Book Review : The Bicycle

Title : The Bicycle

Author : Paavannan

Illustrated by : Ayush Rajvanshi and Mohit Srivastava

Publisher : Katha

ISBN : 978-93-82454-20-5

'The Bicycle' is a story of a young man and a little boy who share a common passion - to cycle to distant places. As the story opens, the narrator (the young man) looks at the scooter parked in front of his house and recalls the time when a bicycle used to stand there instead. The bicycle, which was his prized possession, his key to enjoy freedom of the world, away from the drudgery of routine work. He wanted to ride his new bicycle to far away places. To satisfy this urge of his, he once planned a long trip from Mangalore via Hassan. He experienced the thrill of becoming a part of the nature as he rode for more than 200 km in all kinds of terrains. He savoured his uplifted sprits as he made the best of every moment of the decision of following his dream. This powerful life lesson of listening to one's heart is brought out in the most subtle manner here.

Through the forests and across the hills he kept riding till his bicycle got punctured. He had to stop in the middle of nowhere but he found a lively and cheerful little boy who invited him to take some rest at his humble abode. They both shared their dreams with each other to ride to distant places. The little boy opened up his heart which had deep longing to possess a bicycle of his own.

But will the little boy ever get his own bicycle? Will he ever be able to live his dream as the narrator could?

In the end, the narrator does something extraordinary which extends his exhilaration further. The readers would love to read how the story ends. Though a very short story barely covering 18 pages, it is power packed in more ways than one. A true example of how sometimes good things come in small capsules.  It brings out another important learning that when you work towards realising your dreams, you develop a sensitivity to value dreams of others too. Then you would want to do your bit in helping others realise their dreams as well.

Read this tender little story of a unique friendship which, though developed within a few hours yet made an indelible mark on each other.

Books like these reinforce my belief in Katha publishers that they are doing a wonderful job in creating quality literature for young readers. Moreover, these delightful books make my job as a reviewer much more pleasurable.