Growing up in Srinagar, Kashmir, Ambreen Rasool always wanted to read children’s books which had characters she could identify with. After school, she moved to Pune to pursue a law degree and then practised for five years at the Supreme Court of India before getting married and settling down in Bangalore. When her daughter, who was born eight years ago, started reading, the old desire for such books resurfaced and led Rasool to write The Adventures of Iya and Zoey, the story of a little Kashmiri girl and her pet bird, Zoey, who live in Bangaluru. During the summer vacations, Iya and her family visit Kashmir where they learn more about their homeland. Beautifully illustrated by Kubra Shah, the book was recently brought out by The Quillers’ Club, a publishing house that Rasool herself has established to produce books especially for Kashmiri children.
Publisher and author Ambreen Rasool (Courtesy the subject)
84pp, ₹699; The Quillers’ Club; Available at https://store.thequillersclub.com/
The idea for the book and the publishing venture emerged after she noticed the absence of meaningful content that could educate children about their native Kashmir and its rich art and culture. “Our future generations are the guardians of our heritage. As adults, it is our responsibility to equip them with the right knowledge in an age-appropriate manner,” says Rasool.
The writing of The Adventures of Iya and Zoey was sparked by Rasool’s daughter’s curiosity. It struck her that other children from Kashmir, especially those who live outside the Valley, might have similar questions. Creating illustrated books seemed like a powerful way to connect with them.
“A children’s book without illustrations is like a body without its soul,” she says, adding that she was fortunate to find Shah, a freelance graphic designer from Hyderpora, Srinagar, who brought her characters to life. “Creating visuals to tell a story is an important part of children’s books. The artwork in this book needed to be like a narrative, not just decorative. We wanted to maintain the right balance between text and illustrations, so choosing a suitable layout was a challenge,” says Shah, adding that she did a lot of research before creating illustrations that accurately represented Kashmiri culture. “Such initiatives need encouragement and support so that our children are able to build a deeper connection with their roots,” she says.
A page from ‘The Adventures of Iya and Zoey’ (Courtesy The Quillers’ Club)
Rasool’s attempt to find a children’s publisher, preferably one based in Kashmir, led her to the discovery that no such entity existed. Of course, she could have approached a mainstream publisher. However, she opted to take the more difficult path. “It was to tackle this that I thought of establishing a publishing house dedicated to books for Kashmiri children. Now other writers too can tell their stories about Kashmir using The Quillers’ Club as a platform,” she says.
Kashmiri identity and culture stretch back at least a thousand years and there is already much meaningful content for children and young adults. Rasool believes, however, that it “needs to be presented in a way that children enjoy and learn from.” Sadly, there are few children’s books in English that tell Kashmiri children about their own heritage. “And when I found one, it turned out to be factually incorrect. It was written, illustrated, and published by very talented people, but the error came in since none of them were from Kashmir,” she says. It convinced her of the need for “more books that are not just entertaining but also authentic and created by those who are personally connected to what they are writing about.”
The Adventures of Iya and Zoey has been well received by Kashmiri parents and their kids too. “My aim is to reach all the Kashmiris residing within Kashmir as well as those outside so that our culture is kept alive and thriving through the future generations,” says Rasool.
Majid Maqbool is an independent journalist based in Kashmir.
E-Paper
