Shweta Taneja has always been drawn to things on the fringes of society. “The dark spaces that people put under the rug or put in the cupboard have always attracted me,” explains the Bengaluru-based writer whose latest book is out. The Big Book of Wild Poop (Juggernaut/Indian Pitta), is another exploration of something we don’t talk about enough: digestive waste.
“Poo can be disgusting. (But) it is the most natural process in the world,” Shweta writes in the book, noting that it happens because we eat. And yes, it is a “big information engine,” something you keep repeating. For example, “The invisible DNA vibrating within the foul-smelling gunk tells the story of how animals live, think, feel, migrate, communicate, and evolve. By analyzing this information, ecologists can figure out how to save them.”
Feces can tell us more about wild animals | Image source: Sunaina Coelho
Like many of her other books, The Big Book of Wild Poopreleased in January this year, is a collaborative effort between her and illustrator Sunaina Coelho, a process she enjoys. “When you work with an artist, for a graphic novel or a visual book, you have to give space to the artist’s vision as well, so there will be more iteration,” she says, adding that a lot of work went into this book during the editing phase to align the visuals and text. “The reason I love comics and graphic novels is because there is such a beautiful collaboration and trust between each other’s vision that comes together.”
The book is a collaborative effort between Shweta and her illustrator | Image source: Sunaina Coelho
The overall aesthetic of the book, filled with beautiful illustrations and curious facts about fecal matter, is certainly a testament to this collaboration, offering a fun and ridiculously detailed read. It may sometimes cause illness, but it often makes one laugh out loud, allowing the reader to learn many aspects of biology without feeling too academic.
Some of the questions the book addresses include: how often do different animals go, why do herbivores produce the most waste, are there any social cues encoded in droppings, and whether there are any benefits to feces besides getting rid of undigested waste (the answer is yes, whether that’s building nests by hornbills, casual snacking by dung beetles, dispersing seeds by civets and other animals, or even fighting climate change with blue whales.)
It also contains a chapter dedicated to how indigenous people in different parts of the country, including Kachchh in Gujarat, Mount Abu in Rajasthan, and the Kendrapara district in Odisha, have used it in traditional medicine.
“I wanted it to be there because animal therapy is something that indigenous tribes in India still do — using ingredients from wild animals in healing.”
In her opinion, providing this information in a sensitive way will help children learn to respect another culture and not belittle it. “You have to respect indigenous knowledge, which is something I wanted to highlight in the book,” says Shweta.
idea for The Big Book of Wild Poop It came out a few years ago, while Shweta was working at the Nature Conservancy. Anita Mani, an editor at Indian Pitta Books, approached her, saying there was a book she and WWF India were planning, and asked if she would like to work on it.
“I said yes,” she says, laughing. “I’ve been wanting to work on something like this for many years.” “I think it was very serendipitous to find a writer who is drawn to everything weird and niche and combines it with nature and science.”
Shweta began researching wild feces, browsing the Internet for all available information, interviewing scientists, and reviewing scientific papers to learn more. “I’m a wanderer and a nature lover, so I have a strong observation,” says Shweta, who wanted to make sure that, despite being a non-fiction book about science, it needed that quirkiness. But I needed real-world research and ecosystem experts to connect the knowledge and understand it more broadly.”
Stool can offer some amazing benefits Image source: Sunaina Coelho
In her view, today’s children are exposed to too much entertainment digital content, which makes them less likely to adopt a top-down approach to education. She believes science communication needs to change if it is to actually reach children, where narrative and interaction are as important as factual details.
Also, “Humor is not adequately explored in science textbooks in India. And we know that kids, regardless of generation, love burp and poo jokes,” says Shweta, who has just finished writing an adult sci-fi book and already has “two very nice books on the whiteboard that I have to decide about.” “One is fiction, one is non-fiction, so I need to decide what I want to start with first.”
This is her second science book for children, the first being a more general book about science and scientists (They made what? They found what?), which also featured two fictional characters that children still quote, says Shweta, who has written 10 books so far across genres.
These include a three-book series starring tantric sleuth, Anantya Tanrist, as well as short stories, graphic novels and novellas in genres ranging from mysteries to thrillers, science fiction and paranormal fantasy.
“This kind of hopping will continue to happen for me, because I’m always looking for the next exciting thing to write. Once you tweak the tropes of one genre, you tend to try new adventures in another genre,” says the former journalist, who continues to write a technology column for a national daily newspaper.
Shweta says: Kids love poop jokes | Image source: Sunaina Coelho
As an NIFT graduate who started out as a fashion and beauty writer, before moving into science, environment, climate change and philanthropy, she believes being “part of many bubbles over the years” has made her a better writer.
“We live in a culture where people are experts in only one field, but I represent a scene that has elements from a lot of different communities within me. That makes me creative.”
