Gajapati Kulapati — A picture book series about an unforgettable elephant
Small noses catch small colds. Big noses catch big colds! With that undeniable logic, Ashok Rajagopalan weaves a humorous story that is immensely satisfying to read. He continues to wield his magic in a book series ( with 4 books currently out) that is popular not just with children, but storytellers, educators and everyone who loves a good story!
We’re introduced to the adorable Gajapati Kulapati’s shenanigans in a world of quirky, kind characters in the four books — Gajapati Kulapati (2010), Gajapati Kulapati Kalabalooosh!(2014),Gajapati Kulapati Gurrburrrrooom!(2016),Gajapati Kulapati Kalicha Kulicha ( 2020) published by Tulika Publishers.
Ashok Rajagopalan who wrote and illustrated the books talks about how the books were created and gives helpful tips to be a better writer and illustrator.
Me — How did Gajapati Kulapati, the gentle friendly elephant come to you?
Ashok — He just came! My mind was an open gate, and he happily ambled in! It wasn’t a logical process; I didn’t ‘create’ him.
In the late ’80s, I left my job as a designer to become a freelancer. I drew many pictures for my portfolio, and one of the samples was a one-page comic about an elephant called Gajapati. I basically had an elephant in the comic to entertain my mother, who loved elephants.
Years later, one Saturday afternoon, I sat down to write a story to be used in a bookstore’s story-telling session. I brought back Gajapati and added Kulapati to his name, because I wanted beat and rhythm in my narrative, right from the name of the elephant. The story naturally flowed; I finished it in an hour.
Me — Tell us more about the playful illustrations in the book series.
Ashok — The first book, and the fourth, Kalicha Kulicha, was drawn on the computer. I usually choose the medium I am currently playing around with, and then I was into drawing on the computer.
For Kalabalooosh and Gurburooom, I first drew the pictures on paper and used software only for the coloring. I used a pen brush for the lines and a 6B pencil for shading. The publishers preferred a clean computer style, so I went back to pure software for Kalicha Kulicha.
My storyboards are vague and dreamy, and never final: I allow for surprises when I do the finals. I never know exactly what I will get when I begin the final illustration. I believe in leaving room for subconscious magic.
Me — I enjoy the element of mischief and fun in your work. Is it as effortless as it seems?
Ashok — Hmm. Great question. Difficult to answer directly. Yes, and no. A simple way to explain it is: won’t something you have been doing for years take less effort than when you began? Contrast the first time you sat on a bicycle with now.
It also helps that I think of myself as a mischievous and fun writer and illustrator.
I think writers should write what comes naturally to them, for the writing to appear effortless. And natural. Or keep at it, till it comes naturally to them.
Humour is my forte. To write a serious story, for example, I will have to write a terabyte worth of stuff before misery comes naturally to me!
Me — Did the visuals come to you first or the words, when you thought of writing the first book?
Ashok — Visuals, always. Visuals, sounds and emotions. I was only describing in words what I saw. I don’t know if all writers do it this way; I don’t know how words can appear first. For the reader, it’s the other way round. We feed them words, which they turn into pictures, sounds, smells and emotions.
Me — Do you read aloud as you write to see how it sounds?
Ashok — I do that. Who said writers shouldn’t have the same fun that readers have? The writer is the first reader, isn’t he?
Me — The different characters and the way they speak and the sounds are perfect for read-alouds.
Ashok — I always write words to be read aloud. Probably that is why Gajapati Kulapati has become a storyteller’s favourite.
I also try to give each character unique ways of speaking, within the scope of the word count. Difficult to do that extensively in picture books, but easier in chapter books or novels. In chapter books or novels, ideally, a reader should be able to identify the speaker from the dialogue, without the tags. Ideally, but not always possible.
Me — What is it like to work on sequels — they require a consistency of sorts, don’t they…
Ashok — Right! Sequels are like good soup or sambar; consistency is the key. Writing a sequel, compared to writing a fresh new story, has its advantages and disadvantages.
