Series turns news into kids’ story books

PARI Series, a series of children’s books, highlights stories from rural India. The set of five Kannada books, published by Bahuroopi Publications, was translated from English. 

The series is a joint effort by P Sainath’s People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a news portal focusing on stories from ‘alternate India’, Parag, a Tata Trusts initiative to create Indian language kids’ storybooks, and Karadi Tales, a Chennai-based children’s publishing house. The idea was to repackage news published on PARI in a storybook format to address the lack of children’s books set in non-urban landscapes. News stories have been fictionalised keeping real facts intact.

The series focuses on underprivileged communities overcoming unimaginable challenges — of infrastructure, healthcare, disability, and job security.

It is Bahuroopi’s first foray into children’s literature. “Apart from being news articles, these stories are motivating,” cofounder Sreeja V N says of the series. Here’s a look at the five books:

Snehagramada Samsattu (House of Uncommons)

Vishaka George follows the story of an HIV positive child at a special school which admits only HIV positive children. The child aims for the highest position in the student parliament. The book also gives lessons on civics. Prasad Naik is the translator of the story. It is based on the article titled ‘Krishnagiri’s house of uncommons’.

Marali Manege (Coming Home) 

It discusses the lack of education for the children of migrant labourers’ and how they set up a school for themselves in a valley. Written by Priti David and translated to Kannada by Rajaram Tallur, it sees 11-year-old Shivu coming up with an idea to solve the problems in his village. It is based on the article, ‘Taking their skills back to school in Sittilingi’.

Ticket Illa, Prayana Nillalla (No Ticket, Will Travel)  

It is written by Subuhi Jiwani and translated by Abburu Prakash. The book follows the journey of six migrants on a train from Andhra Pradesh to Kochi, in search of work. The plot is inspired by an article titled ‘No ticket, will travel’.

Gedde Bitte (A Big Splash)

It traces the story of a disabled swimmer who represents India in the Paralympics. The 13-year-old has no formal training and has only practised in her village pond. Nivedha Ganesh, the author of the book, spins an inspiring story. It is translated by Santhosh Tamraparni. It is based on the article ‘From cotton fields to the Paralympics’.

Nandhini Emba Jaane (No Nonsense Nandhini)

Written by Aparna Karthikeyan and translated by V Gayathri, this book explores the life of an extraordinary woman’s journey of single parenthood and managing a sampangi farm in a Tamil Nadu hamlet. The narrative is based on the article ‘A thorny life but Chandra bets on flowers’.

Available on bahuroopi.in and at their store in Sanjaynagar at Rs 500.