Yasi Rasa Ta

In this story of three cousins, Vinod Kumar Shukla has introduced the meagre material culture of Chhatisgarh villages illuminated by Yasi, Rasa and Ta's sense of wonder about their parents' existence and the world at large. It is a children's book because the narrative is simple.

It is a poet's book because each object - chappal, ghada, katori, phugga - seems more than itself, full of primal sounds and dipped in the mystery of 'being'. The exquisite beauty of the text reminds one of Saint-Exupery's Little Prince.

It can become a source of wonder for both children and adults around the world. A dream of small-scale harmony against a cosmic backdrop.

VINOD KUMAR SHUKLA is a poet and novelist from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. In 1999, Shukla received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel, Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rehti Thi. In 2023, he was awarded the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature.