A Song From Where I Live

MY THOUGHTS

As a child who grew up in the Gulf, visiting my Paati’s home in Peruvemba, Palakkad wasn’t always a pleasant experience for me. Little did I know, those years would become core childhood memories. Paati’s home would be fun during the day. Playing with cousins, eating mangoes felled by the strong breeze, sucking on ripe tamarind, walking to the fields with Paati and coming back with enough veggies and herbs carefully tied into potlams in Paati’s sari to cook for dozens of people. But come nightfall, I would be terrified by encounters with giant toads, larger-than-life lizards, and creepy-crawlies I was sure were waiting to make their home in my ear when I slept. I haven’t thought about that house and those years since my Paati passed. 

A Song from Where I Live, Pin Code 678574 took me right back there. Author and illustrator Smrithi Devakumar breaks down life in her home in Kerala to the elements that transform an ordinary place into home. From “Endless fields against the golden sheen”, to “Feet on the land in a starlit June.” When I read her words, “Holding a tamarind and feeling it crack”, I could hear the sound the pod makes and I could feel myself salivating. She includes the local Malayalam word on each page. Did you know Indian Milkweed was called Appoopan Thadi (grandpa’s beard)? The water-colour illustrations force you to look at the parallels between nature and art and how they connect to form memories. The strong need to find and tell stories from an Indian perspective to help parents share their childhood with their children is something I love about The Little Dipper Publishing’s collection.

This is such a great way to start conversations with children about things that they associate with home. Look beyond materialistic possessions and nudge them to look at the ordinary with a new lens. Highly recommend this beautiful book for the whole family!