18 February,2022 08:09 AM IST | Mumbai | Sukanya Datta
Bijal Vachharajani
You know how comforting book hugs are? Bibliophiles will know. But author Bijal Vachharajaniâs newest release, Savi And The Memory Keeper, is both a book, and a tree hug, leaving the reader with a smile, even tears, and a whole new belief in the recuperative powers of nature.
In the children's book - which we recommend adults pick up as soon as possible - we meet Savitri aka Savi, an awkward teenager. From AQI-defying polluted Delhi, Savi, her mother and her sister have shifted to Shajarpur, where the weather is always just right and the people, always chirpy. She hates it there; the shiny outdoors don't match the grey gloom in her heart, which aches for her dad, who passed away suddenly. To top it all, the brown-thumbed girl is trying her best to take care of her father's 42 beloved plants, all of which, too, seem to be giving up. School's not too cool either, and Savi unwillingly finds herself in an environment club with the "tree-huggers", and friends with "The Very Cool and Hip People". And if juggling all of this wasn't enough, she suddenly finds out that she can communicate with trees. Or rather the other way round. The greens keep sucking her into visions - mostly glimpses of her father, but also some really odd things. In all of this, she finds solace in the lap of a giant ficus tree behind her school, which is full of secrets and memories.
Vachharajani sensitively reminds us that everyone processes grief differently - some cry, some clean, some hug trees. Through a funny, witty and warm read, she personalises the climate crisis. But most poignantly, she brings alive the magic of the "Wood Wide Web" - the networked community of trees which have shared and cared for each other and us since eternity. And we shouldn't need a teenager to remind us that it's time we took care of them.
