Not at your age.
I wore salwars like
this, but when I was older,
before coming here,
yes. Every day.
Looking at new saris was
your mausi's favorite time
pass, she loved fabric
and embroidery work."
Priyanka and her mother emigrated from India when Pri was young. She knows little about her country of birth, or the father they left behind them. Now a teenager who loves to draw, she has questions for her mother about both. Her mother refuses to discuss the past with her daughter.
While looking in an old suitcase, Pri finds a glorious pashmina which she wraps around herself. Immediately transported to her home country, she meets an elephant and a peacock. They show willingness to introduce her to what India has to offer. Pri has many questions; some can be answered, while others cannot. With every question asked and unanswered, she has even more to ask.
Donning the pashmina has the young girl wondering why her life with her mother and her visit to the world of her dreams are so different. Why won't her mother be honest and open with her? The graphic artwork clearly delineates both worlds ... the one without the pashmina is drab, colored in black and white. With the pashmina, it is a fantasy world filled with bright color.
When Pri wins an art contest and its $500 prize, she is determined to spend it on a trip to India to visit her aunt. Her mother will not hear of it, until there is a phone call for help from Aunt Meena, her mother's younger sister. Finally, her mother agrees to the trip, with reluctance. Once there she learns about her mother's painful decision to leave home and find a better life, and about the real India.
Every panel helps readers, in meaningful ways, to explore immigration, oppression, and making difficult choices. Pri's search for her roots is a beautifully told tale of coming of age, culture, family, feminism, and religion. For some who read it, it will be a mirror; for others, a window. For all, it is worthy of attention.
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