Ritu Weds Chandni

I was reading through Foreword Review's January/February edition and saw this book spotlighted. I was curious so went ahead and ordered a copy.WOW!Ritu weds Chandni, not only took my breath away but it made me tear up! I'm not South Asia, but I am married to a Desi man and our home and family is a colorful blend of cultures. Having said that, I’ve never seen this story told in a picture book before (I've been actively looking). The imagery is going to be powerful not only for queer Desi families and those who love them, but for the larger general population. Representation matters, but so does authenticity, and this book authentically pulls off a believable heartwarming story about family. Yes, Ritu weds Chandi, centers around a marriage of two women, but it's also about the love of family and the unifying power of dance.The story takes place in India where Ayesha is excited to go to her cousin Chandni’s wedding. Chandni is marrying her girlfriend, Ritu.The storyline is sweet, and has enough tension to make me uncomfortable (it’s India, not everyone is as excited about the wedding as Ayesha). The illustrations are beautiful. Like, stunning and on point! The design and layout of the storyboard, the interplay with text and illustration... brilliant. Whoever designed the book did a brilliant job. The actual text font is playful and the illustrations spill off the page. The story was well paced and flew by The colors throughout the book are thematic and enhance the reading experience (I read a lot of picture books so I pay attention to these kinds of things). As I type this in real time, I'm looking back at the book now and see that Ameya Narvankar was both the author and illustrator! If you are reading this, Mr. Narvankar (I just googled you to make sure I use preferred pronouns), I do not know you but you have created a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL book. I would not be surprised if this book takes home a lot of awards. I'll be using my copy with my students, but I'll also be requesting my local library acquire copies. Since today is the last day of 2020, and I've spent my isolation reading a lot of picture books, I can honestly say this is one of my favorite books of 2020!

I technically don’t read children’s books at all because I don’t have kids and I’m not that interested either. But as soon as I saw the premise of this one, I knew I couldn’t let it go. And it was so beautiful.As the author mentions in his note, India just decriminalized same sex relationships last year, and there is no legal recourse for such couples to marry yet. And while there is activism and more awareness building day by day, there is still a large part of the country that is either homophobic or indifferent, nevertheless not supportive at all. So to see a desi lesbian wedding depicted in a children’s book is such a delight and a beacon of hope for the future, and I hope we see more such representation in various forms of media in India.The beauty of this book is that it’s told through the POV of a young girl who is very very excited to be a part of her cousin’s wedding and she doesn’t find it odd at all that her sister is marrying another woman. She is actually flabbergasted about why some of her extended family is missing from the ceremony or why there are protestors on the streets. This just goes to show that children are not born with prejudices or bigoted ideas, and we can easily give them a progressive and accepting upbringing. I also loved how the little girl is innocently fearless and is determined to dance at the wedding baraat, despite anyone trying to dissuade them. It’s so joyful to watch her be so pure and happy.I also loved how bright and vibrant the illustrations were. The little mehendi details, the tilak ceremony, the gorgeous red lehengas of the brides and everyone’s wonderful clothes and jewelry, and both the brides having their own baraat and coming on a ghodi to the ceremony - it had all the best parts of an Indian wedding, and I love the author’s message that we can have a beautiful ceremony with all the traditional trappings, even when it’s two women getting married.To conclude, this is a very important, hopeful, and pretty children’s book and I think everyone should pick it up; also read it with your children and maybe you can have some nice discussions with them about different kinds of relationships so that they can have a prejudice free childhood as opposed to the one some of us must have had.

I am not South Asian and I haven’t read a children’s book in a long time, so my thoughts on this book are not the most important. That said, this book was absolutely beautiful in both story and visuals. It caught my interest because I am passionate about LGBTQ rights and I enjoy learning about different cultures. Homophobia is a big element of the story, but the overall message is one of support for this wedding between two brides. Ayesha’s love for her cousin, who is one of the brides, is a beacon of happiness. I teared up while reading this and the note at the end from the author was perfect (in my opinion). This can be appreciated by many audiences and I’d recommend it to anyone interested!I received an ARC from the publisher.