Face to Face with Swapna Dutta
by Nandini Nayar*

Most people are happy doing one thing, struggling to do it well. Not Swapna Dutta. A prolific writer and translator based in New Delhi, Dutta has been engaged in creative writing for more than two decades and has successfully tried her hand at a variety of literary genres. She's the author of children's books as diverse as Stories for a Winter's Night (1996) and Teddy Comes to Stay (1992), not to forget her ever popular Juneli series.

Swapna Dutta was a name synonymous with the tales of Vikram and Vetal, to me, when I was growing up. At that time, Dutta wrote for Children's World magazine, faithfully retelling tale after fascinating tale in the legend of the King Vikramaditya and the malicious Vetal. Dutta's words have since appeared both in books and in many newspapers and children's magazines in India and abroad. She is the recipient of several awards for her contribution to children's literature, including the All India National Award and the National Fellowship.

Since she has written so many different kinds of books, during our conversation I focused on her most popular children's titles.
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Your stories about a girl called Juneli, and set in an Indian boarding school, form one of the few book series in India for children, especially a series about school. Indeed, when you wrote the Juneli series, the concept of a boarding school was really alien to Indian children. What made you choose this particular topic/genre?

The Juneli series was based on my own school, Mount  Carmel in Hazaribagh. Although it was established soon after independence, it was largely based on the British concept of residential schools. The set-up described in my Juneli stories was a genuine one, and nearly all of it was based on facts. I don't think the concept of boarding schools was alien to children in India when the stories came out. The first boarding schools were established during the British regime, mostly in our hill stations, because of the cool climate. They were mainly for British children, although Indians were also admitted, especially those whose fathers were in the Civil Service. You might be surprised to know that my own mother studied in a boarding school (Bishop Westcott Girls’ School) at Ranchi, in the mid-1930s. The school is now 130 years old. There have been many others – All Saints in Nainital, Dowhills in Darjeeling, St. Helen’s in Kurseong and so on – many of them well over 100 years old. 

To answer the second part of your question, I used to really enjoy reading school stories when I was growing up, so I thought others probably did, too. I thought readers would be happy to have a story about a real Indian school with Indian characters.

Considering the popularity that the Juneli books enjoyed, how is it that you didn’t return to this genre?

I would have, had I been left to do it my own way. But the publisher wanted me to ‘modernize’ Juneli and bring in contemporary problems, such as sex, drugs et al. I just did not want to do it, so I offered to do a different school story with different characters set in current times, but the publisher wanted Juneli, as it was already so popular.  I felt I could not do justice to the original story and set of characters if I “modernized” the lot.  So I turned to something different. I’d rather my readers remembered Juneli as I chose to portray her.

There is a general feeling that retellings of traditional stories are ‘easy’; that anyone can try their hand at it. As someone who has done several retellings, what is your opinion of this mode of storytelling in terms of the work involved, the purpose behind the enterprise?

I think retelling a classic is far more difficult than writing an original story, if one has to make it really attractive to the children of today. For one thing, it has to be told in a language they understand and present the happenings in a way that they can sympathize, if not exactly identify, with. It requires a lot of homework as there are several versions of the same story from which one has to pick out the one most likely to appeal to the children of today. Unless categorically told which stories to retell, I always try to pick out lesser known ones and avoid those that have been done over and over. For example, one of my most popular books, Four Stories from The Mahabharata, is about four girls, Sukanya, Shruvawati, Suprabha and Shweta, who come from different backgrounds. Sukanya is a princess, Shruvawati and Suprabha are simple village girls and Shweta is a court dancer. What they have in common is their independent personality, their acute sense of self-respect and their ability to hold on to their principles and convictions. Love comes to each of them in a different way, changing their lives completely. But they choose to take fate into their own hands and live a life of courage. I felt this was something the children of today would understand and appreciate: but I had to plough through the 18 volumes of the Mahabharata to find the last three of the four stories!

The Story of the Red Fort is a different kind of retelling since it uses incidents from history as the basic subject matter. How relevant do you think historical retellings are? 

