As some of Roald Dahl's work gets rewritten, two writers dissect his literature

lsquoKids today should not be denied the essence of old school writingrsquoNandita da CunhaAuthor of childrenrsquos picture books Her Miracle on Sunderbaag Street won the Neev Book Award in 2021 in the emerging readers category Her chapter books for children aged eight and above include Pedru and the Big Boom My Trip to La La Land and The Magic of MayaAll of us grew up reading Roald Dahl Enid Blyton and Rudyard Kipling and some of their books with images and references are not relevant today valid or even acceptable But all these writings are reflective of the times these authors lived in and the bias of the day Rewriting them is going down a slippery slope Instead of revising artworks to suit our age we should teach the kids to appreciate and understand the context in which the words were put to paperNandita da CunhaMy daughters Anaiya 11 and Mahika 9 both enjoy reading the old and original versions of Blyton from my childhood collection During Anaiyarsquos reading of the Famous Five when she was around seven she pointed out the sexism to me She understood that the boys in the gang who thought that Georgina shouldnrsquot do everything that they would was a concept of the past This was an opportunity for me to discuss with her how far we have come from that eraHaving a discussion opens up their mind Sanitising a text is not the answer These revisions will only lead towards a high degree of censorship and itrsquos likely that tomorrow our kids may be reading absolutely bland text for the fear of offending someone It comes back to the question where do we draw the line How much will you rewrite To what extentBlytonrsquos stories were filled with pure imagination Dahl had the beauty of language and story plots and kids today should not be denied the essence of old school writing As a writer I shudder at the thought of others taking liberty to change classic texts Rather than cancelling we should support children in developingcritical abilities to discuss debate and understand works across contexts and time periods And the original manuscript should be left untouched and treatedas sacrosanctVSlsquoHis writing was dark spiteful we should abandon it altogetherrsquoSuranya AiyarAuthor of illustrated childrenrsquos titles Mama Suranya Books including the Battle of Northway which is an adventure about kids being taken away from their parents in foreign countries She also publishes Hindi translations of her storiesSuranya Aiyar believes Dahlrsquos work should be done away with for its malicious contentAs a childrenrsquos writer Roald Dahlrsquos stories are extremely disturbing and malicious They show a perverse imagination which is hostile to all things that make a childrsquos world secure and filled with love His books always have a message that adults are not just annoying for telling kids what to do but also evil and not really present for themThis is not the first time his work is being protested It occurred at the start of his career too Only after the 1960s when it became fashionable to question thefamily as an institution and anything disturbing was considered art regardless of its value as art did Dahl become popularBritish childrenrsquos author shortstory writer and playwright Roald Dahl in a picture taken in December 1971 PicGetty ImagesHowever I disagree with rewriting his texts It is what he wrote and it was not appropriatemdashnot because of his political incorrectness but because his writings were dark and spiteful It was never good writingI would rather that we ignore Dahl abandon him altogether Sometimes authors of a particular point of view become popular but we should move on from them In the push towards reading and literacy we end up giving credibility to authors and writings that oftentimes donrsquot deserve the attention It is good to be knowledgeable but there is no reason to accept wholehog in the form of a bookIt is true that any writerrsquos work or public voice belongs to a certain context and may seem inappropriate later because we have reached a different understanding of society but we should remain compassionate understanding and humane And kidsrsquo books should send out the message of compassion and kindnessThe political correctness movement is damaging childrenrsquos writings as a whole and the focus has moved away from a good plot genuine characterisation and a worthwhile storyYou canrsquot always have a rosy picture that leads to a bland sitcom version like Peppa Pig with no edge or emotion But I also disagree that we should be introducing adult ideas and concepts to childrenrsquos writingsKidsrsquo stories should be about the things kids do and not be driven by a political agenda to brainwash them Stories used to be magical and fantastical defying the physics of this world and thatrsquos what they should remain