EARTHQUAKE BOY

This is the name of my first book for children 12 plus.
The story is about a fourteen year old boy found in a fallen down building in Bhuj, five days after the quake that struck in Jan 2001. Rushed off to hospital, they discover that he has amnesia, and cannot recall anything about himself.
Through the pages, the reader discovers about his nature and his talents, and a very gradual understanding of his background. Dubbed Binna - Bey Naam, ie Without Name - by the hospital staff, he recovers physically, but still has no idea of his own family, his background or his past.
When he's about to be shifted to a local orphanage, as no one comes forward to claim him, he runs away.
There are several scenes in Mumbai, his journey by train to the big city , and his encounters with a street gang and its boss. He eventually finds himself a job and a place in the hearts of several people, whom he helps in small ways.
There are street scenes in the old shopping area of Pune, and his escapades on the Mumbai platforms, as well as his interaction with a home for street children in Mumbai. Also a couple of chapters deal with the Ganpati festival and the life in Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia.
Eventually, ofcourse, he discovers his own grandmother, still living in a Wada in a historic part of Pune city. And gets to be reunited with her, and all the other families living there.




FLUTE IN THE JUNGLE

Thats the name of my second book for children aged 12 plus. Its a story set in South India, in a beautiful sanctuary. Ashiya, thirteen, is the only child of a Forest Ranger, and attends the local village school.
Her mother abandoned her when she was just three, to return to the stage and Bharatnatyam. Ashiya is lonely, and has few friends. She also has a handicap, having had polio as a young child.
But, she's intelligent, and has a keen interest in nature and the biodiversity around her. She's much more comfortable in the forest birdwatching and interacting with wild life, than in school with her classmates.
The story centres around her obsession with learning to play the flute after she hears it once in the forest........her father having banned music in the house after his wife leaves them. He's afraid his daughter,too, will abandon him, and make the stage her life, and forbids her to learn the instrument.
There is a parallel thread in the story. It tells of a rogue elephant, who starts out being awfully dangerous and unpredictable, and at the end of the story, he turns over a new leaf and surprises everyone with his changed behaviour. The reasons for this change and his connections with Ashiya and the flute master who teaches her, are left to the end.
Ashiya takes many lessons with the musician, against many odds, and unknown to her father.
Eventually, she plays the flute at a special occasion, and surprises him with her skill. She also tells him she would like to continue with her masters research work with a local tribe - the Kurumbas.
At the end of the story, the reader gets to know of her future plans, and everyone lives happily ever after.