Indian kids see more than they can comprehend

JAIPUR: Writer Daman Singh, who is the second daughter of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in her novel, The Scared Grove' says children in India see much more than they can comprehend and are growing up sooner than we think."
Singh spoke about her book which talks about various issues the country is reeling under as witnessed by a young boy. Ashwin is a 10 -year-old son of a collector who sees more than what he can understand.Singh said her story is anything but politically driven. "I did not do any research for the book. My main character is inspired by my observation of my 10-year-old son and his friends who come home," she emphasised.
Singh said people in India are limited by prejudices which "influences the way they think and behave. When I wanted to write about this, the most apolitical and neutral way of putting it across would be through the eyes of a child that would help me not to worry about the ideological, political or social baggage that the issues hold and get straight to the point."
Popular author of 18 books for children and young adults, Paro Anand's latest book, Pure Sequence was a little different. Her first novel was for adults -- a story of four women who being enjoying life after 70. Funny and wacky, the book uses a conversational style and is immersed with humour and cuss words. Dressed in a green saree, the author said the book was more of a tribute to the strength of older women around her "who have time and again been the driving force behind me".
The session held in the Kingfisher Baithak concluded with more laughter and conversations as the two women authors finished the reading.