A Big Splash by Nivedha Ganesh (Karadi Tales with PARI) dives into an inspiring story. Ever since Dhivya was 4 years old she would always be seen in the water, day in and day out. She loved swimming in the nearby lake and tank close to her house. She took to swimming the way a duck takes to water. Now a teen, she still swam. Never the first to run away from a challenge she enjoyed competing with her younger brother Nanda. But her parents were a little wary of her water adventures after an incident when she was eight. Due to the incident her left forearm was a little shorter than her right. Despite local treatment it never completely healed and many a time pain would shoot up her hand.
Swimming gave Dhivya joy but making friends was a sore point in her life. She had a fiery temper and it made her lose out on friends. She would always have a problem or two or a fight to pick when she came by a few village children she knew. They should have all played together but she had no idea as to why the children of her age shied away from her. Why they did not include her in the games they played?
One day Dhivya meets Ramu a goatherd who she loves to talk to. He mentions to her that a sports official at the Panchayat office is on lookout for children from government schools who can swim. He also tells Dhivya that rather than suffer from a bad temper, she better use her skills in competing at swimming competitions. Opportunities are to be taken and Dhivya takes up on the challenge. From there a new journey starts in Dhivya’s life. A participant to a competitor. She competes at the district level with Muthuram as her coach. At first Dhivya finds training sessions confusing. For a girl who swam in the tank the many rules and regulations, different styles and practice sessions is boggling. But still, she also thoroughly enjoys it.
For working at the cotton fields and an early riser hard strenuous work she is used to. Here she meets Ambika. A co-participant a little older than her but the shortest she has ever met. They become friendly competitors, competing at various events. But, one day in an unfortunate painful incident the two have a falling out with each other. Cruel and mean words are meted out by Dhivya to Ambika in a moment of anger. Her fiery temper at play! Yet again Dhivya finds herself without a valued friend. What does Dhivya do? How does she reclaim a friendship that she loves and values? Does she pay heed to what Coach Muthuram advises her on her temperament? Of how you speak and when you speak matters a lot?
Read ‘A Big Splash’ by Nivedha Ganesh, a simple, humorous and insightful story of a young teen who despite being differently abled reaches for the stars with sheer determination and learns a few important lessons on winning friends and valuing them.
A simple relatable story for youngsters. It tells us to keep an open mind in friendships. Each one has their own perspective to a situation which should be respected. When angry be careful of what you say, how you say it. If you are given an opportunity to do something you love, then take it and with hard work and perseverance one can reach their wanted goal. Though Dhivya had a painful defect in her hand she competed and did not give up.
This book is apt for school children, book reading circles and anyone who likes stories of young determined children who want to make something of themselves. Stories from diverse rural India for the urban child….
Title: A Big Splash
Author: Nivedha Ganesh
Publisher: Karadi Tales with PARI, 2020
Cover Design: Tanvi Parulkar
Genre: Fiction with real life events
Age: Middle Readers
Cost: 200/-
