Why do crocodiles have stones in their stomachsIJ More crucially, do they really cryIJ Which is the most common bird on the planetIJ Yes, chicken! Author Arefa Tehsin uncovers these and many more barely credible facts about famous animals in her books. By Jigyasu Joshi
Her grandfather was one of the earliest big game hunters-turned-conservationists of India. Her father, fondly known as the Vasco da Gama of Mewar jungles, is the initiator of the wildlife conservation movement in Southern Rajasthan. Arefa Tehsin, an author of fiction and non-fiction books, traveller, columnist and the ex-honorary Wildlife warden of Udaipur, comes from a family of jungle lovers. She has written several fiction and non-fiction books like Iora & the Quest of Five, Do Tigers Drink Blood and 13 Other Mysteries of Nature, The land of the Setting Sun & Other Nature Tales which has been taken up as a textbook for grade 6 by the acclaimed Ecole Mondiale World School, Mumbai, The Elephant Bird (a picture book in 6 languages) is a story about a magical bird, and a brave and curious child and Tales from the Wild. Wild in the Backyard is her latest book. All her book claim to appeal both kids and adults, with fascinating nuggets of information with a mixture of myth , facts, superstition surrounding the featured animals, as well as hard-core scientific information. During one of her sessions in the Jaipur literature festival, we caught her for a chat. Excerpts from the interview:
Your book The Elephant Bird was Pratham’s choice for PB Champions for promoting literacy. How was that experienceIJ
I had not understood the scope and reach of this campaign when the book was selected. It was only when the pictures of sessions started pouring in from all over the country when it struck me. Sessions conducted by volunteers and communities in 25 different languages at 3200 plus locations from slums to the schools for specially-abled to Pranab Mukherjee’s Presidential library! It was overwhelming.
A forest warden and a writer. That’s got us intrigued already. Please tell us about your background.
I come from a family of jungle lovers. My grandfather was one of the earliest big game hunters-turned-conservationists of India. He was a contemporary of Jim Corbett. My naturalist father Dr Raza H. Tehsin, fondly known as the Vasco da Gama of Mewar jungles is the initiator of the wildlife conservation movement in Southern Rajasthan. I have seen him fight for issues of conservation and wildlife protection like I wouldn’t fight for my own family!
I sort of grew up with jungles around me. My father was the Hon. Wildlife Warden of Udaipur district for 33 years and then I was appointed the honorary warden.
I’d started writing features for a newspaper in my school days. It was my partner Aditya who pestered me to take my writing more seriously and that’s when I penned down my first book – Iora and the Quest of Five – a fantasy novel based in a rainforest. Since I had grown with wild around me, the settings and subjects of my books came naturally to me.
What do you find more fascinating – books or wildlifeIJ
Both. Equally. And both have been an integral part of my life. Wildlife – the real world around me. Books – the imaginary world I inhabit.
We know a lot of research goes into every book of yours. Could you tell us a little about how you structure out your book writing processIJ
Yes, many long hours of research go behind writing non-fiction books. Even behind fiction to a certain extent, if it has to ring true. Each book is different. And there is no set method to structure a book. For non-fiction I sometimes decide to divide it in chapters that I want to write before I begin. For fiction, especially novels, I draw a rough outline of the story and then let the story guide and lead me as I write. Sometimes it turns out to be completely different than how I had imagined it to be.
If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you be doingIJ
I am doing all that I ever wanted to do – working in wildlife conservation with my father, writing stories and poems and books, travelling to new places, watching movies and having a good time. I don’t know what I’d do if I were not doing what I do now!
What does the future hold for youIJ
I hope it holds a lot of travels to lands I haven’t been before. And living many lives – those of Iora – the resident of Twitterland, the limping Munia, Beetle Agogwe who wraps his beard around him in a cloth like fashion, the orphaned Ayan, the lost hyena Bon-Bon and myriad of other characters who are yet to be born.
A piece of advice for our budding writers.
Read a lot. Write a lot. Hone your skills. Don’t get stuck with the “rules” of writing. Do read the "rules", if you want but then break them too.Writing should be like Nature – original, unpredictable, green, fresh and wild, of course.