A walk (we all ought) to remember

This is a book based on a real incident — it tells the story of a young girl who set out to walk back home during the first lockdown in India in 2020.

As an adult who has drawn so much from the beauty and wisdom of children’s books—I spent a decade in the children’s book industry—it’s always tempting to talk about them. With children’s books in India rarely getting the attention they deserve, it’s easy to forget that they have been created by thoughtful and intelligent people. In the process of helping children make sense of the world, they’re forced to clarify their own beliefs, think about how to present their truths, and find a language that feels authentic and relatable to a child.

I can only imagine that writing and illustrating Jamlo Walks, a poignant and powerful book, was no easy task for author Samina Mishra and illustrator Tarique Aziz.

Based on a real incident, the book captures the long and arduous journey of a young girl who set out to walk back home during the first lockdown in India in 2020.

The real Jamlo, a 12-year-old migrant from Chattisgarh, had gone to pick chillies in the fields of Telangana when the pandemic struck. Tragically, she never made it home.

Samina understands how essential it is for us to be able to imagine the lives of children like Jamlo, gone too soon—how lonely and daunting it must have been, to attempt to cover 200 kilometres on foot. Writing with sensitivity, Samina makes Jamlo more than just a figure in the news, a cold bit of data. “Jamlo shuts her eyes. She thinks of Ma and Bapu and the chillis she will give them. She thinks of how proud they will be of how much she has walked.”

I also liked that Jamlo Walks chose to show how the pandemic impacted children from diverse backgrounds—those like Jamlo, and those from more privileged homes as well. But it’s done without judgement, or any preachy messaging, which adults find hard to resist.

The narrative is a reflection of the time, and what that looked like for children, and even parents, not quite knowing how to shelter their children from something so terrifying and overwhelming.

The book, published by Penguin, won an award recently at the Neev Literature Festival in Bengaluru.

Even though I’m a writer, it’s the artwork that usually stays with me long after I read a picture book. There’s an illustration in this book that made my heart sink, of Jamlo resting under the shade of sal trees. Tarique’s portrayal of her is moving because of the details he has included: her broken chappal, her upward gaze, and how she uses her blue bag (filled with red chillies) as a pillow.

Speaking of war and conflict, Syrian author Samar Yazbek said in a recent article in The Guardian, “When facing destruction, our weapons are our words and our freedom to use them.” The pandemic, which also made apparent the stark inequalities in every system, was definitely destructive in more ways than one. Jamlo Makdam started walking on April 16, 2020 and covered more than 100 kilometres. While her story is devastating and hard to digest, it must never be forgotten. This is what makes Jamlo Walks such an important book, one that should find a place in every school library, especially as so much of our history is being rewritten today, and erased too.

The author is a Bengaluru-based writer and editor who believes in the power of daily naps. Find her on Instagram @yaminivijayan

Unbound is a monthly column for anyone who likes to take shelter in books, and briefly forget the dreariness of adult life.