Rajiv Eipe on winning the first Mehlli Gobhai Children’s Book Illustrator Award

Rajiv Eipe, who studied painting at Mumbai’s JJ School of Art, and animation and film design at Ahmedabad’s National Institute of Design, is the winner of the first Mehlli Gobhai Children’s Book Illustrator Award. The announcement was made by the MCubed Library in Mumbai on their Facebook page. The award, named after painter and children’s book illustrator Mehlli Gobhai, includes one lakh rupees. Eipe won it for illustrating the book Chitty: A Dog and Her Forest Farm, written by Serow and published by Kalpavriksh – a non-profit organization working on environmental and social issues. Eipe spoke to us about working on this book, his fondness for animals, and his illustrious career as an illustrator.

Chitty: A Dog and Her Forest Farm stole my heart. It's such a deep exploration of the love and grief a pet can bring into one's life. How did you get involved with this project?

One of the editors for the book – Sujatha Padmanabhan from Kalpavriksh – reached out to me with this manuscript. As they said, they had seen my drawings for another book featuring dogs – The Grand Story of Ikli Chokli, written by Vinayan Bhaskaran and published by Tulika. They had also somehow known that I had been involved with some dog rescues along with my wife Archana Sreenivasan, and thought that I would be a good fit for this book. I am very glad that they asked me. I loved the script when I read it. The setting of the story in the middle of a forest in the Western Ghats excited me as much as the warm relationship between the dog and the human that is at the heart of Chitty: A Dog and Her Forest Farm.

Could you talk about your illustration process for this book? Had you met Chitty? Did you use photographs of Chitty as reference points? Did you involve others who loved Chitty? How did you zero in on materials, colours, textures?

Before I began making drawings for the book, the author – Serow – invited me to spend a few days at the farm. I think this probably had a huge impact on the illustrations. It allowed me to soak in and absorb a little of the place. I didn’t get to meet Chitty; she had died the previous year. I spent time with her siblings. Serow talked about Chitty, pointed out her favourite haunts – this spot on the veranda, under this jackfruit tree, along this forest path, etc. – and shared many photographs of Chitty as a puppy and as an adult. All of this provided a lot of context that allowed me to imagine the illustrations in the book in considerable detail. When I got back to my desk, I made lots of rough drawings with pencil on paper. The final drawings were made with colour pencils on paper, and then coloured digitally.

How have readers responded to the book? Could you share some responses that were affirming, surprising or thought-provoking for you?

I felt that my first responsibility was to the author because it is such a personal story. I was happy and relieved when I heard that Serow was pleased with the illustrations. Once the book was published, a few people I know wrote to tell me how much it reminded them of their own pet that had passed. Some friends from the children’s book community and the conservation space told me they enjoyed the illustrations. That always means a great deal to me. I haven’t heard much from young readers, which I suppose is the acid test for a picture book.

How does it feel to win the first Mehlli Gobhai Children's Book Illustrator Award? It has a significant amount of money attached to it. Why do we have such a dearth of awards for children's book illustrators in India? 

It is a huge honour and it feels particularly special because Mehlli Gobhai was such an accomplished, prolific artist and illustrator. This award does come with a generous cash prize, yes, and I think that goes a long way in supporting illustrators of children's books in India. There is increasingly more recognition and awards for work in children’s books in general, and that is heartening. The economics of publishing children’s books in India seems particularly hard. In spite of this, a lot of amazing work is happening. I am grateful for the awards that do exist, but yes, I wish there were more to honour and recognise the very vast pool of talent that exists and works in this space.

When you look back at your own journey as a writer and illustrator of children's books, which books do you see as your milestones? Which books have children loved the most, and why? Which books, according to you, deserved to have reached more people?

 Each book is special in its way. Dinosaur-Long-As-127-Kids, by Geeta Dharmarajan, published by Katha, was the first book that I illustrated, so that’s special. Ammachi’s Amazing Machines, published by Pratham Books, was one of the first books that I wrote and illustrated, and I am terribly grateful to the editors Yamini Vijayan and Vinayak Varma for convincing me to write it and for guiding me through the process.

Pishi and Me, written by Timira Gupta, published by Pratham books, is one of the nicest books that I have had the chance to work on, and I learnt to put a little bit of my surroundings and myself into the work, in the process of working on that book. A Book for Puchku, and Puchku Seeks a Song, written by Deepanjana Pal, and published by Pratham Books, were very special to work on as well. Maithili and the Minotaur: Web of Woe by C G Salamander, published by Puffin, is the longest book that I have worked on so far, and is part of a three-part graphic novel series for children that we are currently working on.

I think Dinosaur-Long-As…, Ammachi, Puchku, Pishi and Me, Let’s Go (Tulika) and Anand (Pratham Books) have done pretty well, though I couldn’t tell you in terms of number of books sold. I’m not sure what exactly readers like in particular about these books, but I suspect that interesting, compelling characters might have something to do with it.

I am never fully convinced about the quality of my work once a book project is done, and when people tell me that they like the illustrations in a book I have worked on is when I begin to think that perhaps I have done something right. I really cannot complain, cannot think of any book that I have worked on that hasn’t done as well as it should have.

Could you tell us about your book Dugga, which is based on a true story and someone you have a special bond with? What did the creative process do for you emotionally? 

The editors Bijal Vachharajani and Aparna Kapur, who knew of the real Dugga’s rescue (and were among many who contributed generously toward the significant medical expenses incurred in her rehabilitation), invited me to draw a wordless book about her story, under the theme of empathy for street animals. It was intended to be a tribute to and acknowledgment of the many wonderful people who do amazing, often selfless and thankless work with street animals in general and dogs and cats in particular – at considerable cost to their own comfort, sanity and finances – as much as it was to be a portrait of the life of a dog I know well.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to have made the book. It allowed me to channel a lot of the frustration and anxiety and sweat and tears and laughter from that period into the making of the book. It was also extremely fun to put myself in the shoes (maybe paws?) of an animal in the process of imagining the typical day in the life of a street dog in a busy city.

When did you fall in love with animals? You portray them with so much warmth and affection. Do children use your books to persuade parents to let them have pets?

I think that I acquired my love for animals from my older brother Rohit. He used to bring home all manner of animals in distress – squirrels, birds, cats, etc. and nurse them back to health. Our parents didn’t mind and often became more attached to these animals than we did. I find animals fascinating. They have personalities, idiosyncrasies, and great spirit. They are excellent subjects to draw. What is not to love? I’m not sure children use my books to persuade their parents but I do hope that readers will rescue and adopt an animal in need – rather than purchase an exotic or trendy breed of dog, cat or rodent – and see themselves in relation to animals as companions and caregivers rather than owners and masters.

Chintan Girish Modi is a Mumbai-based writer and journalist who tweets @chintanwriting

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