Between the Lines with Bijal Vachharajani

In When Fairyland Lost its Magic, award-winning author-illustrator duo Bijal Vachharajani and Rajiv Eipe conjure up magic in a retelling of beloved fairy tales, with a climatic twist and a sprinkle of fairy dust. Achoo!

In conversation with HarperBroadcast, Bijal Vachharajani talks about her hilarious yet profound new book, When Fairyland Lost its Magic; climate change; and more! Read:

Q. Robert Macfarlane describes When Fairyland Lost its Magic as a retelling of ‘Grimm for our grim Anthropocene.’ How have you reinvented and reinscribed these fairy tales in your book? 

Bijal Vachharajani: I was always fascinated how authors I hugely respect have recast fairy tales for the times we live in, especially some fabulous feminist retellings. It made me think that the human world has influenced these tales, then surely, the biggest crisis we are going through – climate change – must also impact the characters and settings of these stories. After all they’re the ones who live in enchanted forests and under the ocean.

I think children’s books are the best, and their readers the smartest. So I am really hoping this climate fable will resonate with children who have grown up reading fairy tales, but also care about the environment. Humour is definitely something that both Rajiv Eipe and I use, and we think that’s also going to be a big part of the reading experience.

Q. In a recent interview, Salman Rushdie talked about how his affinity to fairy tales is inspired by the fact that they “encapsulate truth.” How has your experience with working with fairy tales been? How would you describe your affinity to them? 

BV: Fairy tales were a huge part of my growing-up reading list, and I would go looking for toadstools in gardens, and for little creatures around trees. As I started working for the environment and for animals, I realised that I was looking for magic and it was right there, under my raptor-shaped nose. It was the magic of nature that fairy tales celebrate, and I think that’s what I always loved about them. After all, isn’t the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly magical?

Q. What are some myths about fantasy and fairy tale narratives that you wish to debunk?

BV: I think many amazing authors have already done that, that princesses are feisty, step parents are awesome, and that no one needs rescuing from a prince. I wanted to celebrate the animals in these stories, because often they’re given a bad rep in the old stories, but the wolf is such a cool being.

Q. Why should readers pick up a copy of When Fairyland Lost its Magic?

BV: For me, the real magic in our lives is nature – all woods are enchanted, all creatures magical, all forests full of stories. That’s what this book celebrates, the real-world magic around us, and how our enchanting natural world is being threatened by the climate crisis. I hope children go looking for magical encounters with nature after reading When Fairyland Lost Its Magic, and poring over its stunning art. Because both Rajiv and I use humour a lot in our work, we hope they will laugh along with us.

Q. By weaving climate-related concerns in your narrative, you manage to integrate some wide-ranging themes. Tell us how the your writing style represents the alarming realities of climate change, and also seeks to inspire change.

BV: Most of my work centres around the climate crisis, and it’s for children, because in them, hope floats. I do a lot of research before writing my books, and most of it is the backbone of the story. What I love is the interplay of writing and illustration, which offers so many possibilities as well. For me it’s really fundamental, children care about the world they’re growing up in, and so when they read about problems and are inspired to become changemakers, they set about doing it.

Q. The stories in the book also employ humour effectively to not only entertain readers, but also to critique various issues that require our personal and collective intellectual engagement. How do you think humour serves as an informant and educator in the book?

BV: I think the most difficult things can be introduced with humour. Humour has a lot of value. And studies actually back that it inspires change, and is a fantastic tool to fight climate change. In classrooms, children laugh and then have so many introspective questions and comments. And you see it best in the works of creators like Rohan Chakravarty, Priya Kuriyan and Ranjit Lal, and of course Rajiv Eipe.

In conversation with Kartik Chauhan for HarperBroadcast