India, Dec. 19 -- People often ask me what I like to read outside of work, and the answer almost always is "children's literature" because it nourishes and soothes me. The sheer variety of books that Indian authors, illustrators, editors and publishers are creating for children warms my heart.

In 2025, I loved reading a picture book called This Land is My School, written by Yogesh Maitreya and illustrated by Bhargavi Rudraraju. It is a short biography of Dadaji Ramaji Khobragade, who is known as the Rice Man of India. Born in 1939 into a Mahar family, he was a farmer and plant breeder who conducted experiments and developed new varieties of rice.

He could not study much due to an illness and caste-based discrimination but that did not k...