As great as it is to listen to children’s stories and poems and as easy as they are to understand, creating children’s literature has been a difficult task. Children’s literature creators in every language of the world are rare. It is a God-given ability. Although those who are fond of reading, whether they are writers or not, but it is a fact that children’s literature has influenced them in the early period. It has enlightened the minds of the readers and shown them a way of life. This cannot be denied.
The question is, when did children’s literature begin? Different periods can be examined in this connection. Many things can be discuss and expanded. But for me, when a mother holds her child in her arms and the child gazes at the mother with his/her innocent eyes and gets lost in the natural and attractive scenery of her eyes, this is where children’s literature begins. On the other hand, when a mother’s loving gaze fell on her child, it was the first story in the world. The relationship that was born after that, is not only difficult but impossible to describe in words!
In this context, I refer to the book “The Squirrel and the Bird” by Dr. Siri. The reading and translation of this book inspired me immensely. I learned a lot while translating this book into Persian. As long as I was engaged in this work, I felt that my childhood had returned. And I am hearing different stories not on a screen but in the mouth of a master storyteller, in her captivating voice.
The main objective of Dr. Siri various stories has been to inculcate morality in children. Although in one era there were no languages, but there were dialects, children’s literature existed even then. There was a successful era of storytelling, which was seen in every language and every society and among their various objectives, one of the biggest objectives was to develop moral tendency in children.
A person’s face depends on his teeth. If his teeth fall out, the beauty of his face is affected. Although artificial teeth work. But Dr. Siri wants to see the children always smiling and when a child smiles, his face opens up, his/her beautiful teeth also become the focus of our attention.
Along with being a successful Dental Physician by profession, Dr. Siri inspires children to smile while making them responsible citizens through her beautiful, engaging, moralistic, forward-looking and readable stories.
However, being a dental physician, Dr. Siri is expected to talk about dental issues. She will explain to us what to eat and how to eat. How many times a day should you brush your teeth? Teeth are an indispensable part of our face and body, so how should we protect teeth, and how should we take care of them? But this is not seen at all. Yes, but with a delicate profession like a Dental Physician, the creative path She have chosen for themselves is also very delicate. After touching her stories, fingers get “Holi” color!
Dr. Siri’s stories remind one of the painter whose paintings, believing them to be real, the birds try to perch on its branches. Cuckoos not only want to impress the world with their melodious voice but also want to remove the suffering of the society and the parrots like to sit on its branch and pluck the fruits with their beautiful beaks.
While reading her stories, it seems that during the rainy season, We are swinging with our friends by placing a swing on the branch of the jamon tree. These stories wittingly-unwittingly force us to take stock of ourselves. While reading their stories, one does not feel bored but remains curious as to what will be the end of the story?! In other words, it can be said that whatever story we pick up, we cannot leave it incomplete.
In today’s scary, terrifying and uncertain and chaotic times, Dr. C. Ray’s stories inspire us to live. The stories of Dr. Siri guide every traveler who has forgotten his destination and if a writer has such qualities, no one can stop him/her from achieving success. Rather, that person is the most successful person of today’s era.
It is for this reason that Dr. Siri has achieved a definitive and enduring position in the field of children’s literature in the Telugu language. She has an impressive reach and mastery over language and expression. Apart from this, Dr. Siri is also famous for fiction, poetry, translation, puzzles and novel writing.
About 200 of her animated stories can be viewed through the Lollipop app. In addition, Dr. Siri has a compassionate heart. She has done many voluntary works for children of different scale. The Government of Telangana has acknowledged her services by awarding her with The Distinguished Woman Award 2018, especially for her outstanding services in relation to disabled children.
So far, her stories have been translated into Tamil, English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and other Indian languages, as well as now into Persian.
This book contains 14 of her stories. Among them The Enemy, Free Advice, Little Ant and the Honeypot, Weakness, Crow and Cuckoo, Teacher’s Habit, The Squirrel and the Bird, The Strength, Gopayya’s Rule. Stories like Worthy Teacher, Something not created by God, Courage alone, Despair, Desert are worth mentioning.
In the characters of her stories, we get to learn a lot through living things like humans, animals, birds and innocent ants. On the one hand, we get a lesson through an innocent ant, on the other hand, the pride and arrogance of a king teaches us a lot. Among his various stories, “The Squirrel and The Bird” is the title of the book. Which is a beautiful and suitable title for the children.
I heartily congratulate Dr. Siri for bringing out this book in Persian language. At one time, Persian was the national language of India. A large and valuable capital of India is in the Persian language. In this era when people are not ready to teach Urdu to their children, Dr. Siri’s interest in Persian language, is her best salute to Persian language. Which proves that the future of Persian language in India is still bright. Along with the readers of other languages, now the reader of Persian has also joined them. Which indicates a positive future for Dr. Siri.
The author is a Assistant Editor : (“Asasa” an Urdu Quarterly, Ahmedabad) (Member SWA : Screen Writers Association, Mumbai) 4, Modern Flats, Barrel Market, Danilimda, Ahmedabad-380028
Email : [email protected]
Mobile No.: 9327032252
