Letters and numbers meet life in Karnataka's Kodagu

US-based UX designer creates early-learning books rooted in a picturesque part of Karnataka.

UX designer Tej Kalianda’s children were the first reason she began thinking about early-learning books differently.

Based in San Francisco, USA, and originally from Kodagu, Tej created the board books ‘The ABCs in Avaya’s Kitchen’ and ‘123 Coorg Critters’ for children aged 0 to 3.

They teach alphabets and numbers “through the everyday sights, sounds and rhythms of Kodava life” rather than by focusing on festivals or folklore. “It captures everything from meals and homes to farms, coffee estates, rain and wildlife,” she says.

After observing what held her children’s attention the longest, Tej realised strong visual identity, rich colours and read-aloud-friendly text kept young readers coming back to the book.

She also noticed a growing global trend of alphabet books rooted in place. “I came across books about Hawaiian animals and life in Nigeria. That made me think, why not create something that reflects life in Kodagu, especially for my own children?” says the 39-year-old mother of two.

The alphabet book came first, shaped by words her children heard at home but rarely saw represented in mainstream books, such as ‘avaya’, ‘bembale’, ‘elle unde’, among others. Tej wanted her kids to recognise everyday Kodava vocabulary without translating it into something it isn’t.

“Take kadambut, for example. You can explain it as a rice ball in English, but that’s not the word we use at home. Kadambut is kadambut,” she says.

While working on the alphabet book, she also had ideas that didn’t fit the format. That led to the creation of the number book, which captures Kodagu’s landscape and wildlife through counting.

“Most mainstream children’s books talk about animals like pandas, polar bears, or koalas… But when they visit Kodagu, they see deer, elephants, and even leeches,” she says, adding that learning becomes more alive when it mirrors real life experience.

Tej says her aim wasn’t to make something “purely Indian”. “The books aren’t trying to teach culture explicitly. Instead, they aim to make learning feel familiar,” she says.

The idea took shape in early 2025, and despite a demanding job and parenting responsibilities, Tej time-boxed the process. “I set aside 30 minutes a day, Monday to Friday,” she says. Over about 60 days, she shaped the concept and visual language, working with illustrators David Yambem and Verove Pinto. The books were released in September 2025.

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