Children's Literature @ NYPL

Booktalking "Neela: Victory Song" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni by Miranda McDermott, Harry Belafonte 115th Street LibraryMarch 28, 2014

Twelve-year-old Neela lives in Bengal, India in 1939. Freedom fighters are spreading across the country in protest of British rule. Neela's father wants to join them, and Neela becomes interested in the movement.

Girls in India are supposed to submit to arranged marriages. When Neela's mother Sarada finds a nice boy in the Misra family for her to marry, Neela becomes deeply unhappy. She wants to choose her own destiny and fate. Besides, engaged girls have additional limits placed upon their freedom, and Neela is only 12 years old.

Neela loves Budhi, her cow, and she delights in caring for the bovine. She could not be happier when her father asks her to take care of all of the cattle. Neela also has a great relationship with her friend Bimala.

Neela: Victory Song by Chitra Divakaruni, 2002

I had many Indian friends while I was in college, and I love Indian culture and food. One of my family members spent two years in India in the Peace Corps. The book enlightened me about aspects of Indian history of which I was previously unaware.

View all posts by Miranda McDermott

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