As a child, Haripriya Bathula remembers fighting with her four siblings over the latest issues of Russian children’s books. “Whatever our f...
As a child, Haripriya Bathula remembers fighting with her four siblings over the latest issues of Russian children’s books. “Whatever our financial condition, my father always ensured that there were books at home.” she said. “In the ’80s, they were our only source of entertainment, and we devoured Russian literature. Especially Misha magazine, Dunno’s adventures, Teryosha, Byelorussian folktales, books by Nikolai Nosov published by Raduga and Mir Publishers.”
All five siblings grew up to be voracious readers. During her time in Singapore, while studying for a Masters in Biological Sciences, Bathula spent a lot of time in the university’s library. She read Indian authors, and grew especially interested in Indian children’s literature.
“The community libraries in Singapore are as big as Indian malls, and I would often observe children at the Marine Parade public library, engrossed in and excited by the books around them,” she said. “This reading culture really surprised me, as it was something I had never experienced back home.” Bathula also realised that books, especially picture books, could instil in children a lifelong love of reading. So, when she moved back to India, she began reading aloud to her three-year-old niece every night at bedtime, and recommended young-adult fiction to her twelve-year-old...
