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A review by look_whos_reading
Victory Song by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
5.0
Calcutta in 1939. The small towns around the big metropolis (once the seat of the British Raj in India) are bustling with the talk of what's happening in Europe. At the same time, a revolution is brewing in the mind of its youth, for India's independence. Across the nation on the west coast, Gandhi leads the Salt March as a non-violent protest against the salt taxes imposed by the Raj. But here in West Bengal, Subhash Chandra Bose has other, more aggressive ideas on how to win India back from the British.
This short, middle grade short is set against the backdrop of all this turmoil. 12 year old Neela is her father's pet and has other ideas from what is expected of a good girl. She does not want to be married off like her 15 year old sister. Instead, she is fascinated by the political discussions between her father and the revolutionaries. When her father sets off to Calcutta to join the reform, he leaves her to take care of her mother. But when he fails to return after many days have passed, she sets off on her own adventure to bring back her father.
With the help of Samar, a youth revolutionary, Neela embarks on a dangerous journey to the big city. What she learns about India and the independence struggle makes her braver in the face of all the chaos around them. She resolves, more than ever, to play her own part in India's fight for independence.
This was a super inspiring and quick read. Written with Chitra Divakaruni's classic eloquence, this story was nostalgic and fervent. I was reminded throughout of the powerful stories my grandparents told us as children. These stories serve to remind us time and again of our roots and how far we've come since then.
This short, middle grade short is set against the backdrop of all this turmoil. 12 year old Neela is her father's pet and has other ideas from what is expected of a good girl. She does not want to be married off like her 15 year old sister. Instead, she is fascinated by the political discussions between her father and the revolutionaries. When her father sets off to Calcutta to join the reform, he leaves her to take care of her mother. But when he fails to return after many days have passed, she sets off on her own adventure to bring back her father.
With the help of Samar, a youth revolutionary, Neela embarks on a dangerous journey to the big city. What she learns about India and the independence struggle makes her braver in the face of all the chaos around them. She resolves, more than ever, to play her own part in India's fight for independence.
This was a super inspiring and quick read. Written with Chitra Divakaruni's classic eloquence, this story was nostalgic and fervent. I was reminded throughout of the powerful stories my grandparents told us as children. These stories serve to remind us time and again of our roots and how far we've come since then.