Set in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya, this story is an endearing account of a little girl missing her grandmother whom she has recently lost. Still dealing with emotions of sadness, loneliness and confusion, Chimik chooses to talk to her mother about traditions surrounding death. She wonders why people are singing and dancing even though her grandmother is no more. While answering her questions, her mother shares her grandmother’s little treasures kept safely in a wooden box. Going through the box, Chimik forgets some of the sorrow and emptiness she has been feeling.
The book has been written very sensitively from the point of view of a child. At a time like this, feelings of confusion are as common for older people as they are for children: is it okay to sometimes feel like crying and sometimes like smiling, while missing someone? Do we really let go of those who die? How do we keep alive those who go away? Through memories, happy and sad, by remembering something they said or they might say in a certain situation, by humming their favourite song, by going through their treasured possessions, chhoti chhoti cheezein which were special for them. These stay with us forever and we feel connected long after they have gone. This feeling of wanting to connect also resounds in Chimik’s innocent yet moving question on seeing her grandmother’s little treasures, ‘baaki hum sab rakh rahe hain, na?’
Beautiful illustrations of the landscape, the traditional ceremonies and the warmth and love emanating from the human faces capture the reader’s heart. The last illustration is heart-warming as it symbolizes the presence of Chimik’s Ambi, as felt by her. Surely, a book to treasure!