Bookaroo, the children’s literature festival is being held in Jaipur for the first time. JWB squad reached JKK, the fantasy world of children, to get a firsthand experience of the festival.

After recollecting the haunting memories of the scary monster JuJu Baba at the Monster Hunting session with Parinita Shetty, I went up to her for a chat.

I noticed her tattoo ‘Nine three fourth platform stamp, and yelled “Komal! Komal! Look…” (Komal is the biggest fan of Harry Potter). After their discussion on Harry Potter ended, she told me about her books on children.

“My first book ‘Monster Hunters’ came in 2013, and the second one, ‘When Santa Went Missing’ was published in 2014. Now, the third one is underway.”

Me: Tell us about your next books.

Parinita: My next book is on Dyslexic Genies. And, then my research is on for my next, which is on Ahilyabai Holkar. It will be historical fiction, where I will re-imagine her and write her diary entries.

Me: Wow, what inspired you to write books for children?

Parinita: I like writing for children as I can go crazy with my imagination, which we can’t do when writing for adults. Everything for adults is based on logic. The beauty of writing for children is that the way you have imagined and written the book, each kid will have his/her own visualization and perspective of it. They will come up with even more imaginative ideas and concepts.

Me: How is the experience of Bookaroo in Jaipur?

Parinita: I have conducted sessions in the Delhi edition of Bookaroo too. In Jaipur, it’s been held for the first time. The response is great and the atmosphere is so amazing. I am thrilled to see so many children attending the fest. My next workshop is on detectives where I’ll give clues based on which the children will have to find the man in the Red Coat.

Me:  Just curious, how many kids do you want to have?

Parinita (laughs): That’s still a far away thought. However, I work with so many kids that it seems I have so many children as it is. *comes close to me and whispers* the best part is I get to be the one having fun with the children, going crazy with them.

Personally, I am very excited about the book on Dyslexic Genies.

What about you?

 Photo Courtesy: Pallav Bhargava