THEY are Uma Krishnaswami and Uma Krishnaswamy.
While only ‘I’ and ‘Y’ differentiate their names, both share the same interest — children. While Uma Krishnaswami writes books for children, Uma Krishnaswamy does the illustration for children’s books. The first outcome of their unison is a book for children titled Out of the way! Out of the way!, which was recently launched at Landmark, Citi Centre, and the authors were seen signing the books for the young and grown ups.
Uma Krishnaswami, a faculty member of fine arts at Vermont College of Fine Arts, USA, has written many books for children and lives in northwest New Mexico.
“Five years ago, I came to Chennai and I remember my father telling me a news item that he read in a newspaper.
It was about residents who planted saplings on potholes, thereby protesting a number of potholes on roads. This particular incident excited me — the road and the trees, That’s how Out of the way! Out of the way! started taking a form,” informs the author.
The other Uma, illustrator, says, “Tulika Publishers approached me and asked me to do the illustration part for the text of Uma Krishnaswami’s book. I was absolutely delighted and working for this book was a different experience, as we incorporated double spread.” How it was to work with another Uma? “I know Uma earlier, but not as a writer. Actually, it was a very interesting incident when I came to know about Uma. I got a call from someone who mistook me as Uma Krishnaswami, as the name sounds similar.
Out of curiosity, Uma Krishnaswami herself traced my number and called me from the US. That’s how I got to know her. Years later, when Tulika called me, did I realize that Uma was also a writer,” smiles the illustrator.
Theatre personality Hans Kaushik read the story in Tamil and English and made the evening memorable with the help of three kids who joined Hans in the reading session. The book is available in nine different languages.
The book is about the growth of a tree and the busy roads, conveying the views on environment as well as about the development.
“I’ve written many books that are published in the US, but this is the first book originally published in India. It would also be published in the US and Canada shortly. I’m also working on another book, informs Uma Krishnaswami.