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Book Review

Geeta Mohan (ed.), Nothing is Impossible: Eight Inspiring Profiles (Illustrated by Saurabh Pandey), New Delhi: Children’s Book Trust, 2020, ISBN 978-93-88157-26-1, pp. 86, Rs. 80/-

Naveen Menon (ed.), Kusum Lata Singh (translator), Abhootpurv Prerak Vyaktitva, New Delhi: Children’s Book Trust, 2020, ISBN 978-93-88157-27-8, pp. 78, Rs. 80/-

The first book is a collection of eight prizewinning entries in the category Creative Non-Fiction for children in the 9-12 year bracket of the Competition for Writers of Children’s Books organized by the Children’s Book Trust (CBT). Seven of the profiles are of Indians, while one is of a Kenyan, Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai. The seven Indians are of varied background: a soldier, Param Vir Chakra winner Albert Ekka; Everester Arunima Sinha; solo-forest planter Abdul Kareem; Hockey Olympian Dilip Tirkey; visually impaired Jawahar Kaul; ‘India’s James Herriot’, Vet Dr. Naveen Kumar Pandey and sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik.

The book in Hindi is a compilation of winning entries from the children’s literature writing competition with the topics, Bharat ka Ratna and Shunya se Shikhar Tak. Two additional profiles in the book are respectively of Infosys founder and chairperson of Infosys Foundation, Engineer Sudha Murty and Bharat Ratna Engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.

The Children’s Book Trust has been doing yeoman’s service since its founding by renowned cartoonist, Shankar, in 1957. Its significance has increased exponentially in the internet era when the reading habit is tapering off and books, of paper and held in the hand, are on the verge of extinction. That it continues on the frontlines of preserving a way of life based on accessing knowledge and cogitation is evident from its contribution, as its website has it, in the ‘area of children’s education and entertainment through multi-faceted activities hosted under its various wings’. Its various activities include the dolls’ museum, Shankar’s Academy and a reading room and library. These preserve old-world simplicity and modesty that ought to characterize life, howsoever difficult this is living under the assault from materialism and ostentation.

The two books introduce children not only to reading but in so doing to a set of achievers. The lives recounted leave an impression. The inclusions are thoughtful and the range of their contribution wide. The protagonists of these stories have talent, but, more importantly, a will to fulfill their destinies. They have a vision and endure. Selfless, they are socially mindful. Their footprints in the sands of time shall surely serve as guide for today’s children reading about them, who are the youth of tomorrow. None of the heroes was born with a silver spoon in the mouth, but are now household names. Children get to know how to identify and live up to life’s purpose.

Tales of bravery are in following Albert Ekka in his battle field exploits, how as a junior tactical leader he extricates his squad from a tight spot at the cost of his life, and in Arunima’s mountaineering exploits on overcoming her loss of a leg on being thrown off a train by robbers. Quiet courage is evident in the life of Jawahar Kaul, who goes on to help blind people after himself losing his eyesight at a young age. Pandey’s adventures as a vet take him from Darjeeling to Kutch, while Dilip Tirkey’s hockey wizardy sees him showcase his skills for the national team from Busan to Athens. Self-taught sand artist Sudarsan, winner of international competitions dedicates his craft to Lord Jagannath. Abdul Kareem pioneers a citizen’s forest, creating one out of an empty patch of land. Wangari Maathai’s story ends with her narration of a story, of a hummingbird making trips with water in its beak to stanch a raging forest fire, signifying that though individually puny, we collectively make a difference. The two additional stories in Hindi, of Murthy and Visvesvaraya, each a distinguished engineer, who go on to leave a wider societal imprint through their dedication.   

To keep children hooked, the books have colourful covers, are well illustrated in shades of grey, are of non-intimidating length and are reasonably priced. Now that Covid is over, hopefully, CBT books and products will find their place at book fairs. May its stalls fill up with children browsing, and not scrolling down that enemy-of-eyesight, a computer screen.

A drawback is the distressingly difficult Hindi used in the Hindi edition. It’s almost as if Hindi is only for grown-ups and those with it as a first language. Thoroughly off-putting for a non-native Hindi speaker, this does disservice to a language with ambitions to be a nationally connecting one. Hindi must not ride on the coat tails of Sanskrit, but preserve the cadence of languages it is displacing, Hindustani and Urdu.