Name of the Author: Satyu
No. of Pages: 104
Year of Publication: 2004 (this print, original 1994)
Publisher: Rajkamal
About the Book:
The book is the story of a young girl named Anarko. In the simplest way possible, the book is divided into eight chapters each for the eight days that the books presents.
Anarko’s “adventures” of living with her parents, her relationship with her closest friend who lives nearby, and the experiences that she has at school have been presented from her view point, and as far as possible, in her words.
As a young girl, her curiosity towards natural phenomena, the people around her and the insights that she develops about them are beautifully presented. The need for free space and free thinking and her attempts at breaking free from the impositions placed by home and school are vividly described. Equally evident is the exasperation of her parents and the school’s attempts at stifling creativity, questioning, and ending a world of wonder. Instead, knowledge is presented as decontextualised, boring and disconnected from the child’s life.
The book although, concludes on a positive note, where Anarko is described as spending time wondering about people living in tribes in the far off world of Africa that she dreams of visiting some day.
Final Analysis:
It is an easy read. I recommend it for adults and children alike, for I believe, adults too need to reconnect to the earlier times when hours could be spent in wonderment about a world that we created ourselves. This may also change how teachers and parents look at children and their questions!