Books For Beginners
Ira Saxena
Khat/Accha Mausi Alvida!/Borewala by Sumit Patil and Rupali Barge/Prabhat/Jayshri Kalattil/ Eklavya, 2018, 24 pp., 55,40,100
November 2018, volume 42, No 11

Afirst look at the cover page reveals that Khat tells the story of postage from the eyes of a little girl Apoorva who has written a letter to her grandfather marking the envelope with special effects to reveal the sender. Not a very original storyline, though the different touch is created by personalizing the letter once it goes out of the girl’s hands. The story moves with the experiences of the letter in the process of reaching its destination. It passes through the dark and dingy environs of the letterbox, then the collection bag with lots of its kind. After the trauma of being stamped it meets a bigger packet, which defuses its fears. The letter endures the whistle of the train confidently as well as the subsequent rigours of its journey.

A simple theme for basic understanding by beginner readers. The illustrations are pretty striking in pastel art just like the flow of simple Hindi text is easy on the eye.

Similarly, Accha Mausi Alvida! is a frequently heard folktale of the tiny bird out-smarting bigger animals like an ox and a wily cat dominating with its actions.

What strikes one most is the stylization of illustrations in the folk-art tradition of Rajasthan known as Mandna of Sawai Madhopur region, using the typical shades of vegetable colours—sienna of red soil, pale green of mehndi and ochre yellow of sandy earth, white of rice flour and black highlighting the figures and motifs. On the inside cover one reads that the tale has been derived from Maand region of Rajasthan, rich with musical rendition of folklore and folk art. Although it is debated if folk art is appropriate for children’s books, here the artistic images appear quite expressive. Despite the static quality of motifs, the blending of the lines with the structure and contrasting colours definitely demonstrate movement and expression. Readers from small towns and rural areas familiar with the folk-art motifs may not find it difficult and the city dwellers could engage themselves with differentness. Use of folk art has given an aesthetic class to the production by Eklavya, a group known to explore the multi-cultural styles of rural and remote regions.

The illustrations of the third book—Borewala—deserve particular mention. The conceptualization is unique since they are neither derived from folk art nor the usual painting styles. They are picturesque works of embroidery in back stitch and satin stitch detailing different happenings of the story and its characters. The embroidery has been made specifically for this book. This technique is not at all easy as embroidery is time-consuming. However, the illustrated pictures are not bright, and are rather dull with limited earth colours like beige, browns and black. The choice of colours makes the pictures look drab and the lack of mobility in the artistic frame makes it unattractive. So, while the concept of using embroidery to illustrate the story is unique, the effect is not up to the mark. Although a painstaking job the pictures do not complement the text.

The story is of an unsteady old man in tattered attire made of rough sack cloth. Little Anu’s curiosity about the strange man  rejected by others leads to a friendship. The story moves rather slowly, gets obstructed by repeated descriptions of usual incidents like going to the park, or playing in the post office. The lack of an exciting turn of events in the story sequences reduces the strength of the plot further disturbed by a lack of flow in the language and spelling errors.

The progression of events in the story, colourless scenery and tardiness in text tends to take away interest in the storyline. In a nutshell, this production of Eklavya appears to be an experimental effort that fails to make the desired impression.

Ira Saxena, a Ph.D. in Child Psychology, is the author of several books for children.

Review Details

Book Name: Khat/Accha Mausi Alvida!/Borewala
Reviewer name: Ira Saxena
Author name: Sumit Patil and Rupali Barge/Prabhat/Jayshri Kalattil/
Book Year: 2018
Publisher Name: Eklavya
Book Price: 55,40,100
Book Pages: 24

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