![]() On a visit to Oxford, when a friend took us for a drive to a scenic spot beside a river, she also ordered some refreshments, for us to snack on. were so far removed from any food that Indian kids were used to, that we truly longed to sample them. The tuck that these girls shared - scones, potted meat, clotted cream, etc. The other event that caused excitement from Blyton’s tales were the midnight feasts planned by the “Naughtiest Girl in the School,” Elizabeth Allen or the girls from the St. ![]() There were even some not very successful attempts at lighting makeshift fires to cook some beans etc., which we forced ourselves to eat, just for the thrill of doing what our adventurous idols would do in Blyton’s stories. ![]() We were accompanied by a few friends, all fueled with the same sense of adventure as the Secret Seven. The parleys in these three “Houses” would also lead to some real adventures, where we headed out to a junction where two rivers met, some distance from our home. ![]() When we tired of these two options, there was always the Tent House to crawl into, made up of a large tarpaulin sheet, which was actually a cover for our Dad’s Ambassador car. This apart, a plank nailed on to a mango tree doubled up as a Tree House. Whilst Blyton might have allotted the powerful roles to the boys, this was not the case with us, as we chose not to take her literally. We emulated them even in the password that had to be uttered before being allowed into the Club House, by the designated leader of that week. During summer holidays, a chicken coop would be converted into a Club House just like the one that the Five Find-Outers had. To Blyton goes the credit of opening up a magic world, which we tried to recreate in our own lives. This author was among the first to open up the love for reading in me and occupies a very special place in my heart. The website now states that Blyton’s work has been criticized during her lifetime and after, “for its racism, xenophobia and literary merit.”īorn in 1897, Enid Blyton is well-known for her Famous Five and Secret Seven adventure stories, as also the stories revolving around schools, not to forget the picture tales of Noddy, the wooden boy, created by a carpenter, just like Pinocchio, which comes alive.Īpart from the recent hullaballoo, Blyton’s works have always courted controversy with libraries across the world removing her books from their syllabus and the BBC refusing to dramatize her work, between 19, and terming her a “tenacious second-rater” in their internal correspondence.īlyton was also accused of gender bias, as tasks were clearly divided between men and women, with the men doing the brain work whilst the women cooked and dished out picnic lunches and the girls washed up afterward.īut again, these need to be seen in the context of the years (1928-1960) that Blyton wrote the majority of her stories - a time when a life of domesticity was the lot of most women.įor my siblings and me, and other children growing up in India, Enid Blyton has almost been a rite of passage, where none of the above messages even took hold. Our website provides a fuller picture of the person’s life, including any uncomfortable aspects.” We can fit about 19 words on each plaque. “Our 1997 Blue Plaque to Enid Blyton is back in the news along with our online bio of the children’s author, whose books are loved by many. Recently, the issue resurfaced when the UK-based charity, English Heritage, in the light of the Black Lives Matter movement, decided to update its website with information on Enid Blyton. The author in question is Enid Blyton, who was called “a racist, sexist homophobe and not a well-regarded writer,” by the members of the Royal Mint, who in 2019 blocked attempts to give her a commemorative coin. But when one is forced to reckon with the labeling of a favorite author of one’s childhood, one will necessarily need to have a dialogue with the past to find a balance with the present. Quite often in life, the innocence and idealism of one’s childhood years are intruded upon by the realities and pragmatism of adult life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |