In the charming picture book Nani’s Walk to the Park, little Venki is eager to get to the park. But Nani has other plans – she wants to take the scenic route, making several stops along the way. Venki doesn’t mind the slow route to the park, but he soon discovers that every stop unlocks a secret about the neighbourhood and Nani’s deep bond with it. A visit to the market becomes a stop at the Lane of Treasures. Feeding stray animals is a stop at the Lane of Happiness. And a quick detour to meet old friends at the Lane of Friendship.
It is hard not to draw a parallel between this book and “Becoming”: a seminal exhibition celebrating 130 years of illustrations in Indian children’s books.
Treasures hidden in plain sight
“Becoming”, curated by author and editor Richa Jha of Pickle Yolk Books, invites the audience to slow down, take a closer look, and discover treasures hiding in plain sight. One of the show-stoppers at the exhibition is a giant display of the map of Nani and Venki’s neighbourhood, and the same artwork broken up into a puzzle for visitors to put together. Artworks we are used to seeing in small picture books are enlarged and, very deservingly, elevated to the status of gallery-worthy art. Each time I stood before a familiar illustration, a wave of realisation washed over me, as hidden details leapt out, revealing themselves for the first time, and I found myself wondering how I could have missed these in books I have read countless times.
“Becoming” is as much about embracing the altered version of a person encountering children’s book illustrations for the first time as it is a close look at the evolving sensibilities of illustrators over the last 130 years, affected by the society in which they live. Arranged so the curious visitor can walk through the “many becomings” of self, space, and their nebulous interactions with time.
As you enter “Becoming”, your eyes are immediately drawn to two stunning illustrations – Sumanta Dey’s homage to Calcutta from the multi award-winning Machher Jhol and Gautam Benegal’s moving illustrations from Boo! When My Sister Died. The children’s literature community lost these two brilliant artists over the last few years, and Jha asks you to begin your journey by marvelling at their work. These arresting illustrations set the tone for your exploration.
You are then face-to-face with a wall celebrating the Bengali pioneers who introduced the idea of illustrations to Indian children’s literature. Multiple black-and-white illustrations by Bengali artists, including one from Abindranath Tagore’s Khirer Putul, a rare piece from 1896 commonly thought to be the first illustration printed in a children’s book meant for leisure reading. Nandalal Bose, Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury, his son Sukumar Roy and his grandson Satyajit Ray also share space on this wall.
The illustrations are not arranged chronologically or meant to be a historical walkthrough, but each visitor is encouraged to spend time unravelling the magic of each illustration. “Besides the larger goal of making this a celebratory burst for the stunning array of illustrations that we have in our picture books and showcasing these as ‘serious art’, I also wished that the exhibition attracts (and appeals to) those who have not had a chance to engage with children’s books before and for them to see how many of these books deeply engage with the world around us in ways that are raw, perceptive and thought-provoking, without fighting shy of asking tough questions”, said Jha.
Bringing together many worlds
As an outsider gingerly peeking into the close-knit Indian children’s literature world, I am struck by the strong sense of community. “Becoming” is a shining example of this camaraderie. When Jha first envisioned the exhibit, she wondered how she’d source original artwork. But as soon as she reached out to publishers, she was amazed by their enthusiasm – 25 of them came on board almost instantly. The exhibit has seen a steady stream of visitors, driven largely by word-of-mouth and social media buzz. But the experience doesn’t stop there. Jha and her friends also hosted daily workshops and curatorial walks to deepen visitors’ engagement with the world of picture books. These included everything from picture book–making sessions with award-winning artists Ruchi Shah and Taposhi Ghoshal, to explorations of picture books in Indian languages by educator Archana Atri. A session on creating wordless picture books with artists Suvidha Mistry and Mistunee Chowdhury, to a thoughtful session on how Indian children's book art has addressed environmental themes over the years, led by author and curator of Nature Writing for Children, Meghaa Gupta.
Nestled between the artworks are interactive exhibits which keep the excitement alive.
“I wanted everyone to ‘experience’ the displays on the wall and to engage deeper with each. The several interactive installations we have are all adding to it: the puzzle accompanying Deepa Balsavar’s artwork, the hanging books, the reading zone, the hardcover zone, the sheets for a quick activity, and of course, the larger-than-life walk-in book,” said Jha.
The exhibit checks many boxes – it is indeed a celebration of 130 years of artwork in Indian children’s books. It honours the pioneers of the genre at the same time drawing attention to the contemporary generation and their brilliant work that continues to raise young readers. But how has the exhibit truly helped the creators? Chandrima Chatterjee’s illustration from the book Perfect the Way You Are, written by Niyatee Sharma and published by Daffodil Lane Books, is showcased at “Becoming”. She walked in, looked at her work and was spellbound. She didn’t expect it to be so front and centre, she admitted. Moved by how the exhibit has managed to capture the intended magic of the illustrations, she said it is events like these that help the artists. “I think it is high time to take children’s book illustrations seriously and that time has come. Seeing this gorgeously designed exhibit has reiterated that for me. I have always felt like what we were doing as illustrators was never considered high art, the way high art is appreciated. But having seen this in this space gives our work the kind of validation it deserves.”
I felt like a kid in a candy store as I walked through “Becoming” on opening night. As Muttashi from Poonam Athalye’s The Glass Tree seemed to beam at me, I couldn’t help but smile back. I was overwhelmed as I came face-to-face with Priya Sebastian’s dark, looming illustrations from Is It The Same For You. I saw a few of my children’s favourites and wished they were with me to enjoy the whimsy. I looked around and saw little children, artists, storytellers, and veterans all sharing space and enjoying art otherwise seen only by children. Anusha Veluswamy, author and founder of Little Dipper Publishing, puts it best when she said, “This exhibition reiterates the amount of work that goes into creating a children’s book – the thought, the love, the labour that goes into it. As much as it is awe-inspiring, to be included in this itself is part of the beautiful thread that we are weaving for our kids – a single motive to reach young children with stories.”
