This is a slim book of thirteen stories by Nilima Jha, a writer of long standing actively associated with the Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children, the pioneering society for promoting children’s literature. Here she offers a collection of short stories simple yet striking. ‘Presence of Mind’ and ‘King Bhopa’ are retold folktales, the others are contemporary. ‘Nirmal Hriday’ is a rendering of Mother Teresa’s large-heartedness, serving the destitute with dignity, free of any accusation of conversion (p. 121).
‘Anjali’ is about a disabled and adopted girl-child discovering her own background. Her initial shock and alienation from her adoptive parents give way to acceptance and understanding of the people who have taken her in and given her a second chance in life. ‘Kunti’ is a tribute to the spirit of independence of a girl familiar in Delhi marketplaces, keen to earn her living by carrying heavy shopping baskets for the rich visitors in cars. In contrast, ‘Vidhi’ is a girl who becomes an IAS officer in Arunachal Pradesh, but as a teenager, she is subjected to parental and peer pressure and unfairly blamed for the accidental death of a schoolmate supposedly following her. As in ‘Anjali’, sensible parents give her correct advice and perspective. ‘The Plan’ creates the atmosphere of a convent school where a child is playing a prank on her classmates using a painted driftwood as a snake. The plan turns dangerous as a real-life snake creeps in in its stead. Here it is a Sister with a ‘steely’ look and ‘thin’ nose (p. 80) who points out the disastrous possibilities of the prank. ‘Radhiya’s Bulbul’ is a televised story about animal welfare and attachment to one’s pet in the face of a gas leak (before technology was readily available for its detection).
Read on and you will find the assortment containing stories of different flavours. They treat the problems of the growing girl-child in several ages and areas: from Rajasthan to Kolkata, Arunachal Pradesh to South Delhi, coal mine to convent school, and so on.
The story I found extraordinarily moving is the second in the symphony, viz., ‘An Unusual Friendship’. A departed soul can also bond with a live human! But to ‘tell’ would be to spoil the subtle magic of the story.
A colourful cover and sketches within could have livened up the book as a saleable product. But perhaps the stories do not need them. They make their impact by themselves.