I may not yet be hyperbolic, if I say that I have got a photographic memory of the flashing illustrations and lustrous narrations of Beatrix Potter, 20th century British writer whose popularity and charisma as a formidable force of children’s literature still remain unparalleled, even nearly eight decades following her demise.
The ‘Tale of Peter Rabbit’ was my bosom buddy during my childhood where books were like a spring day, it had a magnificent knack of making me rather elated and inspired even on some messy and miserable days.
I find that Tharuli Mihinadee Senanayake’s debut tale which she calls ‘Chick Chick Tin Tin’ has a slight resemblance with that of ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ by Beatrix Potter.
Tharuli who just turned eight, is a Grade three student of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo 4. In her tale of ‘Chick Chick Tin Tin’, a bushy-tailed, jittery and messy squirrel becomes her protagonist; Tharuli herself coins its name and fondly begins to call it ‘Almond’. On a certain day, to Tharuli’s utter delight, adorable ‘Almond’ along with one of its dear chums infiltrated into Tharuli’s home garden and made it their gently and gingerly found destination.
Lucid language
‘Almond’ and its companion seem to have been abandoned by their parents and ever since, they ended up at Tharuli’s doorstep, Tharuli and the two restless squirrels are joined and attached at the hip. As the story further flows on, Tharuli’s articulate and lucid language makes the reader take a shine to these two lively, entertaining and playful squirrels.
On a certain afternoon, Tharuli rushes into a state of despair and dejection when she came to know that Almond’s companion has left her home never to return. With time, Tharuli learns the style of feeding her most treasured buddy ‘Almond’.
She herself researches on the aspect of best care given to squirrels. ‘Almond’ becomes the darling of her household. Tharuli despite being a huge fan of strawberries, grapes, apples and peaches sacrifices her love for them for the benefit of her fluffy and cuddly ‘Almond’. With a sense of intense fondness, Tharuli feeds ‘Almond’, her most trusted and loyal companion who never leaves her alone. Tharuli is on cloud nine, whenever she watches ‘Almond’ merrily and gaily enjoying solitary play.
Tharuli has a penchant for the effortlessly light-hearted twisting and tumbling of ‘Almond’; it has a droll sense of humour. ‘Almond’ runs and jumps right across Tharuli’s home garden as if it were a many time Olympic Gold medallist.
Fortified citadel
Tharuli’s nicely arranged bedroom has also been infiltrated by the most demanding and the furious fighter in ‘Almond’. Almond keeps on capturing each and every inch of Tharuli’s home and it becomes Almond’s heavily fortified citadel.
‘Almond’s’ crush on Tharuli’s toys is an ever growing fire; one of Tharuli’s most treasured toys that her father bought all the way from Shanghai is currently Almond’s self-made abode; With a masterly skill, ‘Almond’ solitarily made its dwelling place.
Tharuli is immensely moved by Almond’s unassuming knack for solitary and collective play; the gripping and riveting strategies that ‘Almond’ applies during its play time knock her socks off.
The sense of love and comfort that ‘Almond’ provides to Tharuli is pivotal and the same makes Tharuli feel that she is assured and secured even during challenging circumstances. Research also indicates that children who are naturally loving and caring to animals, notably to their pets in the domestic set up have a relatively higher potential of absorbing life skills compared to children who maintain a harsh stance on animals in their locality.
Although with time, ‘Almond’ has now fully grown to an adult from its juvenile stage when it set foot on Tharuli’s doorstep, Tharuli finds that Almond despite being an adult now still refuses to vacate her home and that makes Tharuli absolutely ecstatic and enraptured. This intense sense of emotional connection and the triumph of interaction stand as testimony that animals should be loved at any cost and their association inculcates children with phenomenal human qualities such as loving kindness, compassion, fairness, resilience and many more.
“Animals are also a part and parcel of planet Earth, you should set them free in their natural habitat”, Shedding light on the above piece of advice, given by her parents, Tharuli winds up her tale on ‘Almond’. Tharuli was inspired by her mother’s ardent interest in writing; The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Tharuli’s selection of compelling characters, striking illustrations and above all the durable plot makes her a promising figure in juvenile literature. ‘Chick Chick Tin Tin’ is a Digesi publication. Digesi Pabasara Amarasinghe, Tharuli’s mother herself is a poet and novelist.
