Children’s literature and translations represent two ends of the Indian book bazaar. The first is the fastest growing segment in the market, while the second makes the sales executives at publishing companies roll their eyes.
Fortunately, the Crossword Book Awards take both equally seriously. Along with the fiction and non-fiction categories, here are the shortlisted books for the children’s writing and translations awards, each of them worth Rs 3 lakh.
The Indian language translation shortlist
Cobalt Blue, Sachin Kundalkar, translated from the Marathi by Jerry Pinto, Penguin
Two chapters, two stories. One in the brother’s voice, and the other, his sister’s. The common thread? They both talk about the same man, the man they both loved. Sachin Kundalkar’s heartbreaking story of the siblings falling in love with an anonymous man who comes to live in their house as a paying guest has been translated like a dream from Marathi into English by Jerry Pinto.
One Part Woman, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan Vasudeva, Penguin
Perumal Murugan’s now-controversial novel is a love story between a childless married couple, Kali and Ponnas, who undergo every ritual and follow every superstition to bear a child. But all their attempts are in vain, which is when the elders of the house decide to take an extreme step – they convince Ponnas to attend the chariot festival in the temple of the half-female god Ardhanareeswara, where a man and a woman not married to each other are allowed to have a consensual union to procreate. Activists of the Sangh Parivar burnt copies of the book and demanded a ban on it. Following the controversy, Murugan announced his own death in a Facebook post and swore he’d never write again. We hope he does, if only for the sake of his readers.
The Mirror of Beauty, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, translated from the Urdu by the author, Penguin
Set in late 19th century Delhi, this monumental work is the story of a fearless and independent woman named Wazir Khanam. She doesn’t hesitate twice before taking a lover and has full control of her life, unlike most women of her times. But the story is not about her alone. Faruqi makes readers see her world through the mirror of the Indo-Islamic culture of those times.
A Dirge for the Damned, Vishwas Patil, translated from the Marathi by Keerti Ramachandra, Hachette
The residents of Jambhli have been ousted from their homes to make way for an irrigation project. In return, they’ve been promised rehabilitation and compensation in cash and land. But the anguish of leaving their homes and the constant battle with local politicians and manipulative government authorities leave the displaced people in the lurch with nowhere to go.
The Death of Sheherzad, Intizaar Hussain, translated from the Urdu by Rakshanda Jalil, HarperCollins
An anthology of fifteen short stories by the literary luminary Intizaar Hussain has been translated into English by writer and historian Rakhshanda Jalil. The stories are diverse – a man returns to the town he left fifty years ago to find evidence of his past joys, an old woman boards a train full of dead ancestors in her dreams, a sage who cannot control his anger must seek out a butcher for redemption, and so on – but the sensibilities are exquisite.
Children, Women, Men, Sundara Ramaswamy, translated from the Tamil by Lakshmi Holmstrom, Penguin
The late Sundara Ramaswamy’s Tamil story about the family of Srinivasa Aiyar or SRS was translated into English by Lakshmi Holmstrom in 2013. Set in the late 1930s, it follows the character’s relationshop with his nine-year-old son, Balu. It also chronicles the life of other characters such as the young widow Anandam who struggles with the decision of marrying again, and the complexities in the life of Sridaran, who chooses to give up studying in England to join nationalist activities at home.
The children’s writing shortlist
Vanamala and the Cephalopod, Shalini Srinivasan, Duckbill
Tired of her little sister Pingu, 10-year-old Vanamala decides to get rid of her by putting up a “for sale” sign at the local general store which reads: “One sister. Age: 8. Pesky. Likes cigarette sweet. Answers to the name of Pingu. Free! If you take her boopy too.” She does so in good fun, but things get serious when Pingu disappears for real the next day. And so begin the adventures of Vanamala, who ventures into the world of short fables about the mysterious Cephalopod who claims to have taken her sister and the boopy.
Timmi in Tangles, Shalini Mahajan, Duckbill
Timmi is a spunky little girl tangled in her own world of imagination and problems. She believes she is the Raja of Ramirpur and shouldn’t be asked to go to school, where there’s an Idli-amma who eats up all her idlis, and where she has a giant as her friend. But no one seems to understand the bundle of ideas she wakes up to every single day.
The Susu Pals, Richa Jha, Snuggle With Picture Books
A story of two best buds, Rhea and Dia, who do everything together, from playing together to matching their “chaddis”, and from braiding each other’s hair to going to the bathroom together. Enter Isha, a new classmate and next door neighbour. Dia befriends the new girl and Rhea begins to feel left out. But their bond of old friendship triumphs everything else after they find a third best friend with whom they have several things in common.
The Adventures of Stoob – Testing Times, Samit Basu, Red Turtle
Ten-year-old Stoob aka Subroto Bandhopadhyay is an average student who takes life easy. He is relieved to have somehow completed class five and is now preparing to move on to the next grade. But the sudden announcement of a giant examination that students must take tenses everyone. While Stoob finds two of his friends, Ishan and Rehan, meticulously preparing for the exam, his best friend Prithvi is plotting a way to ace it without having to study. Lots of laughs that tell the real stories of pre-teens.
Flat-track bullies, Balaji Venkataraman, Duckbill
Ravi Venkatesan is a typical 11-year-old school-going kid who’s all set for his summer vacation to begin. But his Tambrahm parents seem to have other plans for him – they have enrolled him into a number of summer classes to keep him busy during the vacations, one of which requires him to improve his handwriting by writing in a notebook. Ravi prefers to use the notebook as a diary to record his everyday adventures and innermost thoughts.
