Ritu Weds Chandni
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
MY THOUGHTS
Sometimes all it takes is a simple story to unlock the door to meaningful discussions with your child.
I have always believed books are the window through which young kids make sense of the world. Compared to us, they are growing up in a starkly different world, so it is only fair that the books they read should keep up! Books have the ability to help children understand their unique place in the world and also for them to see the diversity of humankind. To have a children’s book showing two women getting married is a huge step towards destigmatization and acceptance.
Ritu Weds Chandni is a short, lovely story about two women getting married. They each lead their own baraat and want to proclaim their love for each other loud and proud. But society gets in the way and plays spoilsport. Ritu’s young cousin Ayesha is part of the festivities and is so excited that her Ritu didi is marrying Chandni didi. She simply cannot understand why some mean people want to stop them from getting married and is upset to see her didis crying at their wedding. Will she be able to come up with an idea to save the wedding? Read the story to find out!
The story by Ameya Narvankar is told through the eyes of young Ayesha, who is thrilled and excited to be a part of the wedding and supports her didis through it all. Telling the story with a young narrator helps children immediately pick up on familiar feelings of family fun and celebration associated with weddings. The brilliance of the story for me lies in the fact that the author has managed to highlight the issues that society and family may have with same-sex marriage but has managed to stay away from getting preachy or offering solutions. The goal of the book is visibility and representation of same-sex couples, and that has been achieved beautifully.
The illustrations are straight out of a Bollywood movie with remarkable detailing on the wedding finery and the Mehendi designs. This is one of those books children will remember long after they have read it. It manages to plant a seed, a question, a new thought — and isn’t that one of the joys of reading?
If you think your child would enjoy this book, you can buy it here →
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