Thread by @yaminivijayan

I'm grateful to Samina Mishra (author) and Tarique Aziz (illustrator) for recording Jamlo's story. Because we do tend to forget easily, and if we hadn't lived through this point in time, all this might even have seem far-fetched. #jamlowalks

With the present government in power, I wouldn't be surprised if every story about migrants walking home disappeared from our archives. Which makes this picture book published by Penguin India, and Jamlo's story even more important.

As a writer, I marvel at the tone that's used through the book. Samina's writing feels like a quiet observation and never feels gimmicky. I liked that even as we get glimpses of diverse children's lives, it never judgmental. #childrensbooks

Besides, there is so much to Jamlo's story already, that the challenge, I imagine, would have been to show restraint. There are so many powerful sentences, but this one stuck: "The road is long. The people are still walking." #lockdown

What will stay with me is the bag of red chillis that Jamlo was carrying home to her parents. I've only ever thought of the weight of textbooks that school-going children carry, so this reality hadn't even occurred to me. #migrant

There is something about Tarique Aziz's lines that I have always been drawn to. I don't know how he does it, but it's sometimes rough, sometimes soft, sometimes crisp, sometimes hazy, but always so expressive and evocative.

Tarique has managed to show so many aspects of young Jamlo: Jamlo offering a dried red chilli to a mynah, her watching the dosa sizzle at a roadside stall, her imagining her hugging her father when she gets home. Heartbreakingly, she never makes it home.

Jamlo Walks is based on the true story of 12-year-old Jamlo Madkam who had gone to work in the chilli fields of Telangana. During the lockdown, she covered more than 100kms in an attempt to return to her family. #lockdown

Jamlo Walks by Samina Mishra and Tarique Aziz should find a home in every school, community and home library. #jamlowalks