Actor Vani Tripathi Tikoo, who is also a former Indian politician, was at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair this year, to present her debut children’s book titled ‘Why Elephants Can’t Be Red’, which features her young daughter as the protagonist.

The 12 stories in the book capture the conflicts of an adult world during the pandemic through the eyes of a two-and-a-half-year-old child.

While presenting the book, Tikoo said that listening to children can make the world peaceful, and people “more humane and more equal”. If adults could be like children – “childlike” – with no artificial clashes of the mind, the world would be beautiful as well. Since children do not have the filters of ego, jealousy and selfishness that adults have, they are the ones who can create a harmonious world free of conflicts, she added.

At the event, Tikoo also highlighted the importance of local knowledge in storytelling. Priority should be given to stories from one’s own family and culture, she said, since such stories are globally relevant in the interconnected world today. – editor@nrifocus.com