When a young girl visits Nanu—her maternal grandfather—her favorite outing is accompanying him to the vibrant, expansive market in India where he shops. Nanu calls out greetings to everyone. This is his community, populated with hard-working merchants selling a plethora of merchandise: guavas, mangoes, sweets, okra, eggplants, earthy lotus roots, and much more.
Nanu buys a big steaming cup of chai. When he’s about to take his first sip, his granddaughter yells, “Stop! There’s a fly in your chai!”
Soon a rollicking, grand battle begins between Nanu and the fly. When Nanu tries to shoo the fly away, the creature refuses to budge. When a crowd gathers, Nanu’s friends and acquaintances pepper him with advice about how to deal with his distressing situation. No one is prepared for the fly to zoom out of the chai and proclaim, “My name is Rani Simran Khushi Jaspreet Twinkle Makhi-Inder Singh! And I love chai!”
Nanu and the fly spar back and forth about who loves chai the most. Finally, the fly has had enough and zooms back into Nanu’s chai. How will Nanu react? Who will win the battle? Nanu or the fly?
Children will be sure to delight in this rollicking, boisterous tale in which author Zenia Wadhwani and illustrator Chaaya Prabhat do much more than relate a comical story; they also introduce readers to the rich cultural diversity of a market in India, just one of the amazing places in God’s magnificent world.
(Tundra Books)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.