That Year At Manikoil

MY THOUGHTS

I love books that I can relate to. Growing up in a conservative, Tamil family means being a part of and imbibing many cultural nuances that are lost on my children who now grow up in Mumbai. When I read That Year at Manikoil, I was instantly drawn to the unabashed representation of an Iyengar upper-middle-class Tamil family.

The book is set in a time when World War II raged in Europe, and the Japanese army was drawing dangerously close to India. A time when Indians were hopeful about freedom from the British but had no idea when they would actually be a free country and, more importantly, what it would mean for them. Raji is a 10-year-old girl who is forced to move with her family from Madras to her ancestral village, Manikoil, for safety. Her older brother chooses to join the British-Indian army to help keep the Japanese at bay and keeps in touch with Raji by writing letters. Raji’s best friend in Manikoil is Ilavarsi, whose family has fled Malaya, leaving behind everything they own and love. Raji, her cousin Lakshmi, and Ilavarsi are inspired by Gandhi Thatha’s speeches and want to help the elders in the freedom struggle.

Aditi Krishnakumar takes us deep into the happenings of Manikoil through Raji’s life — studying in a convent school, growing up being compared to her talented older sisters, Carnatic music class and Sanskrit tuitions, and plotting schemes under her grandparents’ watchful eyes. We see what it means to be an upper-middle-class family in the 1940s and how they navigate both happy and heartbreakingly sad events as a family. This book also subtly nudges the reader to think about women’s rights during that period. I really enjoyed that the author highlighted the turmoil faced by the troops at the border in interesting ways, like the letter exchange between Raji and her brother.

This book is the equivalent of watching a family movie — complete with characters you root for and detest. It is comfortable, searingly honest, hopeful, and will ensure every reader takes away something different from it. I chat with Aditi Krishnakumar on Tell Me A Story for more on what led her to write this book.

The Songs of the Freedom series is an excellent way for children to learn and understand life in pre-independent India. Rather than just learning facts by rote from textbooks, these books take the reader through events of the time through a child’s perspective, not only making the story relatable but also making history interesting for young readers.
Perfect for kids 10+, get it now!.