BOOK CLUB

Amma tell me

Gemma Shaw chats with Bhakti Mathur about changing careers and her much-loved children’s series

Why the switch from banking to writing?

I spent almost 20 years working in banking, I found my niche in wealth management as a private banker and held senior client-facing roles with ING, Bank of Singapore and J Safra Sarasin. I always wanted to do something more meaningful with my life. In 2010, I had a eureka moment. Holi, the Indian festival of colours, was just around the corner and I was on the hunt for a good book to explain the festival to my two-year-old son. I couldn’t find anything I liked and so decided to write the story myself. In 2017, having recently completed a Master’s in Creative Writing at HKU I decided to take the plunge into writing full time.

How’s it been going so far?

It’s been great. Over the past four years, I’ve published sixteen children’s books with the seventeenth due to be released this month. My books are distributed around the world and very popular in India. I also write features for the South China Morning Post and have contributed over 50 health and lifestyle articles over the last three years.

Can you tell us about your books?

I have two series. Amma Tell Me is a selfpublished picture book series designed to be read aloud with children aged three to eight years old. Amma Take me is a travelogue series for children aged eight to 12 years old, published by Puffin India. ‘Amma’ means ‘mother’ in Indian and my books are based on Indian festivals, mythology and detail important places of worship and the related history.

How was the process of self-publishing?

I chose to self-publish the Amma Tell Me series because I wanted to have control over the creative process and finances (I attribute that to the banker in me). Self-publishing is a lot of work but it’s an incredible learning experience, made all the more rewarding due to the warm reception that the books have received.

What’s your latest book about?

Amma Tell Me About the Avatars of Vishnu is the thirteenth book of the series. Vishnu is a Hindu God whose job is to preserve and restore the universe. This is the story of his first avatar, in which he takes the form of a fish and saves the world from a terrible deluge. The story is very similar to Noah’s Ark and highlights the similarities between different cultures.

What’s next?

I’m currently writing a book about the Taj Mahal for my Amma Take Me series. Having visited several times, I’m thrilled to be writing about this stunning monument that gets more beautiful every time I see it.

Books in the Amma Tell Me and Amma Take Me series are priced at $108 and available online at Amazon or from Bookazine stores.

bhaktimathur.com

Join Bhakti for storytime and signing of her new book Amma Tell Me About the Avatars of Vishnu. Bookazine Prince’s Building. July 4, 10.30amnoon. Free. Reserve a spot at

enquiries@bookazine.com.hk