Ecological Messages in Indian Children’s Literature

Book excerpt: ECOLOGICAL MESSAGES IN INDIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE:CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CREATORS -----Dr.Shobha Ramaswamy Indian writing in English for children and young adults has come of age, with a plethora of talented and dedicated writers contributing their creative efforts towards the growth of this new field. The book is based on the author’s interviews with the creators of English-language fiction for the young in India. Specially selected are those who have a deep love for nature. Writers, illustrators, publishers, editors and also environmentalists have been interviewed. The University Grants Commission, New Delhi’s grant of a Major Research Project to the author made these interviews possible. The galaxy of those interviewed include: Meeting the Authors • Nilma Sinha • Ira Saxena • Shamim Padamsee • Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan • Benita Sen • Deepak Dalal • Zai Whitaker • Ranjit Lal • Leela Gour Broome • Sreekumar Varma • Sandhya Rao • Dr.Graeme Macqueen • Ken Spillman • Anushka Ravishankar • Asha Nehemiah • Harini Gopanswami Srinivasan • Radha H.S. • Sowmya Rajendran • Niveditha Subramaniam • D.Ronald Hadrian Views of the Illustrators • Ashok Rajagopalan • Maya Ramaswamy • Priya Kuriyan • Januka Deshpande What the Editors and Publishers Have to Say • Himanshi Sharma, TERI Books, New Delhi • Maegan ,Tara Publishers,Chennai • Mala Kumar, Pratham Books, Bangalore • Saraswathy Rajagopalan, Mango Books, Kochi • Shobha Viswanath,Karadi Tales,Chennai • Mini Krishnan, Editor ,OUP,Chennai. • Sandhya Rao,author and former editor, Tulika,Chennai) Some Suggestions from Environmentalists • Payal B.Molur (Author and Wildlife Educator) ‘OSAI’ Kalidas, Conservat