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By: Upasana Mehndiratta
Format: Wordless picture book
Published by: Ko Kaa Chi
On a chair. He was asleep. Dreaming? The visitor arrives. And he opens his eyes. Startled. Most unwanted. Go away! But not so easy. Visitor is here to stay. Stays. He eludes instead. He runs. Runs from what has come to stay with him. The visitor runs after. Wants him. He runs faster. He fears. Runs further. His fear grows. Anxiety. The visitor follows still. Fear inflates. Fear chases. He runs some more. He wants to escape. Get rid of what is running behind.
Then? Does he face fear? Does fear face him? And the visitor? Introspection. Liberation. What arrived?
Wordless picture book. By Upasana Mehndiratta. Her first book. Published by Ko Kaa Chi. Excellent illustration. Few colours only. And lots of white. Illustration with a difference. Illustration with style. Good production. Textured paper. Tactility. Adds to the appeal.
The story. Running from fear, of people and moments being loaded with fear, of fearing fear, of facing fear and winning over. How does a child face fear? How do adults deal with it? Does it loom still? Camouflaged? Does it hang in the mind? In the heart? In mid-air? Does it oscillate? We live with fear. Big fear. Little fears. Momentary. Prolonged. Sometimes forever. What is it? Why do we fear? Who fears? When? And then the fear of the unknown. The fear of known. What do adults know? What do children know?
Read it. Urge children to. Open a dialogue. Discuss while you take a walk. Talk about it over tea. Ponder on your own. With children over play. The book opens a realm for that. A good book. A book to keep.
“Why do I fear the unknown? I will walk the life knowing the unknown … My life is unknown to me. And I walk in search of it.”
– Rabindranath Tagore
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