their quality. She claims to have read many works translated from foreign sources, and when compared, she is reluctant to call our own literature inferior. But she warns: “We should refrain from foisting our thoughts on our children. The publishers should prioritize quality, rather than relations.” She is in favor of illustrated literature, instead of merely textual or verbal deliveries.
Shashwat Parajuli, who has been writing for children for decades, acknowledges the presence of newer writers, compared to the decades in the past. There are more publishers today, and there are more frequent discourses, he says. Even NGOs are coming forward to distribute books, and to bring them to the access of children, physically or digitally. But then, like many other writers, he also observes a lack of quality, in comparison with the quantity of book. He says, “Some works, meant of children, are embarrassing. It is high time writers asked themselves what they had been writing all these years.”
Parajuli also lambasts authors, who adapt or translate works from English and other sources, and claim them as their original. He says, “There was a time we tolerated this, especially when we lacked our own creations. We thought this at least catered to the needs of our kids. But that is not the case today. We must prioritize original creations.” Parajuli also regrets the tendency of looking up to donor agencies and NGOs as the ultimate goal, instead of considering children. He criticizes writers and publishers, who vie such potential donors that buy a lot of books for kids. He is critical of such steps, considering their adverse impact on the qualitative progress of Nepali children’s literature. He opines that it is writers who have to be honest in the first place. He wants them to read more and write a few quality books instead of reading little and hankering after numbers.
Ananta Wagle, who has closely scrutinized the scenario of Nepali children’s literature from multiple dimensions as a writer, journalist, activist and publisher-associate for a long time, considers children’s literature the most effective tonic for the mental enrichment of children. He is happy that this fact is being realized in Nepal gradually. But he regrets the lack of thematic variety in case of children’s literature in Nepal. He says, “We spent much of our time, thinking moral stories, Panchatantra stories, and tales from Hitopadesh etc. as children’s literature. It has been only a few years since original children’s literature has started appearing. But this is limited to picture books, which dismally lack editing and proper illustration.”
Mr. Wagle also cites lack of reading among authors of children’s literature as a problem. He sees the possibility of delivering a wonderful corpus of children’s literature, if our authors recognize the thematic eclecticism our time, circumstances and lifestyles offer. He cites our richness in folk literature and myth, which could be another source of children’s literature. For future, he suggests writers to turn to fictions, young adults’ literature, graphic novels etc, and pick issues from varied locations, including the mountains, plains and hills that are home to culturally diverse people.
Anuradha, a writer and translator, however, finds the latest scenario of Nepali children’s literature quite exciting and promising. She acknowledges the entry of newer writers, and commends the appearance of many organizations working in this domain. Themes in stories, she says, are embracing variations. “Even writers of adult literature are turning to children’s literature these days. This confirms the significance of children’s literature in the society, and adds mileage to its marketing,” she says.
Like other writes, Anuradha also stresses the importance of picture books. However, she warms: The quality slacks dismally, if no enough care is bestowed on the quality of books. “That may make the book boring, and may in many cases, send a message much different from the one intended,” she says. She appreciates the interest publishing houses are showing in the publication of multi-colored illustrated books for children. She is also excited to note that even schools are prescribing children’s literature in addition to the prescribed curriculum.
As far as her assessment of the present-day Nepali literature is concerned, author Anuradha underscores the need for parental involvement in the field, though she does not think it proper to compare it with the scenario in developed countries. She, however, urges the stakeholders to ensure the access of children everywhere, not merely in the capital and a few big cities, to literature meant for them. She says, “We will be able claim Nepali children’s literature has truly developed when, someday, even poor parents will be able to buy books of children’s literature for their kids easily.”
Surya BC, a storywriter, literary activist and publisher thinks Nepali children’s literature is quantitatively good, but is far from being so in terms of quality. He thinks, it is still quite traditional. The lack of novelty, he opines, is became of lame emulation of what the first and the second-generation writers handed down. He says, “There is tedious repetition of themes. More, this aspect of writing is often ignored; it is seldom considered literature. There are people who do not acknowledge the authorial status of the writers of children’s literature. For such reasons, we could not make much improvement.”
Most of the authors agree that quantitative boom in Nepali literature is yet to be backed by a parallel qualitative development. It seems Nepali writers should increase their direct engagement with writers abroad, and their knowledge of the nuances of children’s literature is essential. Most writers of children’s literature in Nepal are enthusiasts, who follow their passions and interests. Only a handful of them are trained to be children’s writers. Same is the condition of the translators; they are without theoretical understanding of translation nuances and practices, let alone the knowledge of children’s tastes, expectations, vocabulary, belief system, and what not! This is a crucial thing. Another thing is, the government is apathetic to this field, and does not consider it a responsibility on its part to train, fund and facilitate writers, and promote their product.
We should, however, count our achievements and move ahead, instead of lamenting on what we lack. Every cloud has a silver lining, after all.