Books: What goes around comes around

How one author used multiple mediums to write a book that redefines an entire genre of atypical books for children

Namrita Bachchan, whose surname is certainly recognisable, has always chosen to stay away from the limelight, choosing instead to focus on herself, her family, and sharpening her many talents. A self-described “very happy introvert,” she always enjoyed being left alone to use her own hands to create something.

Is it a children’s book, a poetry book, an artist’s book, a gift book, a picture book, a story book, an illustrated book? Namrita Bachchan says that she likes that it’s ambiguous

Having been raised abroad, the boundaries of her language, words and art were all broadened. “But,” she adds, “my growing up also happened in the era right before the internet, so physical placement played a much bigger role.”

Namrita’s memory box

Namrita’s mild tone and measured words belie her accomplishments. The alumnus of both Rhode Island School of Design, as well as Parsons School of Design has worked as a photographer, exhibited as a painter, written for various publications, knits and weaves in her spare time, and perhaps most importantly some would argue, she’s raising her daughter, Noah, now five.

Watching her daughter’s mind open and grow fascinated Namrita, who used that as inspiration for her poem, A Full Circle, published as a children’s book. This is her third book—the first was a book of poetry that she self-published, the second an illustrated version of her grandfather’s (Harivansh Rai Bachchan) poem, Madhushala—but it does happen to be her first children’s book.

The poem (excerpt above) explores what the world looks like through the eyes of Namrita’s five-year-old daughter

Book smart

A Full Circle turns what you’d expect of a children’s book on its head, by very seamlessly weaving poetry, painting and design together to create something unusual, something you wouldn’t usually find on the shelf in the children’s section. As Namrita puts it, “I don’t think I worked towards writing a ‘children’s book’; I just wrote a book. It is actually a reflection of my training, passions, concerns, and personal journey up until now.”

So, was she looking to shake up the entire genre and make shelf-space for more atypical books for children? “I’m honestly not looking to change anything so much as make space on the shelf for something less easily labelled,” she muses. “Is A Full Circle a children’s book, a poetry book, an artist’s book, a gift book, a picture book, a story book, an illustrated book? Object-wise it has taken the book form, but I like that its classification remains ambiguous.”

The name of the book itself is testament to that ambiguity. “The cyclical structure of the poem, both in form and content meant that it could really not be titled anything other!” confirms Namrita.

Namrita has a journal from when she was five years old, full of little poems and longer sketches, that serves as a reminder that she was certainly writing fluently at that age

Coming full circle

Namrita has a journal from when she was five years old, full of little poems and longer sketches, that serves as a reminder that she was certainly writing fluently at that age. Since Noah is the same age, does she see a lot of herself in her daughter? “Like most mothers and daughters, I imagine, we are both very alike and very unalike! it’s a dynamic relationship in that she is growing up and into her own so fast, so that one perfectly compatible day can be followed by another that is hair-raising,” comes the answer.

Now that Noah has started school, will we see more books from Namrita? The reply is as encouraging as it is daunting. “I am conceptualising a photo-prose book, pursuing oil-painting again, and starting a Master’s degree in art history,” she says.

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From HT Brunch, April 23, 2022

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