Shachii Manik loves to play with words, that’s how she came up with her impressive body of work. Over the years, she has made up jokes, puzzles, limericks, rhymes, and stories for kids. Her transition from the corporate world to writing for children was not planned though. It was after she became a mother that she first heard the call to tell stories. To keep her kids entertained, she started cooking up tall tales, and since then, there was no turning back.

Shachii has also developed a series of activity books for kids called ‘Inside India’. She recollects the great fun she had while creating the book because she researched all sorts of unusual things from different cities of India and compiled them in the form of fun activities in the book, accompanied by some fascinating factoids. 

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Her observation skills have greatly influenced her writing. Whenever she can, she tries to overhear the conversations of little ones around her to get a peek inside their world view.

“It is very important to see the world through the eyes of a three-year-old. They find joy in little things. We have to be like them and talk their talk if we want to teach them something.”

That’s how she realized that kids enjoyed poetry over prose, and made a conscious switch to writing in verse. 

So how did her first book happen?

“My husband is my partner in rhyme. He’s my co-author on the book as well. We had gone to Goa and were hanging out at the pool, when our kids kept nudging us to narrate stories. My husband and I were on a roll too. That’s exactly how the story was developed. When we read it out to our family and friends, they really enjoyed it. Then the thought of putting it in rhyme and publishing came to us.”

Watch the video to learn more about Shachii and her creative journey. Shachii also does a short read from ‘The Magic Potion’ that is sure to get you excited about reading all of it! 

#ACKandFriends is a weekly live show by our Amar Chitra Katha editorial team, where we connect with India’s top children’s authors and give audiences a sneak peek into the creative process behind writing books for kids. The show airs every Friday at 5:00 pm on our Facebook and Youtube channels.

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