A desi portion

Raksha Bharadia, editor, Chicken Soup for the Indian Teenage Soul, on why Indian teens needed a separate version

They are short reads of true-life accounts, narrated simply and come straight from the heart. The stories inevitably strike a chord. I can tell this for while compiling and editing them I witnessed the magic of the stories. Our issues are in a sense universal and hence there is a feeling of identifying, of 'I am not alone in going through this' which happens when one is reading the Chicken Soup series. That understanding is embalming, a consolation.u00a0

Why does the Indian teenager need a special edition?

Indian teens deal with all universal teen issues whether they be of body too-big feet,u00a0 acne-faced, cracking voice, developing breasts; or mind (psychological) peer pressures, academic stress, self esteem. But whereas the globe is on a specialisation spree and stresses on the importance of finding one's niche, in India, education to a large extent is still about being good in science, mathematics and languages. Though we are moving towards a nuclear family system teens here must deal with extensive family webs and expectations from parents.

Different gender friendships are still not that acceptable, abuse is still something to be ashamed of, as much for the victim as it is for the perpetrator. These stories reflect the way the teens react to the complex and amazing milieu that India is. And yes, to read about Sandeep and Anjali, Mumbai and Bangalore feels closer to home than to read about Peter and Sue or New York.

Is there a difference between what you read as a teenager and what your daughters read now?u00a0

Yes. Right now the craze for the elder one (14) is Stephanie Meyer and Meg Cabot while the younger (11) on is on Jerry Spinelli and Roald Dahl. There is so much more in terms of quantity today than what we had when we were teens. Their tastes too are different. They enjoy work with more speed in it and are more inclined towards futuristic themes. Also series like Saga, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Mates Dates etc which deal more with the psyche of the 'other' gender, friends parents and schools.u00a0 I think books dealing with 'friends' is big for today's teens.u00a0

Don't novels like say Twilight or Harry Potter take away the charm of Chicken Soup which follows a day-to-day kind of storytelling?

No, because the Chicken Soup stories are the ones they can relate to, that are closer to reality for them, unlike magical stories of vampires and wizards which they can only enjoy fantasising about.u00a0

Chicken Soup is next coming up with a serving for the armed forces. Why?

The armed forces are generally seen as a group which keeps to itself, besides, most information that deals with the lives and work of the armed force officers is classified. Through Chicken Soup, we have tried to bring not only combat and operation stories, but stories of camaraderie where one supported the other through life, stories of the wives and how they coped with frequent transfers, how they handled and shared grief of death and pain together.u00a0

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