When Mumbai-based author, educator and movement artist Dipna Daryanani speaks of kindness, she does so with the calm conviction of someone who has observed it in the quiet folds of everyday life. Her debut picture book, About the Friend in My Heart, published by Red Panda, the children's imprint of Westland Books, places kindness at the centre of its world. It's a quality, she believes, every human being is born with, but which sometimes needs a gentle nudge to surface.

"Humans are inherently kind," Dipna says. "Sometimes you have to give your heart a bit of a nudge to bring out the kindness." Her book draws attention to the small, often overlooked gestures that hold the essence of kindness. Moments as simple as thanking someone, sharing a smile or feeling grateful while eating the first mango of the season.

Dipna will be in Visakhapatnam in November to participate in the Vizag Junior Lit Fest at Hawa Mahal, where she will conduct five sessions over two days, including an interactive reading, storytelling performances and parent-child workshops that combine yoga, movement and reflection. The book's journey began during the uncertainty of 2020, when the world was learning to pause and connect differently. "The pandemic was a strange and difficult time for many of us," she recalls. "The Indian publishing industry, too, was struggling. Reaching out to publishers and receiving responses felt like sending words into a void." Yet, what could have been a story of rejection became, in her telling, another example of quiet kindness.

Author and educator Dipna Daryanani | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

In 2024, while attending a literary festival in Kerala, Dipna met a fellow author from Mumbai who listened to her story and offered to connect her with an editor. That connection led to her collaboration with Westland's Red Panda imprint. "It was truly an act of kindness from a stranger," she says. "The whole process felt like a reflection of the book itself; about kindness finding its way from one heart to another." Illustrated by Sonal Vaswani Gupta and edited by Sanghamitra Biswas, the book is an invitation to young readers to explore what it means to be kind, not only outwardly but inwardly as well. The illustrations, Dipna says, were conceived with a focus on representation and inclusion. "We wanted children to see themselves in the pages, in all their uniqueness. The book includes children with glasses, different skin tones and even one with vitiligo," she explains. Two of her closest childhood friends have vitiligo, an experience that shaped her early understanding of difference and acceptance. "Acceptance," she adds, "is an integral part of kindness."

With over 17 years of experience in early childhood education and more than a decade in dance and theatre, Dipna brings to her writing a deep understanding of how children perceive the world. As the founder of Move With Joy, a creative movement programme for young children and co-founder of the sustainable clothing brand Love the World Today, her work circles back to the same centre: connection and care.

At the upcoming Vizag Junior Lit Fest, Dipna's sessions will reflect this integrated approach. Her reading session will invite children to listen, move, and respond to the story through simple creative exercises. "Through story and gentle activity," she says, "I want children to see how kindness lives within us, in our words, in our touch and in the way we pay attention."

Another session, The World Can Wait, will be an outdoor musical storytelling performance accompanied by live music, reminding audiences of the joy of slowing down. Her workshop Posture with Love invites parents and children to move together through yoga and play, while The Magical Garden, a story inspired by her own bond with her grandfather, celebrates memory and imagination. The festival will conclude with Move with Joy, a movement session for older children, encouraging them to think, feel and express with their bodies.

For Dipna, these gatherings are as much about building community as they are about books. "Kindness today is a strong anchor point," she reflects. "We often become so focused on providing for our children that we forget to nurture the values that truly ground them. The times we live in demand that we return to those simple human anchors."

As About the Friend in My Heart prepares for its official release later this November, festival visitors will have the opportunity to access advance copies.

Dipna will be conducting sessions at the Vizag Junior Lit Fest to be held in Visakhapatnam on November 8 and 9 at Hawa Mahal. Registrations for sessions can be done at Tanishq (VIP Road), Book Magic Library and Pages Book Store.

Dipna Daryanani's debut picture book celebrates kindness