BENGALURU: In an age where gadgets are an extension of limbs, how do you use a book to introduce kids to an important moment in history? Especially one that defined your country? Lithuanian author Jurga Vile found her answer in a graphic novel – illustrated by Lina Itagaki – which was first published towards the end of 2017 and will soon be published in other languages, including English.
The author, who was present that the Bangalore Literature Festival, told CE the story was inspired by her father’s life and her grandmother’s diary from the time when Lithuania was occupied by Soviet Union.
"Many were sent to Siberia by the Soviet Union; kids, old people, families. My father’s family was one of them and he spent five difficult years there,” she recalls. Once the country gained independence in the early ’90s, many came back to Lithuania and then shared their experiences through writing. Vile read many of such books but knew she wanted her story of her father’s experience to be different. However, it wasn’t until she had her own kids that she realised she wanted it to be a graphic novel. “This wouldn’t just make the story lighter, but also let me show things beyond the tragedy," she says.
And this then led Vile to Itagaki, who worked for nine months to perfect the illustrations. “One of the characters in the book owns a book on haikus and teaches the kids how to write one too. And there were Japanese prisoners of war too in Siberia, so this story wasn’t just a national tragedy since others experienced it too,” says Vile, adding that when they saw Itagaki’s Japanese surname, they decided to check her work and liked what they saw. The duo then mainly worked together over email and Skype having met once before the work started and on the day of the presentation post it was done.
“We would communicate everyday but we never saw each other’s faces!” exclaims Itagaki, who received her surname after marriage. Explaining their long-distance collaboration, she says she received two texts: One the original text of the book and the another that explains what had to be drawn. “Here the author and illustrator were different so that extra text helped. All I had to do was picture what goes where and do my research on what people wore in Siberia, the nature there and so on,” she adds.
Interestingly, while Vile has been writing since she was a child, Itagaki didn’t take to art until the age of 30, having graduated with a bachelors in international economics. But their book, Siberian Haiku, they say, was a good beginning for them both and despite the long-distance involved, they managed to work well as a team. “I wanted to talk about the experience but I also had to be careful about how I choose to do it with children. So, for example, in the book, when people die, I thought I could make them still be around as ghosts so that children could be protected from this difficult topic,” says Vile.
Agrees Itagaki, who adds that she tried to strike a balance by using illustrations that weren’t too dark. “Some of them are funny too. So the kids can focus on the smiling faces instead of the bad things,” she says.
Having both grown up in Lithuania and witnessed the situation first hand, the duo shares some distinct memories they have from their childhood. For Vile, who was 13 when the country proclaimed independence, the yearning for freedom coincided perfectly with her adolescent age. “It really influenced my life and was a good experience of change and more possibilities opening up to us,” she says. Itagaki, on the other hand, carries fond memories of times spent in nature, recalling times spent in forests, at lakes and collecting mushrooms. “We lived wild,” she says with a small laugh.But the one thing they look forward to during their short stint here in India? Says Itagaki, “The warmth! Winters back home are cold and grey so it’s good to be in sunny India.”