[icernet] Potter and his poor Indian cousins

[Arul Selvan]

While Potter's success is good news for an entire generation that was 
threatening to give up books for grotesque WWF shows, whats cause for 
concern is that Potter and a few other foreign writings are the only 
books Indian children seem to have heard about. The little Potter fans 
have collected every conceivable memorabilia of their favourite hero and 
proudly rattle off their Potter lingo (muggle, knut?!). But ask them 
about their favourite Panchatantra character or even of Ruskin Bond's 
books and they aren't half as enthusiastic. While Indian writing has 
been acknowledged worldwide  with Indian authors getting rave reviews 
and topping the best-sellers' charts  Indian children's authors haven't 
done as well. Though publishers agree there's no dearth of talent in 
India, something is definitely wrong. Is it that no one bothered to 
understand what our young readers are looking for?


Source:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_287245,0008.htm