Alexandra Carey

Mumbai Misadventures

 

CHILDREN are famously fickle when it comes to things like literature. So much so that children’s books are an exercise in attention grabbing: swift set ups, short sentences, gaudy garish illustrations. They are books that have, for the most part, become entirely functional; a matter of reading something — anything — of getting the message across as quickly and as concisely as possible before placing the kids back in front of the television, the iPad, the Internet.

 

Alexandra Carey’s effort is a breath of fresh of air. It is an old-fashioned yarn. There are no over-indulgent metaphors. There are no overwrought lessons on how to be eco-friendly. There are no tired tirades on the importance of wildlife protection. She doesn’t preachify. She doesn’t moralise. She doesn’t try to educate. She just tells a story for the sake of it.

 

Coupled with that are Antonia Ghazlan’s understated illustrations. They depict scenes rather than explain them. They are subtle and supplemental. As they should be. They elevate the story without overshadowing it. As they should do.

 

Ted Ted is a much-loved teddy bear who, while on a trip to India, gets left behind at the hotel room by his beloved owner, Tilly, and gets mistakenly taken away with the washing. He ends up at the famous Dhobi Ghats of Mumbai where the washermen there are thrilled to find him among the sheets and adopt him as one of their own. Young Tilly, however, is devastated and the hotel manager at The Royal Bombay Yacht Club offers to cycle down to the river in an attempt to find the missing bear.

 

It is a simple story. But one that is rich in detail. Alexandra Carey takes us on a journey of discovery, through the streets of Mumbai, with its colourful culture, with its collection of misfits, with its collage of sights and cacophony of sounds. It is a sampling of what life is like there. She describes everything from the poverty to the pot holed roads to the mangy street dogs. She treats us to a brief but all-encompassing history of the city and its people.

 

It is a simple story. But one that is rich in heart. The emotions that she draws upon are real. The feelings that she portrays are familiar. Of love and loss. Of the anxiety and heartbreak of being torn apart. Of the tremendous relief that comes with being reunited.

 

It is a simple story. But one that is immediately relatable. To children. To adults. To anyone who has ever had a favourite toy. And therein lies the secret to a successful children’s book. In being able to create that connection. In being able to bridge that gap between grownup and child.