Udayan Vajpeyi wrote Naam Hai Uska Pakhi during the quiet days of the pandemic, when his newborn granddaughter had just entered the world. Wanting to give her something that would last, he created a story she could carry with her—a gift of imagination. Yet in sharing it, he transformed that private gift into one that now belongs to countless children. The book does not ask its young readers to follow a strict order. Chapters can be read like leaves plucked from a branch. In this playfulness lies the essence of childhood, discovery without boundaries, freedom without rules. The magic deepens through the luminous illustrations of Taposhi Ghoshal. Her art glows with sunlight streaming across beds, fields painted in fiery yellows and reds, and boats gliding gently across seas of clouds. Each image invites children to enter and complete it with their own imagination.
November 2025, volume 49, No 11