Title: Janaki Ammal-A Story of Resilience (Books to Inspire)
Written and illustrated by: Falguni Gokhale
Published by: Tota Books (an imprint of Speaking Tiger books)
Type: Paperback
Length: 24 pages
Age recommendation: 4/5-9 years
“Let us choose for ourselves our path in life, and let us try to strew that path with flowers” -Janaki Ammal
Did you know about Dr. E.K. Janaki Ammal who was India’s first female botanist? This book is a glowing tribute and a wonderful introduction to this illustrious lady who did path breaking work for Indian biodiversity.
Born into a progressive family in Kerala, she was encouraged to pursue her academic ambitions (a rarity in the patriarchal early 20th century India). She grew up among verdant forests, fragrant flowers and colourful fruits. Adding degrees to her kitty from the Madras University, she even won a scholarship to study and work abroad!
She was a true trailblazer whose work in plant cytogenetics and plant breeding led to high-yielding varieties of several fruits and vegetables! She was a true visionary who played an instrumental role in setting up the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala.
It’s unfortunate that despite her incredible work, she didn’t get adequate recognition in the academic circles. She was eventually awarded the prestigious Padma Shri and eventually her name and contributions have immortalized her in the Indian history.
My almost 5 year old, Siddhanth was awestruck to learn that Janaki Ammal was the reason behind his favourite sweet sugarcane juice. It was also a wonderful read on World Environment Day and he was inspired to learn about how passionate she was about plants!
Falguni Gokhale’s illustrations are vibrant and bring the story to life. The story is lucid and truly enlightening, for kids and adults alike.
You must read this book to find out why you have Janaki Ammal to thank for a teaspoon of sweet sugar!
This book is part of the ‘Books to Inspire ‘ series by Tota Books which hope to inspire and enlighten young minds about various Indian trailblazers.
ADDED BY ASHA: Other books in this series of BOOKS TO INSPIRE – biographies by illustrator-author Falguni Gokhale that features inspirational people who have helped in building India are:
Kalpana Chawla : A Story of Determination
Rani of Jhansi : A Story of Courage ,
Dhyan Chand : A Story of focus ,
Bhimsen Joshi : A Story of Passion ,
Tribhuvan Patel A Story of a Farmer and the Milkmen,
Amrita Shergil A Story of a Free Spirit ,
Mahadevi Verma A Story of Inspiration.
Salim Ali – A Story of Curiosity – read Pooja Natesh’s review here.
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