How do you see things? No, the inference is not between optimism and pessimism. It is more about individual perception; about creativity, about your way of understanding concepts. Sounds complex? Philosophical? Well, actually, Sirish Rao addresses these issues in a vividly illustrated book for children!

Sirish Rao’s That's How I See Things, illustrated by tribal artist Bhajju Shyam, has been named one of the Best Books for Children (2007) by the Sunday Times of London. The book was selected from thousands of submissions. Says noted children’s book critic Nicolette Jones, “Elegantly produced, with composite animals made out of several creatures, it shows that books are where wonders are found, and inspires readers to make hybrids of their own”. Time Out London had also featured That's How I See Things in their Christmas roundup of children’s books.

The book tells the story of Siena Baba, a happy artist who sees the world differently. For instance, when people see the moon in the sky, he sees the sky with a hole in it. He also paints the world he sees very differently which does not go down well with his audience— the people.

One day, he paints some really extraordinary animals— a fusion of two totally unrelated creatures. Like the Croco-rooster, the Elephant-crab, the deer-tortoise, the peacock-pig, the monkey-porcupine, and so on. People complain that none of his creatures seemed real, and Siena says, “I can’t help it. That’s how I see things”. The interesting possibilities these animals raise, and where he places his magical animals is what the rest of the story is about.

Art directs the story

Curiously, the animals came first. The story evolved thereafter. Explains Sirish, who had earlier collaborated with Bhajju Shyam for the internationally successful London Jungle Book.

Original thinking and individuality in perception as concepts have always been admirable; so also the positioning of these concepts in such a way that it freely enters and fits beautifully within the mind space of children— through weird and strange animals, the one thing that catches the attention of all children, anywhere in the world.

Credit for this goes to the brilliant illustration of tribal artist Bhajju Shyam, whose sense of primary colour and strong lines is arresting. And Bhajju’s strength is not just his tribe’s unique visual language, but also a unique and unaffected perception of the world around him. The animals fill the pages, while the text knits it together.

That is how I see things, with its sparse text and full page visuals does come as a breath of fresh air; but the sore point is the logical conclusion the book invites you to take— that free will, creativity, individuality, magical dreams, etc are possible only in a book. Definitely not, refutes Sirish, justifying the placing of these animals in a book, rather than in the real world. “I’m personally fond of books. Books are spaces where you meet great minds, great thoughts.”

Since the time, he penned his first book, Leaf life in 1997, Sirish Rao has authored 16 books so far. Though he is particularly fond of writing for children, his writing is quite eclectic and his books range from novels and children’s books to re-telling of myths and collections of pop art, several of which have won international awards including the Outstanding Book of the Year (2002) of the Independent Publishers’ Awards, USA.

Most of his books reflect his interests in nature, travel, people, the oddities of language, and mountaineering. In fact, this Bangalore-born 32-year-old had once considered taking up mountaineering as a career before he settled down to be an author. So, what next? “I am working on a novel”, he says. “I am struggling with it, which is very good, I think”, he adds.