Have you got your copy yet?

Have you got your copy of Manya Learns to Roar yet?

Here's what people are saying about it.

"... a delightful story that entertains, engages, and will hopefully impact many young readers."

"I hope schools can introduce such books in their curriculum at a very young age to encourage being empathetic to people who are not like them."

"The book is so wonderfully written and illustrated with a powerful message - for all ages. "

"Manya is a brilliant portrayal of the turmoils of a ten year old. ... a gripping story that is inspirational to children and a handbook for parents and teachers."

" ... an absolutely important read."

You can find the book 

- At local bookstores

- Autographed copies are available at Funky Rainbow

- On Amazon

- On Flipkart

- On Babanbaby

- Online on Juggernaut

Published in Huffington Post!

Perhaps my most-shared article of all time - and I've got some tremendous, loving feedback on this. So pleased I could write this.

My Journey as a Person Who Stammers

Preorder now! - Manya Learns to Roar

As my India trip progresses, I'm whirled here and there by events and visits and meetings, breakfasts, lunches, dinners -- and amidst all that, this exciting event which, honestly, needs all the space in my mind to process and digest.

Here's the latest - you can now preorder Manya Learns to Roar!

What it is about:

Manya badly, badly wants to be Shere Khan in her school play. The Jungle Book is her favourite film and she knows all the lines. She's sure she'll be a superb Shere Khan.

But not everyone thinks so. Her classmate Rajat is always making fun of her stammer. Her English teacher thinks its risky to let her get on stage and her principal seems to agree. 

The more anxious Manya gets, the worse her stammer becomes. Will Manya lose her dream role? Can she overcome her fears and learn to roar?

This book was a winner in the Children First writing competition, organised by Parag, an initiative of Tata Trusts and Duckbill Books

Manya Learns to Roar in the news!

As I wait eagerly for Manya Learns to Roar to be published, it is already in the news.

The Swaddle: Things We Love: These Children’s Books with Special Needs Characters

World Wisdom News: Announcing the Publication of the First of the Children First Books

Pictures and experiences - Sunday storytelling at Cubbon Park

Lush green surroundings. Fresh, cool breeze. An energetic, bubbling crowd.

What more could I ask for? I had a lovely time narrating the story of Avani and the Pea Plant this Sunday.

It was an event organized by The Hindu, among many other events - to celebrate Cycle Day. I was there on behalf of Pratham Books.

So many people turned out to cheer me on and support me - ex-classmates, ex-colleagues, childhood friends, blogger friends, my parents of course - it was lovely!

Here are some pictures until I can find some words to describe how it felt! Or perhaps I should just let the pictures do the talking for me.

Photo essay - bench love

I have long been an admirer of benches, and photograph them often. I keep uploading some photographs of benches on a Facebook album. (you can follow my public posts here (https://www.facebook.com/shruthi.rao.writes)

I was asked to do a photo-essay on benches by Café Dissensus - and here it is!

Avani and the Pea Plant on SoundCloud

Sometimes it pays to indulge your ego and google the names of your books. Look what I found!



The story has been read out (so well!) by RJ Siri of Radio Mirchi (Mirchi RJ Siri), and the information on the site says that this is a part of Lend Your Voice campaign, supported by Paani Foundation.

Don't know anything else about it. If anybody has an idea about this campaign, how and why they chose these stories, etc., please let me know!

The history of Lalbagh's trees - article in BLink

If you've walked at Lalbagh, you've seen, no, experienced those gorgeous trees. But if you're like me, I bet you wouldn't have realized that many of those trees are from across the world, and some are extremely rare. And many of them have a story behind them, and there's rich history in every corner of Lalbagh. I wrote about some of that history in this week's BLink.

Read the article here.

Day 27 - Editing

I've written before about my inner editor who wants to edit all my words even before they are on the page. After I started editing professionally, the inner editor became annoyingly omnipresent, but after a while, she settled down into her niche in a part of my brain. Though she does show up from time to time, I am more successful in silencing her for a while, until I'm ready to summon her up.

