‘Maniyan the Donkey’ – A character created by Tiju Mundakappalli
New Delhi [India], September 2: A donkey that lives a human life. Human life is represented by an animal. This is the whole idea behind the character Maniyan. Maniyan is a character who is a piece of my heart. He was an idea that had been in my mind for the longest time. So, when [...]

New Delhi [India], September 2: A donkey that lives a human life. Human life is represented by an animal. This is the whole idea behind the character Maniyan.
Maniyan is a character who is a piece of my heart. He was an idea that had been in my mind for the longest time. So, when I started putting that into words, the flow was beautiful. Being an animal and being the hero of a human story make Maniyan a unique character. With the backbone of such a beautiful blended representation, I could bring to life a lot of creativity.
There are three books in the series of Maniyan: The Short Vacation of a Donkey, Metamorphosis of Maniyan, Maniyan’s Bakery and the Magic Muffins. It was important for me to build the character of Maniyan into a defined image on a strong foundation, as I had envisioned. This character can travel through time and age groups. That’s the potential which is built and established in the first book. The ‘short vacation’, is where Maniyan gets introduced into the human world, he meets his master Shreeju, he learns about the nuances of society, he fell in love, met the challenges of life and decided to embrace it. By the end of the book, Maniyan becomes someone who is relatable to animals, kids and adults.