By Shreya Chaudhuri
The book brings out the joy of email exchanges between a 10-year-old granddaughter and her 
grandfather. It encapsulates the touching correspondence of ‘modern letters’ through the medium of emails between the author, Saanvi, lovingly called ‘Raya’ and her grandfather, who happens to be the renowned ENT surgeon at Down Town Hospital Guwahati, Dr N.N. Dutta, who is addressed by his preteen granddaughter as ‘Ata’.
The essence behind publishing this book stems from the atypical post-COVID-19 physical separation created between loved ones and their families and friends.
This newly published book is a compilation of 52 to-and-fro correspondences between the grandfather-granddaughter duo. The grandfather broaches a subject of interest and correspondingly the granddaughter responds to each and every email, enthusiastically. Letters, and in this case, emails, when exchanged between loved ones have a way of revealing the undertones behind the content shared as well as a lot about the mental makeup of the sender and the recipient. The textual dialogues also reveal fragments of information about their ways of life, their learning and understanding of the immediate world, their past histories as well as their familial bonds, which holds its own personal charm in this reading.
The candour and warmth in the writing underscores the relationship between a doting grandfather and his effervescent granddaughter as they write to each other over a period of time during the long-drawn pandemic. The emails, which are complemented with photographs from the family’s personal memorabilia touch upon a host of themes such as the human value system, crucial life lessons, inspirational personalities and spiritual teachings. These are, in turn, laced with anecdotal references that a grandfather at the ripe age of 80 shares with his growing granddaughter, equipping her to brave the world. The emails, and their subjects though simple and lucid cater to the impressionable mind of a ten-year-old girl.
There are instances in the book where the elderly figure instills the values and virtues of a vastly different time and age upon his pliant and responsive granddaughter. In these email series, he offers grandfatherly wisdom and guidance mixed with narratives from his own life and enables the child to explore life from an experienced lens. He broaches varied themes such as the vitality of time, nature, the pristine love of a mother, Gandhi’s ideals, knowing and respecting the human body, teachings of the Buddha, the toll of climate change, healthy food choices vis-à-vis the hazards of junk food, the significance of Majuli island, and the personal drudgery of battling COVID-19 among others.
The book provides an intimate look at the lives of Raya and her Ata. The anecdotes and personal stories used in the book take the reader in a mindscape where one ponders over life’s deepest questions that offer bountiful wisdom. To live life with values, conviction and dedication is what the depth of the emails accentuates in this publication. The exchanges are simple yet moving, lucid yet inspiring. The exchanges highlight the insights and wisdom that ‘age’ brings while shaping the mind of someone at a tender age while also propelling a wider audience to reflect on their own lives.
The element that stands out beautifully in this two–way narration is the emotive bond between grandparents and their grandchildren in nurturing, mentoring and equipping them for life.