About editing itself - there's something beautiful about getting a piece of prose to its final, presentable form. With each writer, the challenges are different. And the more I edit, the better I become at recognizing what needs to be done with a certain piece of text.

Also, there are different levels of editing. Some manuscripts need heavy editing, where I need to shake up entire passages and put them in a different form. Some need lighter editing, and some just need a once-over. But each one is difficult in its own way, and I change font styles and sizes during each round of edit to ensure that I've missed nothing. It is tiring, but fulfilling.

Besides, it is a lovely feeling when clients have good things to say about you. Quick link to my testimonial page here!

Day 22 - The empty page

I've been sitting here with this draft open for the past 15 minutes wondering what to write about and I still haven't zeroed in on a topic. So I decided, Carpe Diem! Let me write about the empty page that I am staring at.

The empty page is both a promise, and a threat. Promise, because it holds so much potential. It could be a fine article, or a bestseller, a modern classic, or your magnum opus. A threat, because it is almost definite that what comes onto the page in black and white is in no way near the multi-coloured explosion of fabulousness that you are seeing in your mind.

I recently read an article that the reason writers procrastinate so much is this. As long as that article, that story, that poem, that novel is not written, there is still hope for it. But the moment you sit down to write, your limitations come into effect, and you are faced with the knowledge that you have a long, long way to go.

That is the reason deadlines are such wonderful things. They force you to just do it. That is why I hold deadlines in such high esteem. And that is why I give myself a deadline even if nobody else does. Because deadlines are sacrosanct, and I stick by them, come what may. Deadlines are the only cure for a writer's procrastination. Deadlines are the only way that the threat of an empty page can be turned into the possibility of a fulfilled promise.

Day 4 - The Children First contest

Duckbill Publishers, along with Parag, an initiative of the Tata Trust, and Vidyasagar School, Chennai, conducted a contest called Children First, where they asked for stories which deal with challenges (physical/mental/emotional) that children face, and how, in spite of everything, children are children first.

I had sent in two stories and to my delight, both of them were shortlisted in the top 7 among the 150 entries received.

Today, I heard that that one of my stories is among the 4 winners of the contest. And the other one seems to have something in store for it too. See you tomorrow, I'll let this soak in until then.

Day 1 - A post a day for March

So you thought I'd disappeared? And forgotten this blog? And was using it to link only to my books and the books I've read? Well, I'm back with a post a day for March. And please note that I chose a month with 31 days to show my sincerity.

So what have I been up to? Apart from learning to live in a new country (which sometimes doesn't feel like a different country at all), I've been editing, and I've been writing. I also did some work for a tech start-up. We travelled a fair bit last year, and hopefully, one of the things I'll do this month is do short write-ups on all our travels, with photos, my impressions, and itineraries and other (hopefully) useful information.

My second winter in California wasn't as bad as the first. No chilblains this time (except once) and generally, I've tolerated it better. I've heard people say that - "Oh! Your first winter! Don't worry, it gets better." I wonder why. Does the body adapt? Or is it the mind that adapts?

Before I go, let me leave you with this little bit of news that made me happy.

Chetsang Rinpoche (https://www.facebook.com/drikungkyabgon/)
- liked The Secret Garden
- quoted from it in a public speech while introducing Sonam Wangchuk (who also liked the book!)
- asked for the book to be translated into Tibetan.

If you want to see some reviews and buy the book, this is the place to go for the relevant links.

So I'll see you around with more news and chatty posts.

(Thanks for not giving up on me!)

Goodreads Author Page

Just wanted to share with you my Goodreads Author page.

If you've read The Secret Garden, would you mind leaving a review/rating here? The Secret Garden on Goodreads.

