Literary

From Wonderland to Reality: A young girl's response to her surroundings

by IBNS 22 Sep 2017, 11:05 am

'From Wonderland To Reality' is a recent book by Dipeeta Das Mukherjee. It is a very difficult task to categorise this book because it is the culmination of dreams and hopes and pain and hard work.

Youngsters are the future of this world and this book shows how prepared these youngsters are for shouldering their responsibilities for tomorrow.

This is an attempt by a very young girl to share whatever she has learnt from life with others who might not have the same resources that she has.

This book begins with a few poems.

The very first poem is about how she misses her deceased mother and from there on we get to meet a very sensitive girl who is not obsessed about just her life but who responds to her surroundings and thinks about it deeply.

From poems, she moves on to write some essays on insightful and highly relevant topics.

There is one short story kind of a write-up titled, “When a Friend Betrays”.

Here the author illustrates how necessary it is for us to make friends with the right kind of people. Wrong friendships can play havoc with our emotions and mental well-being and lead us down ruinous roads.

In another essay titled, “Greater Participation of Women is Needed”, the author talks about the role of women in the society.

She correctly points out that in spite of growing awareness and developing times, there is still a long way to go before women and men can correctly be called equal in context of our social milieu.

For such a young girl to write on such a topic with such insight is a remarkable achievement indeed.

This insightful writing continues in another very relevant and controversial topic titled, “Parent-Child Relationship-Dilemma”.

I think every parent should read this essay.

It is also very heartening to see that a young girl is brave enough to dream of becoming a journalist in spite of knowing the intolerant and dangerous times we are living in.

When women get ready to face the challenges head on, only then will they earn respect from all quarters.

Another short story that I liked is called, “Redemption- The Story of a Troubled Family”.

The icing on the cake is the last article where the author talks about her life, her family, her mother, her struggles after her mother’s death, her determined fight against a corrupt school.

It is indeed a very brave act to write openly about the discrimination and corruption prevalent in one’s previous school.

This book is not meant only for kids but also for their parents. This young woman has something to tell to everyone out there, be it a child or an adult.

It is a very correct thing that as we age our faculties stop assimilating, expanding. Then it takes a young gun like her to show us the naked truth.

This is one book that is very highly recommended for everyone.

(Reviewed by Priya Das)