In Conversation With Ms.Lubaina Bandukwala, @ The Young Readers' Club
- TalkingCircles
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
The Chowpatty Cooking Club is one of her personal favorites that takes the reader on an adventure set in the time of the Quit India Movement. What could be a more fun way to learn about the stories of the common people who played crucial roles in the freedom movement, especially when the leaders of the freedom movement were thrown into prison? What was it like to be ruled by the British? What was it like to be a child amidst all the patriotic rigor around. Was it right to support the British or work with the freedom fighters? Today, the answer to that question might be obvious. But was it so crystal clear back then? Lubaina Bandukwala in her book Chowpatty Cooking Club gives us a glimpse of all that and what it must have felt like to be in Mumbai (Bombay) in 1942. We at the Young Readers' Club caught up with her to learn more about her as a writer as well what led her to write this beautiful book.
Earlier at the Young Readers' Club, we worked with a hypothetical situation. What if we find ourselves in a time period in which there is no Internet, no WhatsApp, no T.V and there is an important message that must be sent to many people? What can we do?
"Letters."
"Go in person to deliver the message."
"Carrier pigeons."
"Messengers."
"Ask people of the time what they do to send messages and do the same."
Adding another element to the hypothetical situation set the young readers thinking even more. Pre-independent India. Messages need to be transferred in secret without the British getting their hands on it. What can we do? Many out of the box solutions came from the young readers. Quite fascinating! Read them here.
It was then time to introduce Ms. Lubaina Bandukwala's book, The Chowpatty Cooking Club, to the avid young readers and enthusiastic writers.
Fortunately for us, Ms. Lubaina Bandukwala graciously accepted our invitation. It was an absolute treat having her at the club, to talk to us about the inspiration, the writing process and all the challenges she faced while writing the book, The Chowpatty Cooking Club.
Ms.Lubaina Bandukwala, the author
A journalist by profession, she found her calling in writing for children. Her first picture book, Leopard in Mumbai was inspired by an article that had appeared in the newspaper. The article reported that a leopard had found its way into the city and had to be rescued. "The photo of the leopard looking, set my imagination to work and that's how Leopard in Mumbai came about." The children were fascinated to hear about how ideas for good stories are everywhere, including the newspaper.
Next came along the book, Who is afraid of Z. The author shared an amusing anecdote to tell the children how the inspiration for that book came about. The letter 'Z' had stopped working on her keyboard thanks to an accidental coffee spill. She had thought to herself, "Who uses Z? Let it be." But the letter 'Z' did catch up with her and a story book came about eventually :).
She did not restrict herself to picture books. She also wrote entertaining chapter books for older children too. Who doesn't love a good mystery? Her book, The Misadventures of a Diamond Thief, is an absolute treat, a gripping read that needs to be read in one go.
Adding a little more variety to the basket, is the historical fiction, The Chowpatty Cooking Club which she prefers to call more of an adventure set in history rather than 'historical fiction'. "This is not a history textbook, she said, chuckling much to the amusement of the children.
करो या मरो भारत छोड़ो आंदोलन (Do or die, Quit India Movement! ) in
Azaad Maidan, also known as Gowalia Tank Maidan, 1942.
Gandhiji announced the beginning of the historic Quit India Movement. A confusing time but critical to India's independence.
Ms. Lubaina asked the children, "What is freedom?"
This was a question that they did not expect. Freedom in the context of the country, has always meant freedom from foreign rule, more specifically British rule.
"What about today's context?"
"The recent Indo Pakistan dispute, Kashmir."
"Gaza"
"Russia & Ukraine."
The freedom to be independent of another country's rule. Quest for power leads to war and conflict, serving little purpose. Yet, history repeats itself. Why not learn from history? This is where stories from the past come to our rescue.
The Chowpatty Cooking Club for instance brings to the forefront, the debate that the children in the book, get to often hear around them. Getting independence from the British appealed to many. At the same time, many feared losing government jobs, unemployment and perhaps even more severe poverty. Today, getting freedom from the British may seem like the most obvious course of action but it wasn't so black and white back then. The book beautifully portrays why that wasn't the case.
The British controlled the newspapers and the radio. They ensured that the propaganda to support the British always existed. Leaders of the freedom movement were jailed based on the thought that if the leaders can be removed from the scene, protests will die down. But the people of India rose to stand up against the British. Messages had to be sent in secret. It was very risky but absolutely essential.
Many ingenious ways came about. Noteworthy among those were the Ham radios that Usha Mehta and her comrades used. They strived to bring the real news to the people. News that never got reported in the British newspapers and radio. Freedom fighters made speeches on what came to be known as the Underground Radio or Congress Radio to bring common people together to fight. They kept moving the radio station to avoid being caught. But the team was eventually caught and imprisoned. Sadly Usha Mehta was released only after independence.
While Usha Mehta and her comrades make an appearance in the book, the story itself is about 3 children, Sakina, Zenobia, and Mehul. Young readers see Mumbai, the Quit India Movement and much more through the eyes of these 3 children who want to play a role too. But they are children. What can they do to help? Or can they?
Questions galore
At our book and writing clubs, there is always a lot of chatter as everyone likes to participate in the discussions. This was the first session in which there was silence for awhile. Almost like a lull before a storm! :))
A variety of questions about the writing process in general as well as specific to the book came about soon after moments of silence, having heard all about the book. Not just that, questions about Indian history and why it took us so long to get independence got actively discussed.
Questions related to writing historical fiction
Identifying reliable information - Information for the book came from old newspapers, Wikipedia offered references, conversations with elders who lived through the freedom struggle and photos. As a bonus, we got a glimpse of photographs that appeared in the newspapers published in pre independent India. We also learnt about how women came to the forefront in so many ways.
Deciding what to use- The author warned the young writers from over using facts and getting too detailed as that will most likely bore the reader.
The movie about Usha Mehta - Ae Watan mere watan, which also had fictional elements added to real historic events. How does the book stand out as compared to the movie? “The main difference between my book and the film is that the book has a character inspired by Usha Mehta and although her work is integral to the plot, it’s the children who are the main characters. And the freedom struggle is seen through their eyes.”
Questions related to writing in general:
Hitting a wall while writing- stuck! - The author emphasized the need for broad plot outlines, having clear character sketches for the main characters and having a clear destination in mind before setting out to write a story.
Dilemma- Ideas for two different scenarios- can't decide which one to pick- If a particular detail doesn't fit, throw it out. It may appeal to you as a writer but could bore a reader. So pick a scenario that is likely to interest the reader, not what interests you as a writer.
Finding good names for the characters that would suit the story
The names must suit the character's personality. For instance in Chowpatty Cooking Club, Sakina suits her personality as she is someone who is calm and strives for peace.
Writing fantasy
Writing fantasy is an immersive experience. It is about building a new world that a reader will step into. There needs to be plenty of "show, don't tell." Layer by layer of the story needs to be revealed.
Time was running out, the list of questions continued to grow. The Chowpatty Cooking Club set everyone thinking. Mission accomplished! :)
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