“In Guerez, there are no storybooks. Only lots and lots of snow!”
When an Uncle-from-far-away shows her class a storybook filled with beautiful pictures, little Amiya is wonderstruck. This is only the first book, he tells them. Now, they must build a whole library.
But how? In the Gurez Valley, in a far-flung corner of Kashmir, it is impossible to find books.
Then Amiya has an idea. She knows that Deidi, her grandmother, has many stories in her old-old eyes. And so, over steaming cups of pink, salty noon chai and buttery kulchas, Deidi begins to tell her tale. Amiya writes it down. Her sister draws pictures. And a book is born!
Tucked inside the pages of this book is the isolation of a village situated just this side of the Line of Control, and the hint of conflict. But the illustrations are flavoured with the gentle spirit of the Dardic people, and the words warm and affectionate.
This is a heart-warming story about books, and what they mean to those who don’t have them…
