When was the last time you read a mystery that didn’t involve small towns, cobbled streets, and characters solving crimes over lemonade? If you grew up on Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, you know the drill. But what if the next great detective story unfolded in the traffic-filled streets of Bengaluru, with children arguing over missing geometry boxes instead of stolen jewels? Enter Vidya Varadarajan — a children’s author ensuring young readers in India see themselves in the stories they love.
Born in California and raised in Chennai, Vidya’s life has been a blend of cultures, and that diversity has shaped her storytelling. “My early education enabled me to bring out my communication and writing skills — lots of essays and book reports,” she says. But moving back to Chennai in the ’80s brought what she calls “reverse culture shock.” “You have to understand, this was in the ’80s and ABCDs [American-Born Confused Desis] were as yet unbranded. I had a very different perspective on everything compared to my peers, and I also had to learn how to see things from their perspective to fit in!”
This dual perspective inspired her AKA Detective Series, set in Bengaluru and aimed at children aged 10–13. “When I read Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, I understood the cultural references and lingo. But children today are already aware of the world. What they don’t have are stories that reflect their lives and reinforce their identity,” she explains. “I don’t want my children to stop reading to ask me what blancmange means. I want them to nod along knowingly as I describe ‘a plate which had more chutneys than idlis.’”
Her first book, My Blue Elephant (2019), explored how children handle secrets. But it’s the AKA Detective Series that’s making waves. The first book, The Mystery of the Graveyard Gold, follows three children — Karthik, Aarav, and Asha — as they stumble upon a pot of gold in a Bengaluru graveyard. The second, The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes, hits closer to home. “The principal’s rant in The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes has a line that hooked itself in my memory. The original line yelled out during assembly was: ‘How shameless are you students to steal, not one, not two… but seven geometry boxes?!’” Vidya laughs. “I remember thinking, a) why were we being yelled at as though all of us were guilty, b) which idiotic thief was going to raise their hand and say sorry, and c) why would anyone need to steal more than one geometry box? And that last question got me thinking…”
It’s this mix of humour, curiosity, and authenticity that makes Vidya’s work resonate. But beyond the laughs, her stories weave in deeper lessons. “For me, a book has to be entertaining first. I believe in allowing the narrative to organically lead me to those teaching moments, and we have several of them in the AKA Detectives Series, some of which have surprised even me,” she says.
Bengaluru, with its chaos, is the perfect backdrop. “The school and the neighbourhood are loosely based on a place I used to live in Bengaluru. I love the city for both its chaos and its innovation. It’s a big melting pot, and that has a big impact on the children too. When everyone in your class speaks different languages or brings different cuisines to school, it’s an exciting mix,” she shares. But don’t be surprised if her young detectives find themselves solving mysteries in other cities someday. The series has already received critical acclaim. The Mystery of the Graveyard Gold was longlisted for the Binod Kanoria Children’s Book Award and shortlisted for Cover of the Year at the Publishing Next Industry Awards. The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes was shortlisted for the Kalinga Literary Festival Book Awards. But Vidya isn’t stopping here. “Mysteries have always been considered page-turners, designed to keep you hooked. I want my middle school mystery series to make reading fun again for our children,” she says.
Balancing creativity with marketing isn’t always easy, even for someone with Vidya’s background in digital marketing. “In my first year as an author, my digital marketing and creative personas did not get along! The digital marketer was all gung-ho for crafting social media posts, requesting reviews, getting friends to recommend the book… and the creative writer was curled up into a ball, trying to pretend it was all happening to someone else,” she jokes. “But honestly, for any creative person, being able to market yourself is an essential skill. I’m just lucky that my profession and passion align so neatly.”
With The Mystery of the Disappearing Drones set for release in June 2025 and plans to expand the series to at least ten books, Vidya shows no signs of slowing down. But beyond children’s books, she has her eye on screenwriting. “I would really like to write a few screenplays. It’s actually a dream career that I walked away from when, after securing admission, I decided against joining the American Film Institute for an MFA in Screenwriting. I’m definitely not done with it.”
For now, Vidya is busy crafting stories that entertain, inspire, and help young readers see themselves as heroes — geometry boxes, chutneys, and all.