Author & Illustrator Interview Sarita Saraf and Priyanka Pachpande
Sarita Saraf - Author, Editor
Sarita Saraf is a children’s book author and editor with a passion for rhythm and rhyme. She also dabbles in art, mostly birds and flowers. She is very fond of reading, especially spiritual literature. Recently, she was taught chess by her 7-year-old grandson and loves being beaten by him!
Priyanka Pachpande - Illustrator
Priyanka is an illustrator and visual artist working from her cozy studio in Pune, India. Her favourite part of her work is to build visuals for captivating stories like Numbers with Krishna for AdiDev Press! Priyanka’s portfolio has a varied range of projects, right from illustrating books to designing the surface of a biscuit!
Interview with Author
Frontlist: With World Book Day celebrating the joy of reading, how do you think children’s books shape a child’s earliest connection with stories?
Sarita: The world over, a child’s earliest connection to stories is through his family-- his mother, his father, his grandparents or even teachers. In India we had a tradition of Kathaakaars, storytellers--who used to go from town to town regaling the town dwellers with tales from our epics. We, as storybook creators do the same thing, except that it’s through the written word along with illustrations.
Frontlist: What inspired you to create Numbers with Krishna, bringing together early learning and mythology?
Sarita: Krishna is a beloved of everyone in India, be it child or adult! Tales of his childhood are known to almost all, so teaching Numbers through someone so dear itself becomes a joy! And it also refreshes some of the episodes of Bala Krishna’s Leela in their hearts and mind, nourishing them with love and harmony and joy of collective living.
Frontlist: Rhythm and rhyme play a strong role in your book. How do they enhance a child’s learning experience?
Sarita: There is a rhythm in Nature, in the rising and falling of the tides, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, in the changing seasons, in the growth of plants and blooming of flowers, even our own bodies have a rhythm, our heart beats, our sleep cycle. Rhythm brings peace and joy in our lives, that’s why poetry gives so much joy! Also, children as well as adults want to memorise poems because of their rhyme and rhythm. It imparts a joy to be able to recite them. Rhyme and rhythm are an important aid to music, singing, and dancing.
Frontlist: Your book simplifies stories of Krishna for young readers. How do you retain their cultural and spiritual essence while keeping them accessible?
Sarita: Well, by using stories from our epics we not only make our books interesting, attractive, but also serve to preserve our culture. Each episode also has some spiritual dimension, it allows the parents to use these episodes as a base, keep their child spellbound by embellishing it with further details!
Frontlist: The inclusion of both English and Hindi adds a unique dimension. How important is bilingual learning in early childhood?
Sarita: According to educationists, a 5-year-old child is capable of learning 4-5 languages, let alone two! India is a unique land where innumerable languages and scripts are in use. So bilingual books help Tall over and Hindi in quite a few states. Currently at AdiDev Press, our forte is English and Hindi. But we are beginning to explore other languages. We have brought out books in Tamil and Malayalam. We are working on bringing out a Punjabi book as well.
Frontlist: Krishna’s life is filled with many stories. How did you decide which moments would best connect with young readers?
Priyanka: Stories of his childhood, of Bala Leelas are the most apt, because children can easily identify with them: attractive smile, his love for his mother Yashoda, his naughtiness with the gopis, his games in the fields with the cows and gopas, and his heroic vanquishing of demons! All these varied stories stimulate the various aspects of his being, physical, emotional, mental, vital and spiritual.
Frontlist: As both a writer and editor, how do you approach creating books that are educational yet emotionally engaging?
Sarita: To create books that stimulate a child integrally is the best. So, plenty of research needs to be done to accomplish that! There are a lot of number books in the market that count apples and oranges and trains. Children certainly learns their numbers, but we have missed the opportunity to touch the other aspects of their personality.
Frontlist: In today’s screen-driven world, what role do you believe
like Numbers with Krishna play in nurturing a love for reading?
