Children's picture book withdrawn amid backlash from Sikh community; publishers apologise for hurt sentiments

Just two weeks after Mumbai-based writer Natasha Sharma’s children’s picture book, The Art of Tying a Pug was released, it has been withdrawn following a severe backlash from the Sikh community. The book was published by Chennai-based publishing house Karadi Tales, as reported by The Hindu.

The publishing house found itself at the receiving end of abuses, threats and legal notices for using the word “pug” (a breed of dog) as a pun on the turban or pagdi worn by the Sikhs. As a result, the publishing house has decided to take the book off the shelves and also delist it from Amazon. A trailer that was created for marketing purposes has also been taken down from the internet. A detailed statement was released on Twitter by the publisher:

https://t.co/ifXlcX3obJ pic.twitter.com/cRACNhycmh

— Karadi Tales (@karaditales) November 21, 2019

Karadi Tales co-founder and publishing director Shobha Viswanath spoke to The Hindu on this development. “The author and her family are feeling frightened and harassed,” she said. She also informed that this kind of backlash was unexpected. “Everything is seen as an affront today. One should understand the intent, which wasn’t to hurt. Even if inadvertently one misunderstands sentiments, people should discuss it without threats and abuse,” she told The Hindu.

An overview of the book mentions that the author’s idea was to “introduce children from across the country to a different facet of culture”. The story revolved around a young boy who helps his father tie the turban, but a pug — which happens to be his pet — keeps coming in the way. In the end, it is the dog that ends up with a sash of cloth around its head.

Sharma, who is unavailable for any comments as yet, herself is a Sikh and grew up in Amritsar, and the very idea of this book germinated from her childhood memory of seeing her father tie his turban every morning. She teamed up with award-winning illustrator Priya Kuriyan over a period of two years, where she would send videos of her father tying a turban in order to get the details right in the illustrations.