I couldn’t have read That Year at Manikoil on a better day if I’d planned it. I don’t even remember how long ago I bought my copy, but it was today, Independence Day, that I sat down with it. And it was only when I was close to finishing it that I realised what an apt day it was to have read a book from the Songs of Freedom series.
That Year at Manikoil is a rich, beautifully told story. Like The Chowpatty Cooking Club, it traces the story of young girls in the 1940s. World War II continues to rage on, and the protagonist Raji is confused. Why does her Thatha entertain British guests? Is he a coward? Why is her brother Gopu Anna fighting a war for the British? And a question that bothers her right through: what is her part in the struggle for independence?
I love how authentic Raji’s voice is. She wants to do something meaningful, but it is all too easy to get tempted by more mundane things – like jhangris and murukkus, her paatu vadyar and her overachieving sisters.
More than anything else, I was drawn to the setting of the story. In the note at the end, author Aditi Krishnakumar writes, ‘The town of Manikoil is, of course, imaginary.’
I would never have guessed. Manikoil came alive to me. I could feel the hot, languorous summer of Manikoil, even though I was reading the book on a rainy, windy day in Pune. I joined Raji, Vasantha and Valli at their convent school, singing choral hymns and studying literature written by dead, white men. I imagined every detail of the town of Manikoil, its refugees and its farms, so much so that I was all set to look up where exactly it was once I’d finished reading the book.
That Year at Manikoil is a slow, gentle read, but all the sweeter for it. Things don’t usually change overnight. A year in a ten-year-old’s life is a long time, no matter how much is happening outside her own little world. From the joys and stresses of being ten to the bigger picture of a nation’s struggle for independence, the book made me smile as I finished it, wholly satisfied.
| Title | That Year at Manikoil |
| Author | Aditi Krishnakumar |
| Tags | Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Songs of Freedom Series |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4 |
| Age-group | 10+ |
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