The workers cheer. Nek places a hand on Ram’s shoulder and squeezes gently.
“Just like you imagined,” Ram says to him.
“Better.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
A book is never just one idea. I’ve heard other writers talk about how the blending and crashing of big ideas creates the story. This story is fictional but has deep roots in two very real stories. I feel ridiculously fortunate that both were rich with possibility.
I lived in Chandigarh, India, in 2005. One of the first places my new friends showed me was Nek Chand’s Rock Garden in what is now Sector 1. Like many visitors to this wonderful place, I was amazed. The way Chand repurposed cast-off materials inspired me. The sheer volume and scale of his work humbled me. And the fact that he worked in secret on the garden for almost twenty years intrigued me. My family and I visited the garden again in 2009 when we returned to India to adopt our son. I knew then that I wanted to write this book to learn more about Nek Chand, the need we all have to create, and the magical mingling of story, art, and the world around us.
The Ramayana itself is a great example of this mingling. First written in Sanskrit in the fourth century BC, it tells the story of Rama, his triumph over Ravana, and his return home. I used to teach selections from it in my high school world literature classes, and I’ve read many of Hanuman’s adventures to my own children. There are hundreds of versions of the Ramayana, all filled with dizzying detail. The version Ram hears in this book is very streamlined. I allowed myself the luxury of curating and winnowing it down to fit this book and parallel Ram’s story.
I left out and modified a great deal of both Nek’s story and the Ramayana. I encourage you to learn more about the Rock Garden and the real Nek Chand. Begin with the Nek Chand Foundation website (nekchand.com) for information about the artist and his work. To dive deeper into the Ramayana, consider R. K. Narayan’s The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.
Even though I had to give up many wonderful details, Ram showed up very early and quickly claimed this story as his own. He came from many places. He grew out of my own experience of being an outsider in a culture as rich as India’s. He grew out of imagining stories behind the lives of children in India without homes or families to look after them. And he grew out of wanting to write about the new story that is written when a child and a parent find each other.
As Nek says in this story, sometimes the made-up stories are the truest ones. I hope and believe he is right.
GLOSSARY
acha: okay
auntie: a term of respect for a woman older than the speaker
bewakoof: dummy or fool
chai: tea made with milk, sugar, and spices
chalo: Hindi word meaning “Let’s go.”
changa: okay
changa fer?: Good, then?
dastar: a turban worn by a Sikh man
Diwali: The Hindu festival of lights. It is widely observed across religions in India, celebrating the triumph of good over evil. It also coincides with the Sikh festival of Bandi Chhor Divas.
Dussehra: Festival celebrating Rama’s victory over Ravana. It features parades, reenactments of the Ramayana, and the burning of giant straw-filled papier-mâché effigies of Ravana and his minions.
han/han ji: phrase meaning “yes”
harmonium: a freestanding keyboard instrument, played like a piano but relying on reeds to produce the sound
hoye: oh my
ji: a suffix showing respect
kheer: traditional rice pudding dessert
marg: road or path
naan: leavened bread traditionally cooked in a tandoor
nahi: no
neem: Tree whose leaves and oils are used for medicinal purposes. People have long used peeled branches to clean their teeth.
oh teri deri: expression of dismay
oye: wow, whoa, or cool
pagal: crazy, or nuts
paisa: 1/100 of a rupee
pakoras: chunks of vegetables, meat, or cheese, dipped in chickpea flour batter and then deep-fried
panga: “Taking a panga” means asking for trouble.
paratha: flatbread
Punjab: region of northern India and eastern Pakistan
rangoli: Folk art patterns made on floors of homes to celebrate festivals and welcome Hindu gods. Rangoli are often made with colored rice, flour, grains, or flower petals.
rickshaw: A sort of taxi used to transport people around. Cycle rickshaws are pulled by bicycles.
roti: bread
rupee: basic unit of Indian currency
samosa: A stuffed, deep-fried pastry. Samosas are often filled with some combination of spices, vegetables, potatoes, and ground meat.
sari: long strip of unstitched cloth serving as a garment for Indian women
shukriya: thank you
siyappa: “drat” or “shoot”
tandoor: a traditional clay oven, often heated by a wood fire
theek hai: all right or fine
tiffin: light lunch or container used for carrying a light lunch
tuk-tuk: an auto rickshaw
uncle: a term of respect for an older man
wah ji wah: expression of awe
wallah: Hindi word that can mean a maker of something or deliverer of something
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As ever, many thanks to Caitlyn Dlouhy for her generosity, patience, and vision. I am thrilled to have a book that not only bears the mark of your green pen but also your name. Thanks to the entire team at Atheneum Books for Young Readers who make stories into real live books. Thanks to Robin Rue and Beth Miller for their encouragement, friendship, and faith in my stories. Thanks to family and friends who motivate me and tolerate me in equal measure, but love me even more. Thanks to early readers of this book in its various forms—Julia Mesplay, Josiah Vellegas, and Stephanie Guerra—your keen eyes and honest reactions helped tremendously. I am indebted to Ibadat Sahney for her guidance in language and customs. Thanks also go out to Neera, Vinod, Vineeta, Ayushee, and all my Bhavan Vidyalaya friends who welcomed me to Chandigarh and made sure I learned about Nek Chand’s marvelous work. And thanks to Jim, Evie, and Arun, for reminding me every day of the joy of making the most of what we have.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Bradbury is also the author of River Runs Deep; A Moment Comes, which won the South Asia Book Award; Wrapped; and her debut novel, Shift. Shift—which Kirkus Reviews gave a starred review, calling it “fresh, absorbing, compelling”—was picked as an ALA and a School Library Journal Best Book for Young Adults and is also on numerous state reading lists. A former English teacher, she taught in Chandigarh, India, where she first discovered Nek Chand’s remarkable sculptures. She lives with her family in Burlington, Washington.
A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book
ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
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Also by Jennifer Bradbury
A Moment Comes
River Runs Deep
Shift
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Text copyright © 2017 by Jennifer Bradbury
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