What Cats Dream

simply lovely, i read this and i guess the biggest reason for me was the very nice naming you have given to these characters, then me myself am a bangash and i have a cat too, so i dunno why but i sort of identified with it, goes to speak how easily one can put himself or herself into any given situation provided the words similarize or familiarize with you... i am honored to read you ma`am. you do great justice to being you.. very original

hi shandana: i dont know if youre still following up on your article but in your footnote you say you wrote this to give your fifteen month old something from our land. i have an almost-one-year-old so i relate to that. like most chowkwallahs (i hate the word ``chowkies``) i thought of eliot and his macavity. plus i imagined topcat and his cronies in their ongoing masti with the fat police-wallah.

having said that i enjoyed the piece (and yes you should absolutely try your hand at getting it published. you may be well familiar with the al-hamra press. i know that they were putting an anthology of short stories and poems together that never saw the light because they were unable to find enough material that was publication-worthy. if you like i can e-mail you a number. its an obvious suggestion for a publisher, but i mention it just in case you havent looked into it.)

but...i personally feel that what a poem says is more important than how it says it as far material for children is concerned. yes, invoking the imagination is essential and it is nice if our children try and relate to heroes called tipu and amna (or duffy-ud-din and bhooki aloo)rather than jack and jill, but for that we have tot batot and countless others i am sure that we have not bothered to explore perhaps. maybe sharing those with our children in a language that is their mother tongue should help bridge the gap. a poem like yours is great but i think it takes a new place, the place of childrens literature in english. i dont think it replaces anything.

do you remember bradford, 1993?

Re- #23 Ansari

Nice to be back dude! Read some of your i-logs (the one with the suicidal youngster stands out). Have decided to try my hand at it too. take a look :)))

Anybody here read/heard ``Nanni Nazmain Khel Aur Geet`` by Zara Mumtaz published by OUP which comes complete with audio cassette (previously published by Shalimar Recording)? If so, any opinions?

beautiful lovely shandana, what can I say?
of late chowk has been boring, of a pallor that`s gray.
each week i log-in, with fingers a-crossed,
hoping for piece that deserves not to be tossed
in the bin. without much ado.
and then there it is! ! the story of duffy and aalu!
though it bothers me that the poem’s incomplete,
unedited, unbound and unprinted, without illustrations replete.
but i`ll tarry a while to see it printed
and publish you shall, or else you`re demented!!!
the idea, the story, it all rocks ! I truly love it!
don`t waste no time, and quickly send it for an edit!
shandana, you kick ass, good luck and God Bless!
(ps. will you send me an autograph if i give you an address??)

#31: Not only Sufi Tabassum but Maqbool Jahangir was also one of Ferozson`s favorites. I agree with you on your comment about his work. Did he also write Toat Batoat ? Well, I was ready to buy ``Daes Daes Kee Kahaniyaan`` again this time and had to literally hold the reigns. Despite the fact that one should not judge a book by its cover, but once you have gone through that book several times even the cover can make you fall in love with the book. I do not remember the exact stories or the countries the book highlights...I just remember I had lovely memories of this book. And for many many years, I kept the said book under my pillow - often times wondering when it will start flying. :)

ZahraJ:
Sufi Tabbassums lullabies and nursery rhymes are superb and amply available. Iran and former USSR print the highest quality of childrens` books--even in urdu.

There is no need (market) for english nursery rhymes in Pakistan or abroad. Vanity publications gather dust in basements. Paki ammaNs always prefer `faaarin` (angraiz)stuff so that the kid can say mama with the propper texan yahoo drawl .

On another note: Something like, Garfield, would look real cute for the artwork.

I was amazed to find ``Daes Daes Kee Kahaniyaan`` published by Feroz Sons still alive and living at their local outlet in Lahore. I have repurchased this book so many times for the way it is narrated and the magical ambience it creates. A must read book even for the adults!

