Quotidian Tales

What a radical and riveting way to present an extremely relevant yet sensitive issue to its targeted audience! I ndeed, Abby Pete’s book, Harvey the Hippo meets Mickey Mandarin thoughtfully rules out exclusivity to embrace inclusivity with a tenderness that is apt for young minds. Acceptance of the fluidity of gender and a non-binary approach towards others are the fresh perspectives that this engaging read offers. Click HERE to buy the book You can also by the book in Barnes and Noble and L.H. Press The story is about Harvey, the hippo , who being a “he” and a “him”, lives in the zoo with his family and friends. They are Zo, the Zebra, who likes to be called “they” and “them”, Ginger, the giraffe, whose preferred pronouns are “she” and “her” and other animals too. However, their differences in identities do not affect their friendship but rather strengthen their bonds. In fact, the animals accept their friends as they are and engage in pl...

With years of roles foisted upon her, she has forgotten what it is to be herself A certain Mrs Sen was staring hard at life. Four decades of scathing remarks and constant belittling had reduced her to an entity she could hardly recognise as being her true self. Irritable and lost, all that she could remember of her past was the warmth of her childhood home and the amassing accolades for her performance. Marriage had bestowed on her, activities and engagements, but untimely and unknowingly, halted the flowering of the self. Doing the chores and tweaking her life in the larger interest of the family soon became her habit and the only way to be. And then one day, life seemed to have passed by in a whiff. With her fledgelings flying out of the nest, age and ailments catching up on her, the gnawing presence of the spouse and every morning a span of twenty-four long hours hurled at her, she barely knew what to do. In those yesteryears, she never had the time (though she did...