In the last few months (even as the Village was getting built), I have got such wonderful recommendations from the Villagers — books I would otherwise have never known. So it is now my time to contribute a few recommendations. To add to the global feel of the village, I am sharing some of my favourite Indian MG books.
MAYIL WILL NOT BE QUIET, by Niveditha Subramaniam and Sowmya Rajendran
This book is told in the form of diary entries of Mayil Ganesan or Mayilwriter as she calls herself. 12-year old Mayil is an aspiring writer who lives with her grandpa, parents and younger brother Thamarai in Chennai (the erstwhile Madras). The ‘diary’ is peppered with fun doodles and describes all the hallmarks of adolescence — old ‘best’ friends moving to new friends, crushes, inferior self-image, discussions about periods (aka chums!), curiosity about sex, and dawning realisation about adult problems like losing a job or suffering domestic abuse. Mayil thinks she is not pretty, and thinks that she is OK with it- till a boy in school mocks her about how the boy she is ostensibly crushing on likes her friend Jyothy because “Jyothy is dumb, but she is pretty. You are not dumb, but you’d be much better looking without a face.” Then come the tears and self doubt . . . but not before she punches the boy in the face! But Mayil regains her balance and perspective after a frank (and amazingly sensible and sensitive) conversation with her Amma (mother). So much so, a few months later, when the same boy tells her he “likes” her, she replies with equanimity that she likes him just like she likes her other friends, and they actually become friends.
In Mayil’s journey of self-discovery, the supporting cast is fabulous, particularly her Amma and Thatha. Amma is sensible, frank, strict when required yet can be friends with her kids; while Thatha is young at heart and gently funny. I LOVED smart, sensible, and at times sassy Mayil, and I loved the book because it never ever sounds like it is written by two adults trying to write like an almost-teen.
OUR NANA WAS A NUTCASE, by Ranjit Lal
This is the delightful story of a madcap family consisting of four siblings living with their Nana (grandpa) in the picturesque hill station of Mahaparbatpur. The kids’ parents are globe-trotting, jet-setting diplomats who leave the kids to be raised by their grandpa. Nana is a retired Army surgeon and nicknames his grandkids as General Gosling (17-year old Avantika), Major Duckling (14-year old Harshita) and Privates Dumpling and Dingaling (seven-year old twins Niharika and Nihal). Everything to do with the kids’ education is done wth military precision and thoroughness — but made into an entertaining adventure by Nana’s madcap sense of fun and his deep love for his grandchildren.
All is fun and laughter till Nana starts showing unmistakable signs of being ill — he loses his balance, finds it difficult to walk, forgets things and at times, even fails to recognise his grandkids. How can the kids look after him and foil their parents’ ominous plans- of putting Nana in a ‘home,’ and sending the kids to boarding school?
I loved loved LOVED the characters in this book- Ranjit Lal has etched them with such love, one can’t help loving them. But while all of them are absolutely real and delightful, the best of the lot is of course, Nana. Everyone who reads this book will want to have a grandfather like him!
ASHWATHY AND THE BOOT OF GOD, by Sowmya Rajendran
Ashwathy is a 14-year old atheist living in a small town called Kuttipuram in Kerala. She is bright, curious, brave and proactive; fond of crime and mystery and always on the lookout for a case to solve. So its no wonder that God (who is female and lives in a photo inside an old discarded boot!) chooses her to solve a recent case of murder that has been incorrectly classified as ‘suicide’ by the local police. Apparently, God was on vacation “to visit my cousin in another universe” so she missed what really happened the night of the murder.
Ashwathy recruits her best friends Geeta and Malavika, and her pedantic plump classmate Radhakrishnan (RK) (who has a crush on her) to help her solve the case. The four teens snoop around Kuttipuram, interrogating suspects and cross-checking facts till they crack the case . . . helped in places by God herself, of course!
I loved Ashwathy — her independence, her confidence and her go-getter attitude. And I thoroughly enjoyed Sowmya Rajendran’s idea of God.