My suggestion will be to consult a local publisher or Ferozsons. Also, if you are adamant to proceed you can disregard the publishers who are averse to your creative effort. The other important aspect will be to checkout the local daycare centers or interview at least 20 - 30 mothers with toddlers and get their take. Kind of analyze how your audience feels and responds....

ali-1:25

Dr. SooSoo, Here comes chusni:

Cats dream of tomcats, and dream of mice
when they get `em often, feline really nice

Also, to that end:

Asian American Writers Workshop
Poets and Writers

are two institutions that might be checked out to see how work has been shopped around or self published.

My suggestion is that you also try and see if Pakistani-Americans/South Asian American printing presses/publishers would be interested in this concept. Shandana`s book would be the first of many, ideally. There really is a dearth of books about the subcontinent written by desi writers-in any organized manner, but there is an audience for them. To back up Bina`s point, we are often looking for books for nieces and nephew that have familiar cultural references, but it takes some legwork. If SA-Americans know that there is a growing body of such work directed at children and have a way of ordering through email, etc., a press could do well.

If its for the local kids and to replace the ususal Ba Ba black sheep etc....I would actually like to see the urdu version of it....

Dr. Seuss must have turned in his grave.

Shandana:
The moment I read this, I found it so visual... ANIMATION, I felt. A smart short flick. If you need a voice-over for Bhooki Aloo, according to reliable sources I convey `hunger` well! Not too bad at purring either;)

Soundmeister,

Hi, how`ve you been? Long time no see . . . kahan ghayab thay aap? :o)

Aamir

Hey Slink,

For a while there I thought this was some kind of parable and was desperately trying to put human faces on the cats

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was pretty sure your bhooki aloo was benazir, but somehow couldn`t picture duffy-ud-din (adorable name that!)

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glad to know it`s a kiddo book!

Was this only the first part? seemed a little incomplete

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for that matter most kids` bookd lack closure

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maybe that`s just an adult concept then

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My nephews read absolute crap. Mostly Tazo/Pokemon cards and WWE vital stats. My bachpan ke Enid Blytons gathering dust in the library. Kids don`t know what they miss. I must`ve read ``Don`t Be Silly Mr. Twiddle`` thousands of times between ages 6 and 10.

Good initiative.

Shandana - you`re right and most of them have actually been watered down from the original gruesome versions. However the vocabulary and the concepts in your verse is a lot more sophisticated than the average nursery rhyme, and I think would be appreciated by adults reading the rhyme as well as the kids they`re reading them to. Maybe you could develop something along the lines of ``maus``, the classic comic for adults?

This sounds like a story of pretty active, devious, and chalak cat. I think it will be real nice to have art work depicting different moods of Mr./Ms. Duffy-u-Din-Bangash & and Mr./Ms. Bhooki Aloo. This reminds me of Sabrina`s cat - Salem(I guess was his name) and also ``The truth about cats and dogs`` movie. I am sorry I have never liked cats, but still like the name, ``Mano Billi.`` It has certain sweetness to it.

What Cats Dream

billi ko khwaab maiN nazar aatay hain chheechRRay
Hai zun-mureed voh--jisay bhaatay haiN heejRRay.

The names are hilarious. Now if you had been Madonna, people would have been going helter-skelter to acquire your work, even if it discussed freudian theories. But unfortunately, you`re not. But who knows, you might be able to develop a niche for this kind of work. Best of luck.

Cheers.

anny etc,

tried the book group.

bina,

this is meant for anyone who responds to rhyme. i know my 15 month old does. the old standards like jack and jill, itsy bitsy spider, its raining its pouring the old man is snoring. when you read nursery rhymes aloud you realize most of them really have very little to do with babies apart from the fact that they rhyme; actually, some of them are quite disturbing.

What age group is this meant for? The humor in this poem is probably best suited for teens I think? Who might not necessarily appreciate an illustrated series (too babyish unless it had really macabre cartoons - ask Shahid!). One thing I know about children`s publishing - they are very picky about their target markets and if something is to be published it must be clear what audience it`s aimed at.