One kind of writer’s block is having a lot of options in creating characters or worlds. That block disappears when you write a sequel. Because you have fewer options and can get to thinking up just the story suitable for existing characters and world.
And that advantage is also your obvious disadvantage. Fewer options equals less freedom. The limits of realism, the limits of character transformation, the limits given by the genre itself: they …well, limit you.
I have subconsciously created some laws for the Gajapati Kulapati stories. No character is unkind, everybody seems to love everybody else, and nobody, except the elephant, has a proper name. The characters are either motherly or childish. These I have established unintentionally, and I have to stick to these unwritten rules.
Me — The books have been received very well…As their creator, why do you think the series is a success?
Ashok — I am very grateful for the kind of reception the gentle giant got. If I knew exactly why the Gajapati Kulapati series is a success, I would be a very wise man. I am not. I really don’t know.
Readers say that it is the name Gajapati Kulapati itself, which shouldn’t work, you know, technically speaking, since picture book readers are supposed to have difficulty with multisyllabic names.
Maybe children love the books because children love elephants. Maybe it’s fun to read the stories out loud, with all the loud noises. Kids like being noisy, don’t they? I really don’t know why the stories are this successful, I’m just grateful for the love they received.
Me — Is there more room for experimenting when you are both the writer and illustrator?
Ashok — More freedom, yes. I can decide what can be transferred from text to picture and vice versa. I visualize the scene and decide what can appear as pictures and what as words.
I don’t have that freedom when I illustrate another author’s story. Then the text is sacred, and has to be kept as is.
For example, when I am the sole creator, the text can say, “Bandu the monkey dived into the river,” while the picture can also show, lying in wait behind a rock, a toothy crocodile. I can even leave out ‘the monkey,’ if I want.
Me — What are your thoughts on comic timing in picture books — Is there a rhythm to it — how do you bring that out in the words and the art?
Ashok — There should be pace and timing in picture books, even when they are not funny stories.
The pace is primarily designed for the rhythm of the overall piece, the plot. One intends to give the reader the satisfaction of having read a good story.
But timing in details is also necessary, in sentence construction, choice of words and sounds. One’s intention there is to give the reader a satisfying experience — Plot for story, and treatment for experience.
In comic stories, timing in details is especially important, even essential. It is like orchestrating music. There is a rhythm in the words of a story, which, taken in full control, leads on to music.
In the art, illustrators do it with patterns — patterns in the composition of a picture, or a sequence of pictures, and in the details of a picture. I do it subconsciously most times, and consciously other times.
The pictures in Sunu- Sunu snail— Storm in the Garden, written by Sandhya Rao and published by Tulika Publishers were my attempt to create visual music, in the swaying of the trees, the spiralling of the snail’s shell, or the long curve of the flock of flying crows.
Me — Do your illustrations happen or do you plan them out right from the moment you read the text?
Ashok — Sometimes they just spring to my mind! Other times I sit and imagine. I begin by reading the text, noting down the places where I need references and the pages where the highlights are.
Some pages are more important than others. Where there is stress in the text, those places need to be stressed visually. Then I plan a rough storyboard. The treatment and style of the writing will influence, sometimes dictate, the choice of medium, and the style and treatment of the pictures. Cute or wacky? Detailed or simple?
If the editor hasn’t specifically requested a particular medium, I take time to decide the material to be used: pastels, pencils, watercolours, inks, software… Finally I do a sample page, and if satisfied with it, send it to the editor for approval, along with the storyboard. After approval, I get on with illustrating the whole story.
Me — What things does one keep in mind when making books for children beginning to read?
Ashok — Simplicity in language and pictures. Clear and direct communication. Fun, wherever possible, to be incorporated into the text and the visual.
Preferably more familiar things than strange things. If strange or alien things have to be shown, put them in familiar settings. The vocabulary is at its most basic; most of the words have only one or two syllables. Each page has only one short sentence, or two.
Me — Do questions like ‘ Is it appropriate for children’ cross your mind when you write and illustrate? Do editors give advice on that aspect?
Ashok — Publishers and editors have their policies on that aspect. And I am an old fuddy duddy, anyway. I aim for political correctness, and don’t write or draw anything that I wouldn’t tell a child in person. The most risque thing I have ever done is the Gurburrrooom that comes from Gajapati Kulapati’s behind!
Me — Haha. Yes. One of the reasons I love the books are the sounds — they have a very Indian ring to them! That must lead to a lot of hilarity in Read-alouds. Do you enjoy doing read-alouds and activities with children?
Ashok — Yes and no. I enjoy the read aloud session when I do it, but I feel that it is best left to a professional storyteller while I spend my time writing more books. My interactions, however, till date were delightful times where I made a lot of noise along with the kids.
Live sessions are great for a new writer since they learn what works and what doesn’t. Also it instils confidence when one’s stories are well received.
Me — How did you journey into children’s literature?
Ashok — I set up shop as a freelance illustrator, and drew pictures for posters, ads, storyboards, mascots, textbooks, magazines …all kinds of stuff.
Children’s literature has a need for more illustration than adult literature.
My first published and credited illustration was for Chandamama’s Junior Quest, in 1989, and my first book, Eecha Poocha, written by Kala Sashikumar, published by Tulika Publishers in 1996. I got more and more work from publishers of children’s books, textbooks and magazines, and I found myself doing more work for kids than for grown ups, and having more fun.
Me — What are some of the most interesting books you’ve worked on?
Ashok — As an illustrator: Eecha Poocha, written by Kala Sashikumar, where I showed movement by drawing multiple images. The page where the scared cat runs away from danger is a flurry of stripes with occasional heads and tails.
A Silly Story of Bondapalli by Shamim Padamsee is the funniest story I drew pictures for.
Grandma’s Eyes by Sandhya Rao has two pages of pictures for each line, which, when flapped, will make the pictures move like magic.
All three published by Tulika.
Gudugu Thadugu, written and illustrated by yours truly, and published by Pratham, has a range of helpers, a doctor, masons, a carpenter, milkman and plumber, who roll downhill as a big ball of destruction.
My first book as writer, Witchsnare published by Penguin India in 2007, is also India’s first gamebook. It has ten different endings depending on how the reader plays it.
The recent Ha …Ha… Hasya, published by Tulika is a book where I went all out to make readers LOL.
Me — Tell us about ‘ Witchsnare’. What is a gamebook? Was working on it different from all your other projects.
Ashok — A gamebook is an interactive game in book form. Mine is an Indian fantasy with witches, sages, amulets, outlaws and pirates. The story has modular components, and you are given options through-out the book. To escape from the witch and go to the harbour, go to 51. To go back to the palace, go to 22. To remain and fight the witch, go to 11.
Options like that. One challenge I had was with the actual narration; it was in first person, present tense.
The stories we read are either in the first person or third, and usually in the past tense.
Another challenge was, since the reader was going to be the character playing the protagonist, was gender. The reader could be a boy or girl, and it should work for either. The reader has two friends, a boy and girl for company and conversation. That was difficult to do, but I managed.
To juggle the various components, I had to not do an outline like anyone would do for a novel, but a flowchart, like someone would do for an interactive game. But it was fun!
Me — Has your experience in advertising and marketing influenced your career as a writer and illustrator? Do tell us more about the different things you’ve done professionally.
Ashok — It helped majorly. Nothing in one’s life is an absolute waste.
Marketing and advertising is all about effective communication. A piece of communication is complete and effective only when it reaches the audience and makes it take the expected action.
The oldest advertising strategy is the AIDA concept: get Attention, evoke Interest, increase Desire and provoke Action. In a book I write and draw, I attempt to move the readers to laughter. That’s when my job is complete.
I have also been a graphic designer, animator and a copywriter.
Me — What was your experience as an animator like?
Ashok — I wanted to become a lot of things, and an animator was one of them. I used to do all kinds of animation at school, scribbling all over my textbooks and tearing sheets off notebooks.
But animation, compared to illustration, is more hard work. The rewards, personally speaking only, are not worth the time or effort, unless it’s a big team. I had a fling with 2D and 3D animation for a while, but returned to my first love soon.
I prefer to continue as an illustrator, and get my rewards faster. I am quite content not to do any animation, but to sit back and enjoy the works of other hardworking animators, God bless their tribe!
Me — What is your earliest memory of making art?
Ashok — Stick figures at three. Abstract art in its purest form! Parents, aunts and grandparents teaching me how to draw the sun, clouds, rain … Kindergarten Miss saying kind things about my stick figures.
Me — How did you develop a feel for art as a child? Did you visit museums — looked at books, something of that sort?
Ashok — Everything of that sort! Museums, zoos, circuses, exhibitions, libraries. I always was involved with paper. I drew, I wrote, I read, I cut and folded, took photographs …I also did crosswords and other puzzles. Encyclopedias, Articles in magazines, books on art and artists — they taught me so much.
Me — Do you think going to an art school matters?
Ashok — It can matter. Not to the publisher though. They judge the quality of your work from the samples you show them, or from past work.
I wish I went to some art school though. There are so many gaps in my learning. Some stuff I know more than those who were trained, and some less. Sometimes I learn from their work.
Me — What advice would you like to give to people interested in making this a career?
Ashok — Give of your best, and always remember that this is supposed to be a fun job! It’s not like accounting or engineering where your skills are not dependent on whether you are slogging or having fun.
If you are not having fun, it shows in any art. It shows in your writing; it shows in your illustration.
You should have fun even when you’re writing a serious story! Ask Shakespeare.
Me — One is often asked to get a ‘distinct style’ as an illustrator and a writer. What are your thoughts on that? Consistency and versatility — aren’t both of them equally important?
Ashok — You are right. Both are important, though there’s an apparent contradiction. If you have a distinct style, like R. K. Laxman or Mario Miranda, your work is easily recognized everywhere. Sadly, I don’t have one. If not for the credits, you wouldn’t know I was the illustrator. I guess my versatility has ruined that.
I adapt the style and treatment to the voice of the text, as I mentioned earlier. But there’s an advantage I have, though. If I had one distinct style, I would not have been commissioned to illustrate all kinds of genres and subjects.
You lose some, you gain some, I guess.
Me — Apart from being good at illustrating, what other skills would be valuable to an illustrator?
Ashok — Reading! Good illustrators are great readers. On a very basic, practical level, an illustrator who reads the book properly would not make mistakes, would he? He wouldn’t draw a brown Dobermann when the text says it’s a black Labrador.
On a bigger level, a good illustrator will read and draw, heavily inspired. He will add value instead of being a mere decorator of the page. He will carry the mood of the book and reader to newer heights and make the experience memorable.
Me — What is your favorite medium at the moment?
Ashok — Watercolors and color pencils together, at the moment.
When it comes to media, I love experimenting. I have used pastels, inks, software, acrylics, pencils and airbrushes.
My favorite technique is using my hands and fingers instead of a pen or brush. Works best with pastels or poster paint. Exciting Deja vu too; throws you back into childhood!
Me — Tell us about illustrators and books you admire.
Ashok — Mario Miranda for his unique stylization. Quentin Blake for his casual-looking scribbles. Charles Schulz and Tom Wilson for teaching me to convey so much with minimal lines.
Hundreds of books but will pick one for now –
‘Where the Wild Things are’ by Maurice Sendak for capturing a child’s capacity for fantasy. Children are creatures in captivity, poor things. They need, really need, escapist fantasy. A break from a world controlled by big people.
The Gajapati Kulapati books have been translated to various Indian languages. You could find them here.
The idea behind this series of interviews is to give readers a glimpse into the world of children’s publishing and picture book illustration in India — what illustrators actually do and how they work their magic. Stay tuned!
Read the interviews with children’s book illustrators Ishita Biswas , Sunita , Deepa Balsavar, Bhargav Kulkarni, Ruchi Mhasane
