Manorama Jafa

Manorama Jafa is an Indian writer of children's literature, who has authored over 100 books and 600 other publications like stories, articles and research papers.[1][2] She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on her the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of literature.[3]

Manorama Jafa
Born1932
India
OccupationWriter
AwardsPadma Shri

Biography
Creativity starts at a very young age. To garner and hone it further, it is very important that it is polished and harnessed right from the very beginning, says Manorama Jafa.[2]

Manorama Jafa was born in 1932[4] and secured a master's degree in Geography from University of Allahabad. After her marriage to Virender Singh Jafa, she took up writing, in the late 60s, when her husband was posted in Patna. The initial efforts were columns in local newspapers which soon developed into story writing.[1]

When her husband moved to the US to work for the United Nations, she took a course in story writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology[1] to propel a career which yielded over 100 books and several hundred stories.

Manorama has two children, eldest a son and the youngest, a daughter, Navina Jafa, a locally known Kathak dancer.[1]

Career, achievements and legacy

Manorama Jafa is a prolific writer with more than 100 books and many research papers to her credit. She writes in Hindi and English and her stories have been translated into many languages such as Japanese,[5] Dutch, Italian and Spanish.[2][6] From her first book, Donkey on the Bridge,[1] Jafa writes in simple language,[4] mostly in text and pictures format,. Jafa writes for adults as well, such as her book Devika, which has more political overtones.[1]

Apart from the regular books she has written, Manorama Jafa's contributions to the cause of Children's literature have been reported to be noteworthy.[1][5] She has also written themed books, such as Gabbar and Babbar and I am Sona, which are aimed at children with special needs.[2] She has launched a special program for traumatized children, Book Therapy and has distributed books to children living in areas distressed by calamities like Afghanistan and in tsunami affected areas in India.[2] She confessed the idea struck her on seeing a picture of a crying child holding a ball for comfort after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.[2]

Jafa has produced many research papers on children's literature and a book on writing children's literature[2] and is pioneering a movement for better books for children. She also conducts regular workshops for emerging writers to promote children's literature in countries like Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, which are said to have influenced the present boom in Children's literature.[1] She is also credited with initiating a home library movement towards this end.[1]

Manaorama Jafa is also the General Secretary of the Indian National Section of the International Board on Books for Young People[7] (IBBY).[5] She presided over the 26th Congress of the IBBY, conducted in 1989, as its Chairperson. She was also involved with the Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO, as its children's book specialist. She has served in the juries of the IIY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award (2000-2001) as its chairperson and the UNESCO Prize for Books on Tolerance (1999-2000) as a member.ref name="Jury">"Jury". Amazon. 2012–2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.</ref>[8]

Manorama Jafa, along with noted cartoonist, Shankar, founded the Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children (AWIC),[1][2] for which she serves as the Secretary General.[5] She is the editor of the quarterly journal published by AWIC, the only professional journal on children's literature. She is also associated with the National Book Trust, New Delhi as its editorial consultant.

Awards and recognitions

Manorama Jafa has been recognized by several organizations. IBC, in 1999, rated Manorama as one of the top 2000 scholars of 20th Century.[2] Nami Island International Children's Book Festival, Nambook Festival,[9] named her as A living treasure of children's literature in India, in 2010.[2]

The Government of India awarded Padma Shri to Manorama Jafa, in 2014, honouring her efforts to the cause of promoting Children's literature.[3]

Selected works
  • Manorama Jafa (15 October 2013). Sadako of Hiroshima. Ratna Sagar. p. 16. ISBN 978-9350360842.
  • Manorama Jafa (15 October 2013). The Parrot and the Mynah. Ratna Sagar. p. 16. ISBN 978-9350360804.
  • Manorama Jafa (1 January 2008). The Circle. Ratna Sagar. p. 16. ISBN 978-8170700692.
  • Manorama Jafa (1 January 2011). Tree Growers. Ratna Sagar. p. 16. ISBN 978-8170700425.
  • Manorama Jafa (1 January 2009). Great Tales from India. Khaas Kitab Foundation. p. 16. ISBN 978-8188236428.
  • Manorama Jafa (1 January 2009). Hira. Ratna Sagar. p. 12. ISBN 978-8170700487.
  • Manorama Jafa (1 November 2003). Kapil, El Amante De Los Libros (Spanish Edition). Shinsekai Kenkyusho. p. 22. ISBN 978-4880126630.

See also

References
  1. "A Life of Stories". The New Indian Express. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  2. "No child's play". The Hindu. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  3. "Padma Awards Announced". Circular. Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 25 January 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  4. "Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature Bio". Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  5. "Emperor, Empress revisit India center after 53 years". Japan Times. 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  6. "Translation". Jacket Flap.com. 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  7. "IBBY". IBBY. 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  8. "Midpoint". Midpoint. 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  9. "Nambook Festival". Nami Island. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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