A children’s book brings out fascinating facts about the Constitution of India to introduce readers to the foremost document of our country
A panel illustrates the intricate process of drafting the Indian Constitution
Actor Swara Bhasker released a video six years ago, looking at five cool facts about the Constitution of India. This ‘five-fact’ structure caught the eye of the editors at a children’s publishing house based in Chennai, Tulika Publishers. “There were no picture books dealing with the Indian Constitution. There are a few books for children, but those are completely different; they are more text-heavy and for advanced age-groups,” shares Priya Krishnan, senior editor at the organisation. For readers in the age group of six years and above, a picture book providing a sneak peek into this massive but supreme document of the country through fun facts seemed ideal.
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One of the five Fantastic Fact panels in the book
The publishers collaborated with Ashok Rajagopalan for illustrations, trusting his unique style of injecting humour into dull narratives. They put together an endearingly designed title, 5 Fantastic Facts About the Indian Constitution, which carries snapshots of what our country represents. Rajagopalan tells us, “The book is based on diversity. The Constitution is a book of rules with our rights and duties. We are all kinds of people — we have different languages, tastes in food and clothes, and religions. I tried to tell little stories through the pictures.”
The stories become evident particularly in the spread on religion, which was Rajagopalan’s favourite to work on. His research drove him towards interesting details, which he incorporated into the illustrations. “Other Constitutions begin with phrases like ‘in the name of God’; ours is one of the few Constitutions that doesn’t. It belongs to everybody, and to those who don’t believe in God. That’s why, for example, I’ve drawn a couple whose religion is simply tending to animals,” he says. The idea behind a book like this was to celebrate 76 years of India being a Republic. It took about six to eight months for the manuscript to reach its fruition. “We didn’t want to make it jargon-heavy,” Krishnan tells us. “The main challenge for us was to break down the language without being too simplistic, while keeping it easily digestible for a six-year-old. How do you say what the Constitution is? We decided to say it’s a book of laws; so, we introduced the word ‘laws’. We also said that it’s a book of rules for the country. Kids identify with that, given a school scenario,” she adds.
An illustration depicting the many languages spoken in the country. Illustrations courtesy/Ashok Rajagopalan
The idea to end the book with an activity was a smart decision. It encourages children to think about how the material relates to their everyday scenario. They are nudged towards questions they wouldn’t have thought about otherwise: “Within the school setting, do you see yourselves as similar to your friends as possible; or do you see yourselves as different? Does that create problems? Does that make for an interesting relationship? What happens when there are no rules?” reflects Krishnan.
Priya Krishnan and Ashok Rajagopalan
A major highlight for us was reading fact number two, which spoke about the number of people to whom the final draft of the Constitution can be attributed to. Rajagopalan reveals, “A lot of women were involved in the making of the Constitution. You’ll find their names if you look up, but I didn’t want to include any names here. There was representation from all over.” After the committee drafted the Constitution, they took it to the common people for their feedback. Rajagopalan’s illustrations depict these. One can spot a teacher, a farmer, everyday men and women sitting at a tea stall sharing their inputs. “I remembered RK Laxman while working on this book,” Rajagopalan recollects. He believes today it would be interesting to see RK Laxman’s ‘Common Man’ within such a setting, taking readers on a tour through this principal document.
Available At leading bookstores and e-stores
Cost Rs 250
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