Leaping Laddoo

𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻 – 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁...

Harshita Jerath’s “The Leaping Laddoo” is a witty retelling of the Gingerbread Man, but set in India. Laddoo’s dash of freedom makes him evade children, a tea seller, a groom and more…

I love how Hindi words have been used unapologetically in the text. The illustrations are not just cute, but also detailed. A closer look reveals names of some of the stores (Kamala Stores, Nur Bakery), the clothes on sale appear to have the Kutch embroidery, the vegetable vendor uses a manual weighing scale (including the weight), a signboard says “STD, Fax, Local”, the cables on the electric post are typical of India (including a pair of birds perched on the cables), the chaiwala also has jalebi on sale and the stall includes an election paraphernalia that says “Vote…” – this is why in order to write or illustrate a story set in India, one needs to work extra hard to maintain authenticity – and Harshita Jerath and Kamala Nair have done an amazing job at that!

The retelling also made me wonder about cultural relevance. Thanks to my Mum who read-aloud-every-night eons ago when I was a kid, I was introduced to the story of the Gingerbread Man. But it was an alien concept then – is it a bread or a biscuit, I used to wonder. Gingerbread Man cookies only appeared in books we read, but never ever in real life. And that’s exactly why this retelling is important – to set the story in a background culturally relevant to many, a mirror to laddoo connoisseurs and a window to a place set in India.