Nearly three years ago, when Kunal Das, a Dehradun-based doctor, was scouting for some quality books to narrate stories to his daughter (six-year-old then); he discovered- much to his chagrin- that the choices for story books were few and far between.
Despite being a well-to-do medical practitioner, he found that most of the books were out of reach for a middle class parent, and those that didn't burn a hole in the pocket had little or no learning potential for the children.
That was when he conceived the idea of 'Doon Tales', an initiative which aims to offer interesting story books for the young Indian children.
In his literary crusade, he found a companion in his sister-in-law Vedika Agrawal, who is a Delhi-based engineer, and has recently finished her PhD from IIT Delhi. Being well-versed in English, Vedika heads the entire editorial part of Doon Tales.
The project took off early this year, and so far they have churned out five books under the three broad categories of fun, adventure and 'Let's learn'.
One of the most popular categories is 'Let's learn' where they try to communicate concepts such as Good Touch - Bad Touch, gadget addiction, importance of environment cleanliness, menace of tobacco, firstborn child worries in comical way.
"The idea of releasing these books was multi-fold. First and foremost, we wanted to inculcate reading habits in the children who are hooked to TV and internet these days. Another purpose was to apprise them of certain important things at an early age. For instance, explaining them the difference between a good touch and a bad touch," says Kunal who works as a pediatric oncologist at a Dehradun-based tertiary healthcare provider.
Most of the Kunal's patients are children. To keep those kids upbeat, he often shares interesting stories with them. So, his quest for story books was more intense than that of a regular parent.
It was certainly not difficult to germinate the idea, but the challenge lay in executing it. Both Das and Vedika are busy in their professional lives, and finding time for a project, which is a complete departure from their academic training, was not easy at all.
While explaining this, Das says, "A doctor's job is highly strenuous and demanding. We get a lot of burnout by the end of the day. So, I keep myself going by indulging in some hobbies such as writing and painting. I have made a routine that keeps me engaged throughout the day after sparing six-hour-sleep. Writing for the book was more of a therapeutic experience for me."
Dr. Kunal Das and Dr. Vedika Agrawal
Vedika echoes the similar sentiments. "I feel a sense of connect with these stories. Our idea was to explain certain concepts in an easy and lucid way."
She says that she got used to moonlighting during her PhD days, and has tried to carry forward the same habit even after her doctorate.
"I did my PhD along with the job. And for that, I used to start studying as soon as I reached home from work. On weekend, I used to wake up early to study. After the PhD was completed, I continued to work hard for these books," says Vedika.
Though Kunal and Vedika stay in different cities, it was not unfeasible to coordinate for the 'Doon Tales' project. The work was distributed in an organized and structured manner.
At the outset, Kunal writes the story's outline after discussing the same with his wife, who is also a medical doctor. Following this, he sends it to Vedika who develops the story plot further and expands it.
After the stories were written, publishing them by a reputable publisher turned out to be a major stumbling block. After running from pillar to post (not physically but virtually), when they failed to find a good publisher, they pooled in their own money to publish the books themselves.
"A London-based publishing house, which had agreed to come on board, was asking for more money than we would require to publish them on our own. So, we thought of starting our own initiative, and coined it Doon Tales," says Vedika.
Vedika now coordinates with a Kolkata-based agency that is entrusted with making visuals, which are a cornerstone of these story books.
Since the books are meant for the children in the age group of 4-9, they have been made quite colourful and visually appealing.
"We have invested a lot of time and effort in these books. Each book is spread in just 20 pages. One might assume that no significant effort is required to produce a 20-page book. But it wasn't. We had to devote a lot of time to do a good job," says Vedika.
The response of the books that they have received, so far, is certainly more than muted, but falls short of 'overwhelming'.
Those who have liked it have done so for the learning these books entail.
A reader Rajiv Mahi shares the review of one of the 'Doon Tales' book on a social media channel by saying: "We read a book 'Good Touch - Bad Touch'. It is easy to understand and gives a very strong message. Both my daughter and I liked it."
To publicise the books, they have sent them to the schools, some of which have agreed to exhibit them in their libraries.
As a result, the response is gradually growing, But it will still take some time before they become a talking point in the hills of Uttarakhand or in the schools of Delhi.
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