I wrote The Story of the Red Fort primarily because I love history and also because I felt the theme would appeal to children, especially those who enjoy true stories. The Red Fort is one of the most important historical monuments in India. Anyone visiting Delhi is sure to see it. As it is so huge and full of stories, not all of which are widely known, I thought it would make for interesting reading. I had studied the stories myself and was fascinated by them, so I decided to share them with others. I have always thought of the past as extremely relevant, since it helps us understand our present.

What, in your opinion, is the role of the storyteller? For instance, when you narrate a story from Indian history or Indian mythology for modern children, do you watch out for politically incorrect attitudes or statements? Or do you accept them since they are, after all, ‘history’ or ‘mythology’? Mythology, for instance, is full of incidents and stories that can make a person cringe. How do you handle these when narrating a story?

I feel the primary role of the storyteller is to make the reader understand what he or she is trying to put across. There should be no scope for confusion or misunderstanding. A writer can do this only if he or she is fully convinced about the story (in terms of storyline, credibility, development and climax) him or herself.

When I come across politically incorrect attitudes and statements or incidents which make me cringe, I simply steer clear of them. I only choose stories that portray eternal values such as love, truth, honesty, loyalty, keeping a promise and so on, which continue to remain the same even in the world of today and are, therefore, acceptable despite the passage of time.

Your book Teddy Comes to Stay, one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read, is based on your experiences as a child. In general, how strong is the autobiographical element in your work?

Many of my stories contain autobiographical elements, particularly the Teddy stories. My sister and I spent a considerable part of our school days with our grandparents and our much loved dog Leo, who is the Teddy of my stories. My Juneli stories are largely autobiographical, too.

The Harry Potter books have seen a revival in reading habits. How do you think these books, written primarily for Western audiences, influence the Indian publishing/writing scene for children?

The Harry Potter books are very popular with our urban children, especially those who live in the metro cities and are used to reading English books. But I feel they have been a total failure when translated into an Indian language (Hindi, for instance). Also, I hate it when publishers keep telling us that we should try writing ‘Indianized’ Harry Potter stories (since they sell so well). I don’t think imitation would work in this case and I, for one, would never attempt it. 

So in this context, what role do you think Indian writers/publishers should adopt, given that English is still a foreign language for the vast majority of Indians?

You are right. The vast majority of Indians still prefer to read in their own regional languages. What I strongly feel is that those of us who write mostly in English (by choice) should make our work available in Indian languages (like the National Book Trust does through their publishing program.) For instance, since I also write in Bengali and Hindi I would love to translate my books into these two languages, if only I could find a willing publisher. Unfortunately, most publishers of regional language books do not care to translate English books, even when written by Indians. A pity – but that’s how things are.

Please tell us a little bit about your latest books...

In the last 2-3 years I've published a number of retellings: Stories from Mythology; Tales of Gopal the Jester; More Tales of Gopal the Jester; Fascinating Folktales from India; The Matchless Pearl and other stories (jointly authored with Ramendra Kumar) and Stories of Bheema. As you can see, I really enjoy re- telling folktales. And I am glad they are still in demand.

What are you currently working on?

I am working on a novel called Shadows in the Snow, for the 12+ age group (I have yet to find a publisher for it!), and on another, for the same age group, called That Crazy Summer, about a hilarious holiday a young girl and her two aunts spend in a Bengal village.

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*A writer and literary critic trained as an English teacher, Nandini Nayar currently runs two columns on books for children (‘Book Ends’ in The Hindu and ‘The Good Read’ in The Hitavada). She has published dozens of essays on various children’s writers and aspects of children’s literature in the Deccan Herald, The Hindu and The Hitavada, and is the co-author, with her husband, of several travel pieces. Nayar's recent creative writing work includes two picture books, Pranav’s Picture (2005) and What Shall I Make? (2006) from Tulika. She has also contributed entries on Indian children’s authors to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature (2006). She lives in Hyderabad, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Posted February 2008

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