Not Yet! is a picture book published by Tulika Books, written by Nandana Sen, and illustrated by Niloufer Wadia. I was not planning to be at this book launch but for the fact that I was at Jaipur Lit Festival, and had met Nandana Sen the previous evening and of course the book was published by Tulika Books who also published two of my stories.
Not Yet! is a classic bedtime picture book where the child and parent tussle for control. In this imaginative story in rhyme, the child brings to life the animals in her imagination and the mother tries to remind her of bedtime. And of course all naughtiness has to end in niceness and it does.
The story has also been translated into Bengali by the author herself, with a little help from her mother, the legendary poet Nabaneeta Dev Sen.
It’s a great book to read aloud and children could of course even act it out – as long as they do get into bed with a little kiss – as weary parents would know. Nandana Sen had invited kids from a local school and from the audience to the stage and they did have a wonderful time acting the animals out.
I’m hoping to read it to my nephews and I’m sure they too would enjoy it given they have a menagerie of animals in their room. Who knows – they might make up new play about their donkey, meerkat and more.
I didn’t expect to find this book at all. I was visiting Higginbothams in Chennai, my yearly pilgrimage. Year on year, I’ve seen this legendary bookshop lose its allure, and fall into the shadows – with dusty shelves, no curation, no new books. Their mainstay still being academic books – their general categories reduced to dust covered Indian editions.
As I perused the shelves, I found a thin book with Amitav Ghosh’s name. I first thought it might be a novella – and I like small books – books that give me a sample of the literary prowess without demanding the next week of my life. I picked it up and I was more intrigued to find that it was non-fiction – a journalistic essay on the nuclear powers of India and Pakistan. I was intrigued.
It didn’t take long to read, but still the arguments were well placed, the research and first hand gathering of information was wonderful and it wasn’t an opinion piece – it was really a good analysis of why India and Pakistan are hell bent on acquiring nuclear weapons and the probability of an impending war.
Pokhran where India’s nuclear tests were conducted
The facts are scary, and heart-breaking. The reality is frustrating. Any Indian who grew up in the 20th century India knows that politics has stopped functioning for its people and I could hear the echoes of why our politicians are failing us. When this travesty grants control of the button to start nuclear war to these self-serving political class, we are truly facing a similar crisis to that of America and the UK where demagogues and identity politics are rife.
Imagine a world where North Korea is poised to press the button as it now has an agnostic, inward looking US government along with China being angry with the US’s handling of foreign policy under the current administration; India and Pakistan now left to their own devices to deal with their squabbles while the US itself is not far from the pressing the dreaded button as a show of hollow might, with UK not far behind. We have a truly global nuclear conflict in sight and for the first time the planets have aligned for the wrong kind of outcome.
In this context, reading Countdown was like a wake-up call. Even though it was written years ago, when BJP government was in power, with Modi now in power under the same BJP government, with Hindu ideologies that are performing surgical strikes into Pakistan and gloating over it, we are truly back into countdown mode. The nationalistic wave that has swept the nation in 2015-16 has whipped up a frenzy of anti-Muslim rhetoric and the said button is not too far away.
If anything, I think this book should be reissued again in today’s context with perhaps some updates on how this threat is more real in a world where Narendra Modi boasts of his friendship with Donald Trump and how their anti-Islamic rhetoric is not in step with the liberal citizens of their country.
I have the utmost privilege of having this book signed by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni and also meeting her at JLF 2017. I had to sit on my hands until I reached JLF to buy this book so I could get it signed by Chitra.
I’ve been reading so many children’s books and especially those that are full of adventure and humour. But I’ve been steadily carving some time out to read books by diverse authors – especially Indian authors.
I read “Before We Visit the Goddess” over a single day. I started it at breakfast and kept reading while waiters deftly moved around me at the restaurant. I read in the hotel room postponing my shopping in Jaipur and I finished it in record time before we left for the Writers’ Ball.
The story moves between Calcutta and US between generations of mothers and daughters. From Durga to Sabitri to Bela to Tara, the story shows us how their lives are intertwined across continents. It shows how every decision taken by an earlier generation impacts the futures and fortunes of the next.
As a writer, I was amazed at the switch between tense and viewpoint, the effortless transition from past and current and the command of language. As a reader, I was inspired by Sabitri’s courage and her honesty, on her motives and her fallacies. I was frustrated with Bela and her choices until she breaks free and I was afraid and hopeful for Tara. I enjoyed some of the cameo roles in the story including the south Indian scientist who gives Tara a perspective she had not seen before.
It is a story for all mothers and daughters, regardless of where they were born and where they are right now – across cultural and national boundaries. This is a subtle story of vanquishing demons – those demons that women nurture in their hearts that keeps them bound and guilt-ridden. This is a story that illuminates Tagore’s saying about love.
Love's gift cannot be given, it waits to be accepted.
AJ Paquette kindly gave me an electronic copy of this book to read and I’m really enjoyed reading it.
It’s not always that a story is set in South East Asia and shows us the intricacies and wisdom of the people there. Right from the start, I loved the narrator, she had me wondering where she was and what dangers awaited her.
As story unfolded, I loved not just the narrator but many of the characters I met on the way. The Warden was such a beautiful soul and so were the inmates and guards. Isra stood out as a person I wanted to meet in real life.
Luchi, the protagonist is vulnerable, yet has to learn her strength. She is new to the outside world and the outside world to her. But she learns slowly to trust, to unravel the mysteries of this world that is ours, and she makes mistakes like all of us do. Sometimes we all trust a bit too much and sometimes we are too careful.
When Luchi stays with Kiet’s family – I almost longed to be there with her. But Luchi is right, she had to be on her way and she couldn’t trust anyone.
When I visited Bangkok the first time, my immediate response was – I know this place. This looks so familiar just like Chennai, the city I grew up in. It had the same spirit, the same busy-ness and the same chaos intertwined with an unseen pattern that worked. And anyone who hasn’t been in a big city before would be overwhelmed just like our Luchi. And she manages to find her way around although she is betrayed when least expecting it.
I grew up with a maxim that everything happens for a reason. And that’s exactly what I would tell Luchi if I had met her a corner shop in Bangkok. Because her dire situation take her closer to her final destination.
I loved the poetic quality of AJ Paquette’s language in this book.
The descriptions and the story unfolded as if
they were spun of silken words.
My concern for Luchi kept me going.
I did want a bit more of the danger though. Luchi even though she does not know, has a safety net around her except when she starts walking on her own and towards the end and even then she gets a guardian angel. I think Paquette loved her so much that she didn’t put her in too much danger. As a reader, I wanted Luchi to be able to face the world on her own for a little longer. In this war-ravaged world, there are many such girls on their own, escaping camps or war zones and having to to survive on their own, and it would help them gain strength.
Nevertheless, it’s a story of adventure, of love, of families far and near, of families that are related by blood and not and more importantly of trust – trusting others and one’s own self. It’s a feel-good book for boys and girls with a sense of adventure. I’m sure it charms many readers as it charmed me.
I created a pinterest board with the floating market, just outside of Bangkok. It is still one of my favourite places since I visited it in 2005.
Here is an activity for all readers – can you create a pinterest board (or a cardboard collage) of all the places Luchi has visited in the story? Share it with us with the tag #ReadYourWorld.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is in its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.
Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team is on a mission to change all of that.
We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.
Not Yet! is a picture book published by Tulika Books, written by Nandana Sen, and illustrated by Niloufer Wadia. I was not planning to be at this book launch but for the fact that I was at Jaipur Lit Festival, and had met Nandana Sen the previous evening and of course the book was published by Tulika Books who also published two of my stories.