Now I`ve got McCavity (sp?) the Mystery Cat playing in my head!!!!

..Book Group used to publish local authors, pretty illustrations and all, for the kids ... that might be a good place?

shandana,
the book group has brilliant books for children, in urdu...theyre doing a great job of bringing urdu story books to bachooz, something that was very rare a few years ago... these books are screamingly bright, funny and informative.. and very reasonably priced also... aamlate (omlette), naani, khatarnaak chipkali, mera sheher and mota haathi are some titles from the top of my head, all localized and so much fun to read.. i buy some whenever i can for nieces and newphews, most of whom are encouraged by school and parents to read only english story books, lady birds, etc etc.. i feel these books will help the coming children (how funny that sounds) take more interest in urdu fiction, literature, than we do or can

a friend who does illustrations for childrens books professionally might illustrate aloo and family for free or a nominal fee, if she can be enticed...maybe publishers will be more receptive to the complete `product`?... ill be in touch

Yaar Godot,

Don`t be a munh-basoora please. Let`s keep your personal tiffs out of tihs.

This was a cutoo si poem, that even a jaahil non-front-pager like me liked and appreciated. Shandana if you write more of these please keep posting. I have a few friends who`d love reading and/or listening to this .

rabia,

many many writers have composed poems about their cats. cats tend to make more interesting poetic subjects than most animals. character. duffy and aloo play out this food fight every day in my house.

thank you all for your comments.

Reminds me of the `Saanja Maanja` stories.

twin kittens, but Maanja was grey and Saanja was brown.

Or was it the other way round?

(Damn, this cat poetry thing is contagious)

And Yaeh, there was a third kitten also. It was even smaller. Zulfi was tha name and he was Snow white.

They all used to live in Karachi. (Block-N, North Nazimabad)

:)

Thankyou for taking me back to my childhood.

Regards,

SoulKeeper

Charming! I think it`s a great idea to write within the local idiom so that the kids can identify with it better. Duffy-ud-din is priceless! Maybe we should get some writers together and come up with an anthology.

Yes it does remind you of T S Eliot`s Old Possum`s Book of Practical Cats . . . http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/258.html

ironic that it`s so t.s. eliotish, then. Or is that what you were aiming for - a pakistanised eliot kitty poem?

Very cute...wish I was a kid again...fact that I`m not didn`t stop me from enjoying the piece, though. :-)

How about a resident chowkie artist to illustrate? Anyone?

Beauuuuuutiful names!!! Duffy-ud-din! Love it!

You should go ahead with it. Find someone to do the illustrations and then take it to a publishing house. It may be putting the cart before the horse, but considering the way things are done in Pakistan, it`s a worth it step.

Well well well!!! A story for little children written under a column heading “Djinn & Tonic” with a picture of a martini glass! There couldn’t be a better commentary on this piece.

Newspapers generally have weekly children`s sections, have you tried those? Publishers might be more receptive after seeing the series appear in a newspaper.

Shandy:

...is the inspector bearded?
...beans is lucky!

lve,

t

Shandana, this was charming and so inventive and well written. You have one lucky baby!

I don`t know about children`s publishing in Pakistan, but it is pretty dismal in the US. I know many children`s writers here and they have a really tough time. Children`s publishing is not a very high margin business (like the rest of publishing is, hah?) and it`s particularly difficult when people like Madonna gets into the business. When I was at the Frankfurt Book Fair she was all the news whereas there are so many talented writers around. The publishers like repeating the same formula.

Are there any more publishers you can approach about this? This would be a really cool, illustrated book. Maybe a UK publisher, even?

Shandana,

I think its an excellent idea and this is a great place to start. There is a market for children books like these...perhaps you might want to try other publishers or see if there are small printing presses that will publish this and similar work.

Any chowkies know of presses/publishers?