CHENNAI: Natives of small towns and cities can attest to the uneventful, quiet life often led in their hometowns, where adventurous plans oscillate between driving around with friends and eating out at the popular local spots.
With little to do, the most mundane events become news. So, one can only imagine the excitement introduced to nine-year-old Mary, a fictitious resident of the tiny coastal village of Thumba in Kerala, when her hometown is chosen as the site for India's first rocket launch in Menaka Raman's latest release Topi Rockets from Thumba.
Real events recounted under a fictional lens, we learn about the country's first sounding rocket through the experiences of our inquisitive protagonist. The idea sprouted from an email that Menaka received from her editor, Smit Zaveri in 2020, "Smit, who has always been fascinated with space, sent me a picture of two scientists pushing a cycle with the nose cone of a rocket strapped to it and an article of the event. I was unaware of this iconic picture but found it rather captivating. When I started researching, I had a thought - what would it be like for a small fishing village, where nothing happened, to be beseeched by all these scientists? What would it be like for a child?"
And thus came to be Mary.
Despite her love for Thumba - painted with the imagery of palm trees, lingering taste of salt in the air, and hot pazhampori at the local store - Mary yearns for something more than just the regular "fishing, fishing, fishing".
Her wish manifests itself on a hot Sunday when she learns that scientists, including Dr Vikram Sarabhai, are seeking to transform the village church, St Mary Magdalene, into a workstation for their space programme.
With her unabashed demeanour, she strikes a conversation with Dr Sarabhai, who is delighted to answer her questions. Their student-teacher bond stays consistent throughout the book. The intricate details of space research may seem too sophisticated for a child but Menaka manages to break it up in the form of a dialogue between the naive Mary and the learned Dr Sarabhai.
Through their back and forth, she creates an approachable timeline of space research without diluting or dumbing down the details. The story is a mix of enjoyment and education for children; a tale of curiosity and hope. While her unimpressed classmates chant “so what?” “big deal”, curious Mary is consumed by thoughts of the rocket, eagerly anticipating the launch.
As days turn into weeks into months in which she celebrates holidays, finishes her examinations, and even turns one year older, we also experience with her the impatience and disappointment of the seemingly endless wait.
But right when her patience is about to wear thin, we finally come across the anticipated scene of the two scientists and the cycle with the nose cone, this time with the addition of bright-eyed Mary. The child finally has a chance to contribute to the mission by helping them transport the rocket part that looks more like a topi (cone-shaped) dosa to her.
After a year-long wait, the day finally arrives on November 21, 1963. Every other location in the village stands deserted as the sceptics and believers unite at the beach in awe of the launch of the 'topi' rocket.
Now, full disclosure, this review was written with invaluable insights of my four-year-old family friend, who clung to my shoulder and periodically yanked the book out of my hand to critically analyse the vivid illustrations by Annada Menon.
Her being a little young for the text did not stop her from interrupting my translations to ask an unholy number of questions in Hinglish. Ye rocket sky mei jaata hai? (Does this rocket go into the sky?) Phir toot jaata hai? (Then it breaks?) Woh baarish rok sakta hai? (Can it stop storms?) she asked, with a curiosity akin to a certain nine-year-old girl from Thumba.
Book: Topi Rockets from Thumba
Publisher: India Puffin (Penguin Random House)
Pages: 44
Price: Rs 299