जामलो चलती गयी

by Samina Mishra, Sushil Joshi (translator), Tarik Aziz (illustrator)

A hard-hitting book on what the lockdown did to the people of India, particularly its young citizens

· Discusses the importance of recognizing injustice and inequality in our day to day interactions
· For ages 7 and up, the book shows the impact the 2020 lockdown had on Indian, particularly migrant labourers and children
· Powerfully illustrated and sensitively told to create an important tool for parents and educators to help young readers question how we treat each other

It is day 7 of the lockdown and everyone says the skies are blue again.
Jamlo walks. She looks straight at the road ahead. It is long.

The world has stood still. The streets lie empty and schools are closed. All work has dried up and people keep whispering the word 'corona' all the time. Jamlo walks down a long and hot road, alongside hundreds of other men and women and children whom Tara sees on TV. Jamlo walks as Rahul watches the streets turn quiet.

Jamlo walks and walks in a world that needs to be kind and just and equal. A world where all lives are seen as important.

Genres: Childrens

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Bidisha Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read. an irreplaceable, unavoidable must read.

[Titas Bose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evocative illustrations and minimal text tell a heartrending story of our times. It's at once a thoughtful, sensitive narrative of Jamlo who walked miles from Telengana to reach her village in Bastar, as well as an archive of the all the lives which became data to be erased from government databases for the sake of optics. Lots to think about, lots to unpack and understand about privilege, helplessness and accountability. The epilogue which states how Jamlo never got to reach home holds up a mirror to the most brutal faces of lockdown in the most simple language. I hope everyone alive right now reads this book.

[Shruti Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamlo Walks is haunting and moving in its storytelling (and design). With beautiful illustrations, and heart warming story, it captures the essence of how people spent their lockdown period amidst the COVID19 pandemic. I wasn't aware of the story of Jamlo (and that it's inspired from real-life incident). I knew of the struggles of those who walked home. But this book makes those struggles tangible. Now, we can't forget it, because this book is here to remind us of the monstrosity of the pandemic and how it affected people (especially not-so priviledged ones). I also liked that it has drawn parallels on how the pandemic was for people who had the resources and who had the luxury of getting shut in a home.
Hats off to the author for picking this story and hats off to the illustrator for capturing it in pictures. I will keep this book in my memory to read it to my (future) kids when they grow up and when they ask me about 'what happened in 2020, mumma'?
Thank you for writing it.

[Aswathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

About 12 year old Jamlo, a migrant worker, who started her journey to her hometown by foot, which she never was able to complete.
When we all sat at the comforts of our homes complaining during lockdown, there were a group of people who lost everything and did not even find a way to make it back to their own houses. An eye opener and a must read for our children.

[Dipti S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spine-chilling.
Beautiful illustrations combine with a hauntingly true story about workers at the beginning of the pandemic.
The last spread is so powerful that it keeps you thinking after you've put the book down.

[Imran Kazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't thank enough to the writer and illustrator to bring this book to us, we and our children are grateful to you to keep reminding of our people, of our country who lost all representations.

[Ritwika Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samina Mishra's writing is powerfully evocative, and Tarique Aziz's illustrations hit hard.

[Nakaashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic.