Kesar And The Lullaby Birds

Weaving a story around folk art and craft is like walking on fire – not only does your story have to be authentic, but the illustrations must also speak the same language. The terrific team of Aditi Oza and Debasmita Dasgupta have created a truly joyful picture book zooming in on the Rann of Kutch in India.

The story is about Kesar whose baby sister Kamal just can’t sleep at night, keeping everyone awake. Dad Vijubhai tells stories, and mother Hiruben sings lullabies, but to no avail. The next day, Grandmother Mani Ba visits the family and tells Kesar a story of embroidered animals and birds coming to life. Kesar has an idea – at night, she uses Ba’s gift, a fabric bird dangler, to tell a story to Kamal. Much to everybody’s surprise, Kamal falls asleep in no time.

Aditi’s sense of belonging to this part of Gujarat reverberates on each page and the author’s note at the end of the book validates this observation. The use of Kutchi and Gujarati words makes the plot even more endearing. Debasmita’s artwork showers the book with a magical charm; I could not take my eyes off the gorgeous artwork. The details in the illustrations – right from how the characters are clothed, their jewelry, the fabric, the charpoy, the clothesline, the stacked pots, the trunks, that hand-sewing machine – I can go on and on…

This book is a collector’s item for anyone who loves folk art and craft. Book releases on 31 May 2022.