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Fortunately, the Crossword Book Awards take both equally seriously. Along with the fiction and non-fiction categories, here are the shortlisted books for the children’s writing and translations awards, each of them worth Rs 3 lakh.
The Indian language translation shortlist
Cobalt Blue, Sachin Kundalkar, translated from the Marathi by Jerry Pinto, Penguin
Two chapters, two stories. One in the brother’s voice, and the other, his sister’s. The common thread? They both talk about the same man, the man they both loved. Sachin Kundalkar’s heartbreaking story of the siblings falling in love with an anonymous man who comes to live in their house as a paying guest has been translated like a dream from Marathi into English by Jerry Pinto.
One Part Woman, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan Vasudeva, Penguin
Perumal Murugan’s now-controversial novel is a love story between a childless married couple, Kali and Ponnas, who undergo every ritual and follow every superstition to bear a child. But all their attempts are in vain, which is when the elders of the house decide to take an extreme step – they convince Ponnas to attend the chariot festival in the temple of the half-female god Ardhanareeswara, where a man and a woman not married to each other are allowed to have a consensual union to procreate. Activists of the Sangh Parivar burnt copies of the book and demanded a ban on it. Following the controversy, Murugan announced his own death in a Facebook post and swore he’d never write again. We hope he does, if only for the sake of his readers.
The Mirror of Beauty, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, translated from the Urdu by the author, Penguin
Set in late 19th century Delhi, this monumental work is the story of a fearless and independent woman named Wazir Khanam. She doesn’t hesitate twice before taking a lover and has full control of her life, unlike most women of her times. But the story is not about her alone. Faruqi makes readers see her world through the mirror of the Indo-Islamic culture of those times.
A Dirge for the Damned, Vishwas Patil, translated from the Marathi by Keerti Ramachandra, Hachette
The residents of Jambhli have been ousted from their homes to make way for an irrigation project. In return, they’ve been promised rehabilitation and compensation in cash and land. But the anguish of leaving their homes and the constant battle with local politicians and manipulative government authorities leave the displaced people in the lurch with nowhere to go.
The Death of Sheherzad, Intizaar Hussain, translated from the Urdu by Rakshanda Jalil, HarperCollins
An anthology of fifteen short stories by the literary luminary Intizaar Hussain has been translated into English by writer and historian Rakhshanda Jalil. The stories are diverse – a man returns to the town he left fifty years ago to find evidence of his past joys, an old woman boards a train full of dead ancestors in her dreams, a sage who cannot control his anger must seek out a butcher for redemption, and so on – but the sensibilities are exquisite.
Children, Women, Men, Sundara Ramaswamy, translated from the Tamil by Lakshmi Holmstrom, Penguin
The late Sundara Ramaswamy’s Tamil story about the family of Srinivasa Aiyar or SRS was translated into English by Lakshmi Holmstrom in 2013. Set in the late 1930s, it follows the character’s relationshop with his nine-year-old son, Balu. It also chronicles the life of other characters such as the young widow Anandam who struggles with the decision of marrying again, and the complexities in the life of Sridaran, who chooses to give up studying in England to join nationalist activities at home.
The children’s writing shortlist
Vanamala and the Cephalopod, Shalini Srinivasan, Duckbill
Tired of her little sister Pingu, 10-year-old Vanamala decides to get rid of her by putting up a “for sale” sign at the local general store which reads: “One sister. Age: 8. Pesky. Likes cigarette sweet. Answers to the name of Pingu. Free! If you take her boopy too.” She does so in good fun, but things get serious when Pingu disappears for real the next day. And so begin the adventures of Vanamala, who ventures into the world of short fables about the mysterious Cephalopod who claims to have taken her sister and the boopy.
Timmi in Tangles, Shalini Mahajan, Duckbill
Timmi is a spunky little girl tangled in her own world of imagination and problems. She believes she is the Raja of Ramirpur and shouldn’t be asked to go to school, where there’s an Idli-amma who eats up all her idlis, and where she has a giant as her friend. But no one seems to understand the bundle of ideas she wakes up to every single day.
The Susu Pals, Richa Jha, Snuggle With Picture Books
A story of two best buds, Rhea and Dia, who do everything together, from playing together to matching their “chaddis”, and from braiding each other’s hair to going to the bathroom together. Enter Isha, a new classmate and next door neighbour. Dia befriends the new girl and Rhea begins to feel left out. But their bond of old friendship triumphs everything else after they find a third best friend with whom they have several things in common.
The Adventures of Stoob – Testing Times, Samit Basu, Red Turtle
Ten-year-old Stoob aka Subroto Bandhopadhyay is an average student who takes life easy. He is relieved to have somehow completed class five and is now preparing to move on to the next grade. But the sudden announcement of a giant examination that students must take tenses everyone. While Stoob finds two of his friends, Ishan and Rehan, meticulously preparing for the exam, his best friend Prithvi is plotting a way to ace it without having to study. Lots of laughs that tell the real stories of pre-teens.
Flat-track bullies, Balaji Venkataraman, Duckbill
Ravi Venkatesan is a typical 11-year-old school-going kid who’s all set for his summer vacation to begin. But his Tambrahm parents seem to have other plans for him – they have enrolled him into a number of summer classes to keep him busy during the vacations, one of which requires him to improve his handwriting by writing in a notebook. Ravi prefers to use the notebook as a diary to record his everyday adventures and innermost thoughts.