CUDDALORE / CHENNAI: Driven by the passion to write for children, Era ‘Ayeesha’ Natarajan, who won the 2014 Bal Sahitya Akademi Award, says through his books he had tried to explain science and act as a catalyst to open up their creativity.
It was the near absence of variety in the children books that triggered him to enter the domain. Now, he has dedicated the award to thousands of children-readers.
A resident of Cuddalore, Natarajan, had won the award for his book Vignana Vikkiramadhithan Kathaigal, which was released in 2011. “In this book, I have talked about 12 diseases like diabetes, cancer and polio and prevention and also the invention of medicines,” Natarajan revealed.
Talking about his own writing he said, “Through my books I have tried to explain science and helped improve creativity.”
He proudly said that the children-readers supported him immensely. “I got motivation from the letters and opinions received from the children,” he said.
Natarajan had become a popular writer of children’s literature through his short novel Ayeesha, which has sold about 1.5 lakh copies so far. He has written 72 books in total, of which, 42 books were for children. Presently, he is headmaster at Krishnasamy Matriculation HSS, Cuddalore.
Novel on Diff-abled
Two of the Sahitya Akademi awards winners this year are Tamil writers - Era Natarajan, known for his children’s literature, and R Abhilash, a novelist poet, essayist and translator in Tamil based in Chennai. “Generally ‘serious writing’ doesn’t get much attention in the media since commercial writing occupies much space. But when such a work gets the Sahitya Akademi Award, it throws light on the genre,” Abilash said.
‘Kaalgal’ is a coming-of-age novel about a young, physically challenged girl. Her father, infantilises her owing to his guilt and anxiety over her condition. This is the first novel in Tamil portraying the struggles of a person with a disability, who finds it difficult to be accepted by the family society as a normal person.