KOCHI: Dr Seuss was of the opinion that adults are obsolete children. Growing up probably strips away all the beautiful colours associated with being a child—the innocence and curiosity. With his new book Kunjuvinundoru Kathaparayan, author Sreejith Perumthachan is bringing this vibrancy back into people’s lives. “There is a quote by Thiruvalluvar, where he calls the mumble of a grandchild the most beautiful sound in this universe. The world of a child is amazing. However, with the millennial lifestyle and nuclear family system we have now, that world has toppled over,” says Sreejith.
Having authored over a dozen ‘serious’ books, this Kollam-based author decided that his latest book will be for children who are losing out on the best bits of their growing up years to smartphones and urban lifestyle. “Living with grandparents, in villages close to nature gave us all the stories we have. Children these days have none of these luxuries. Most of their parents are abroad, and grandparents are like unpaid nannies. This is my best effort to preserve the best impression of a fruitful childhood,” he adds.
The main character in the book, Kunju is carefree with a heart full of curiosity and mind full of questions. He is loved by his mother, her friends, and by all the mothers in his neighbourhood. The book revolves around the life in his village—his friends and their lunch boxes and antlions with their shallow pits. The boy lives in a small village, a boundary that is unfathomable to this world ruled by the internet where curiosity is short-lived. Kunju has lived his entire childhood wondering if Mohanlal and Indira Gandhi ever went to the toilet because his classmate said that famous people don’t do such ‘dirty’ deeds.
He would spend holidays gaping under the mango trees and being amazed by the caparisons on animals during temple festivals. “Most of the anecdotes are from my life or those of my friends. Social gatherings, temple festivals and community living used to shape the mind of children,” he says. For most of us, how Kunju consumes the world is a nostalgic trip down the memory lane.
The book reminds us about the divide between existing artificial against a nature that is alive in our memories—like PP Ramachandran’s poem ‘Mampazhakkalam’ where his granddaughter asks him if ‘all the mangoes in the village tastes like mango fruity’. “Artificiality is short-lived because it has no life,” adds Sreejith. The illustrations and theme by artist Venky has a green background to it—one that automatically reminds us of trees and pastures.
The concluding story talks about Kunju growing up reading all the books his dad saved for him—MT Vasudevan Nair’s Valappottukal, G Shankarakkurup’s Elamchundukal and many more. He becomes an urban father but gives his child the same books to read—a subtle word from the author about how the art of reading must be kept alive. “Kunjunni mash has instructed us all to carry a book and write everything we see. To ask our grandparents about their grandparents. To keep the memories alive. We owe that much to the generations that follow,” says Sreejith.
(The book is published by Kerala State Institute Of Children’s Literature.)