Sarita: As far as a screen-driven world is concerned, we have to keep PAPER alive! It’s less taxing for the eyes, does not ruin children’s sleep, in fact helps them unwind. Any kind of story book would be wonderful. Books like Numbers with Krishna help teach children their numbers without being didactic. Children may choose this book to hear the tales of Krishna’s childhood but would end up enjoying the stories AND learning their numbers!
Interview with Illustrator
Frontlist: How did you approach reimagining Little Krishna in a way that feels playful, gentle, and relatable to children?
Priyanka: The script itself was so exciting: it’s such a beautiful and engaging way to introduce mythology and Krishna to young children. That really set the tone for me.
There was a lot of room to play, especially with world-building. Krishna’s Vrindavan; the trees, lotus ponds, soft skies, traditionally built homes… all of it could feel magical yet comforting.
Since the book is for very young readers who are just beginning to learn numbers, I consciously kept the layouts and elements simpler. The idea was to make the connection between the text and visuals immediate and easy to grasp, while still keeping the world rich and inviting.
Frontlist: Can you walk us through your illustration process, from rough sketches to the final artwork?
Priyanka: I usually begin with research. For this book, looked into the flora and fauna associated with Krishna- like Kadamba trees, Indian laburnum, the cascading yellow flowers, Bakula flowers, and other elements that could bring authenticity to the world. I also revisited stories of the demons and how Krishna defeated them. For instance, Bakasura with his
beak being torn apart, which helped ground the visuals in storytelling.
From there, I move to rough sketch where I plan the layout. At this stage, I focus on making the visual translation of the text playful but very clear, especially important for younger children.
Once the layout feels right, I move to line art. This is where the characters and forms really start taking shape, and you begin to see the personality of each spread.
Finally comes colouring, which is one of my favourite stages! Bringing in warmth, depth, and all the little finishing touches that make the illustrations feel alive.
Frontlist: What guided your choice of color palette and visual style for this book?
Priyanka: I wanted the book to feel warm and gentle, so I leaned towards softer, pastel tones rather than anything too loud or saturated.
In terms of style, the focus was on keeping it expressive, playful, and positive. Even the smaller elements like the cows, parrots, and other characters, have very soft and friendly expressions. That was intentional, to make the world feel safe, joyful, and inviting for children.
Frontlist: Which illustration (number or scene) was the most
fun to create, and which was the most challenging?
Priyanka: The most fun was definitely the scene with Krishna and the Gopis dancing! It gave me so much freedom: lots of movement, colours, different postures, and expressions. It felt lively and celebratory. The most challenging were the scenes involving the demons. Since these characters come from well-known stories, I wanted to stay true to how each one was defeated, like the broken tooth or the stretched beak etc.
The challenge was to compose all of them in a way that still feels dynamic and actionpacked, but also easy for children to read and understand without feeling overwhelming.
Frontlist: How did you ensure your visuals aligned perfectly with the author’s rhythm and storytelling?
Priyanka: One of the loveliest things about this book is how simply and beautifully Sarita has written it. Each spread is very thoughtfully framed.
I tried to mirror that simplicity in the illustrations as well. I strongly believe that when the concept, text, and visuals are in sync, it really helps young readers absorb and retain information better.
Since the text on each page was minimal, it also gave me the freedom to build an additional layer of storytelling through the illustrations using colour, expressions, and subtle details to
enrich the narrative
Frontlist: You’ve illustrated everything from books to biscuit packaging, how was this project different or special for you?
Priyanka: I’ve grown up listening to Krishna’s stories from my grandmother, they were always my favourite.
In fact, I even made a little comic about this once (a true story!) Which one can find on my instagram (@priyakapachpande_illustration). When my younger brother was about to be born, I was convinced he would be Krishna! I imagined thunder, lightning, and hospital gates dramatically opening to reveal baby Krishna! Reading the first page of this book instantly took me back to that memory.
This is also the first time I’ve illustrated Krishna’s world, so it felt very personal. And creating something for such a young audience, helping them learn to count through a concept like this was both refreshing and incredibly special for me.
