Guest Post: Letting Characters Lead the Way by Saumiya Balasubramaniam
Happy coincidence, or inspired planning? On April 2, Groundwood Books will publish two picture books set in India: my Look! Look! of which some more here and still more to come, and When I Visited Grandma by Saumiya Balasubramaniam. Since our books share a publisher and a book release date, I thought I’d ask Saumiya to write a guest post about the making of this book.
Here’s what she said:
Photo Credit: © Meena Aier
It all began when my daughter (a.k.a. my inspiration) posed the casual question “What if this time Maya travelled to India?”
My debut picture book When I found Grandma is a sweet story of an evolving intercultural, intergenerational relationship between Maya (who is growing up in the western world) and her grandma who is visiting from overseas.
When I proposed the idea of a sequel to my editor, she said that it sounded wonderful.
And indeed, it was a joy to once again bring to life the strong and beautiful characters in the first Grandma book. Dominant as they are, they took charge. Both characters helped me formulate the shape and style of the narrative.
I chose to narrate in the first person because that strengthened and grounded my ability to tell the story. Young readers can directly relate to the main character. I also intentionally project the staccato nature of the back-and-forth conversations. Grandma hails from the south of India, where the older generation of people often speak impulsively and do not mind chaos. Grandma has a tendency to make assumptions on Maya’s behalf and she announces plans without prior notice.
So, I opened the book with Maya’s delight and disbelief over her dreams of visiting her grandma in far away India. These feel almost snubbed by Grandma’s assumption that Maya is going to be excited about going to the “Market.” They live in different worlds and those worlds collide here.
It was important for me to expose this rift right at the start of this endearing relationship so that readers can watch and learn how one can grow through and from the resolution of conflicts. I also wanted to explore this predominantly adult need to conform, and sometimes to impose that need onto children.
Grandma’s concerned about the rip in Maya’s jeans. That speaks to her mentality of adhering to societal norms. But that is not Maya’s worldview.
The spreads in the book follow a structured, chronological progression of events, but also show the character growing and shifting. Occasionally, a scene also leaves room open to a reader’s interpretation. Grandma tends to speak for Maya (to the coconut vendor, to neighbours etc.). She means well. She is possibly protective of Maya, who is, after all, in new territory. But we can also interpret that as Grandma’s domineering nature. She’s used to being in control.
Another conscious cultural element that I wove into the plot was to show the intrusion of personal space. Maya’s emphatic “I came to see you” is an expression of her perception of social protocols. Yet, she is careful not to speak her mind. By midpoint in the story, she has grown enough to understand new perspectives. Similarly, Grandma too develops some empathy and learns to gauge Maya’s emotions from her expressions.
Kavita’s detailed and vibrant illustrations emote this growth even where text is silent. The last page of the book is entirely a picture spread that shows Maya with the open box. She has come a long way from not really appreciating the package to enjoying the sweets.
The sweets could be an unspoken commentary on this book, where working through complications leads to the sweetness of the relationship between generations.
Congratulations, Saumiya!