As for Avani and the Pea Plant, if you have not read it yet, you can read it online here - Avani and the Pea Plant on Storyweaver.

And once you're done reading it, could you hop over to Goodreads, and leave a rating for me here? Avani and the Pea Plant on Goodreads.

If you don't have a Goodreads account, I must tell you that it is a wonderful way to keep track of the books you read and the books your friends are reading. And it is free, and sign up is easy!

Giveaway of The Secret Garden

If you are still around and haven't given up on me due to the inactivity on my blog, here are two things I want to tell you:

1) I'm going to do a post-a-day on my blog soon, and make up for all the silence.

2) There's a giveaway of my book The Secret Garden happening on Indian Moms Connect. Here is the link (at the end of a lovely review).

One copy up for grabs in India, and one in the US. Do sign up!

More about The Secret Garden:

Why don't fig trees bear any flowers?
What is the relationship between a gigantic fig tree and a tiny fig wasp?
Why are hornbills such great parents?
And what does a hornbill have to do with fig trees and fig wasps?

Find answers to these questions and much more in The Secret Garden, an engaging book with beautiful illustrations and rib-tickling cartoons. The book tells you all about the fascinating relationships between living beings in nature, and why one cannot survive without the other.

Two more publications

A short story in Spark

Cover story in India Currents

Article in National Geographic Traveller India

Ever since I was a little girl, I've held National Geographic magazine in awe and respect, and so, imagine my delight to have an article published in the November issue of Nat Geo Traveller India.

You can read it on Page 32 here - https://issuu.com/11blabmagg655/docs/9scsdcs

Come and say hello at FSACC!

The Festival of South Asian Children's Content, presented by Indian Moms Connect is going to be held on Nov 5th, at ICC Milpitas, California. It promises to be an exciting event - do see the Facebook page and website for details.

I'll be reading from Avani and the Pea Plant at 11 am. I'll have with me little jars with pea plants in different stages of growth, for kids to see, and hopefully be inspired!

If all goes well, I'll also have lots of copies of The Secret Garden for sale. 

Do come over, and say hello! And get signed copies of my books! If you don't live around here, or cannot attend, please do share the event details with friends and family who might be interested.

The details of the event:

Venue: India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St, Milpitas, CA 95035

Date: Nov 5th 2015

My session: 11 to 11 30 am.

See you there!

Avani and the Pea Plant on Storyweaver

You can now read Avani and the Pea Plant online in English, Hindi and Marathi.

Read it here.

Share it with the little ones in your life, please! And I would love, love, love feedback!! :)

Roald Dahl's stories for adults

Here's a piece I wrote for Scroll.in, on Roald Dahl and his stories for adults.

Read it here.

The Secret Garden

I'm very pleased to announce the release of my latest book for children, The Secret Garden.



Published by Nature Science Initiative, Dehra Dun, it is a book about the Peepal tree (which is a Ficus tree), its inhabitants, and the fascinating story of the relationship between the Ficus tree and the Fig Wasp.  It is aimed at children between the ages of 8 to 14.

The book is a product of a collaboration between several people.  I "translated" the science produced by many researchers, including Soumya Prasad, Geetha Ramaswami, Mahua Ghara, Anusha Krishnan, Raman Kumar. Sartaj Ghuman contributed illustrations.

The superb cover and many of the cartoons in the book, are by the brilliant Rohan Chakravarty of Green Humour, and some photographs are by Pradip Krishen (of Trees of Delhi fame).

The beautiful layout and some pictures and illustrations are by Anita Varma of Graphic Alley, who's done a fantastic job with it.

It is truly a fabulous book and I'm proud to be associated with it.

You can order the book by emailing nsi@naturescienceinitiative.org.

The book was released in Dehra Dun, during a Peepal Walk organized by Been There, Doon That? with Dr. Soumya Prasad of Nature Science Initiative, who is an ecologist and my childhood friend.

A report of the walk and the book release in the Hindustan Times: