New Delhi, a talking alligator, a stapler who cries tears of loneliness, a kitchen that hands out words of wisdom and is temperamental enough to literally run away... all of them are part of the magical universe of journalist and writer Shazi Zaman where “everything speaks as long as you listen.”
In “The Alligator and the Stapler and Other Magic Tales,” his first book for children, the author evokes fantastic stories and characters, evocatively illustrated by Papiya Saha.
The inspiration for “The Alligator and the Stapler…” came from his twin daughters’ love of stories during lockdown.
“During lockdown, I started telling stories to my twin daughters about magical events that bring them closer to the things and beings around them, where the world around them (trees, birds and many things) speaks to them. They discover that everything 'speaks' only if you listen to them,” Zaman said.
His daughters, Tara and Arzoo, who are now seven years old, also appear in the stories as main characters.
In the main story, about an alligator and a stapler, the sisters encounter a big, friendly lizard who finds a picture of a “baby alligator” on a stapler and wants to take it home.
The stapler, having heard words like family and love, comes to life at night and wants to reunite with her “gator Pa”, but at the same time he doesn't want to leave her “didi” behind.
The emotional stagnation ends with a withered Ashok tree saying, "If you open your heart, you will realize that everyone around you is your family."
In another story titled “The Day the Kitchen Escaped,” the twin sisters receive a lesson in respect for food and cleanliness in their humble kitchen. Otherwise, she will run away.
Other stories in the book unravel similar fascinating adventures of Tara and Arzoo when they find snakes and ladders from their board game alive and talking. There's also the cuckoo clock and the elephants on the curtains that decide to come to life.
The author of three novels, including historical fiction titled "Akbar," Zaman said he returns to "his childhood interest of telling stories to children."
“A narrator does not have to be limited by his past. That being said, let me admit that with these stories I return to my childhood interest in telling stories to children. For almost a decade I was a storyteller for young listeners of Akashvani (All India Radio). I think this phase started when I was in Class 6. I am happy to resurrect it,” the author said.
“The Alligator and the Stapler…”, published by Om Books International, is available for purchase at online and offline bookstores.
In “The Alligator and the Stapler and Other Magic Tales,” his first book for children, the author evokes fantastic stories and characters, evocatively illustrated by Papiya Saha.
The inspiration for “The Alligator and the Stapler…” came from his twin daughters’ love of stories during lockdown.
“During lockdown, I started telling stories to my twin daughters about magical events that bring them closer to the things and beings around them, where the world around them (trees, birds and many things) speaks to them. They discover that everything 'speaks' only if you listen to them,” Zaman said.
His daughters, Tara and Arzoo, who are now seven years old, also appear in the stories as main characters.
In the main story, about an alligator and a stapler, the sisters encounter a big, friendly lizard who finds a picture of a “baby alligator” on a stapler and wants to take it home.
The stapler, having heard words like family and love, comes to life at night and wants to reunite with her “gator Pa”, but at the same time he doesn't want to leave her “didi” behind.
The emotional stagnation ends with a withered Ashok tree saying, "If you open your heart, you will realize that everyone around you is your family."
In another story titled “The Day the Kitchen Escaped,” the twin sisters receive a lesson in respect for food and cleanliness in their humble kitchen. Otherwise, she will run away.
Other stories in the book unravel similar fascinating adventures of Tara and Arzoo when they find snakes and ladders from their board game alive and talking. There's also the cuckoo clock and the elephants on the curtains that decide to come to life.
The author of three novels, including historical fiction titled "Akbar," Zaman said he returns to "his childhood interest of telling stories to children."
“A narrator does not have to be limited by his past. That being said, let me admit that with these stories I return to my childhood interest in telling stories to children. For almost a decade I was a storyteller for young listeners of Akashvani (All India Radio). I think this phase started when I was in Class 6. I am happy to resurrect it,” the author said.
“The Alligator and the Stapler…”, published by Om Books International, is available for purchase at online and offline bookstores.
