Last night I read ‘The Deadly Royal Recipe’ by Ranjit Lal and I am impressed and disappointed at the same time. Mr Lal’s felicity with words is quite remarkable and his story is fast-paced, hilarious, and unputdownable. But while I thoroughly enjoyed the madcap adventures of the young protagonists – a bunch of schoolchildren of unspecified age, but presumably teenagers – I am disappointed that I cannot recommend it for the middle-grade age group.

The reason I read this book was because my teenage daughter, who had borrowed it from the middle-grade section of the school library, handed it to me, opened at a page which had a paragraph starting ‘F*****g drunken maniac’, and asked me if the book was okay for middle graders (specifically her younger brother), as recommended on the back cover. And no, the word doesn’t have asterisks in the book.

I hear that some people have called the book an Indian version of the Famous Five. Please do not do that; it gives the wrong picture. Enid Blyton didn’t use profanities in her books.

A children’s writer has a huge responsibility and so does a children’s publisher. It is disappointing that a writer of Mr Lal’s stature could allow the word to enter his children’s book – a book for middle grades, according to the age rating on the back cover (and various children’s book sites have listed the recommended age as 10+ while amazon.in recommends it for 9-12 years). It is disappointing that a writer of Mr Lal’s calibre could not find a single word to use in place of the one that middle-grade teachers are desperately trying to combat and against which parents are fighting a losing battle.

It is equally disappointing that the editors at Duckbill did not suggest an alternative. No children’s editor worth their salt would okay the use of ‘F*****g’, particularly without asterisks, in a ‘Middle Reader’ book. This is a word that my 13-year-old thought out of place in a children’s book, that made her hesitate to offer the book to her younger sibling, yet a presumably seasoned children’s editor at a very well-known brand in children’s publishing found it acceptable! The irony of it!

When a parent buys a book for a child or when a school buys a book for its library, and that book is published by a reputed children’s publisher and certified as suitable reading for middle school, there is a certain trust, a surety if you will, that the book will not contain unsuitable adult language.

Yes, children do get influenced by what they read. The vocabulary of a child who loves reading is shaped to a large extent by what they read, and you never know what might stick in an impressionable young mind.

Just because of that one word, I have not approved the book for my 10.5-year-old, and it is an otherwise delightful book that he would love reading. What’s that you say, Duckbill? I should chill and let him read it? It occurs just once in the book you say, Mr Lal? After all, it reflects reality! Big deal—many middle graders say it already, right, so we should encourage its use; we should teach it to all the children who still haven’t learnt it, yay! All right, so let my son read this book, and when he begins to parrot ‘F*****g’ (for he loves repeating exclamatory words and phrases that he sees in books) I’ll just tell him he shouldn’t use the word. And when he says, ‘Why, Mama, what does f******g mean?’ and goes to look it up in the dictionary, I’ll direct him to you, Duckbill and Mr Lal.

What’s next?

‘Motherf*****g’?

Please have your answer ready.