Noon Chai and a Story

"In Gurez, there are no storybooks. Only lots and lots of snow!" When The Uncle From Far Away shows her class a storybook with beautiful pictures, little Amiya is wonderstruck. Now they must build a library, he tells them. But how? Well, Amiya knows that Deidi, her grandmother, has many stories in her old-old eyes. And so, over steaming cups of pink noon chai and buttery kulchas, Deidi begins, Amiya writes, her sister draws, and another book is born! Tucked within is the isolation of a village situated just this side of the Line of Control in Kashmir, and the hint of conflict. But the affectionate and stylised illustrations are flavoured with the gentle spirit of the people. A heartwarming story about books, and what they mean to those who don't have them.