Momo celebrating time to read: Thirst by Varska Bajaj

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Thirst by Varska Bajaj

If you plan to book talk this book with your students, I suggest you begin with the cover. Try to put this image up on a big screen and then look closely at all the details. We see a young girl in a school uniform holding two large clay jugs. She is looking at a ramshackle city of makeshift buildings but there is also a high-rise apartment tower in the distance. We cannot see the girl's face but the way she is standing seems to imply emotion and longing. Notice the extra words on the cover too - "Imagine a world where water is for everyone ..." Surely that will shock your students and generate some good discussion. Colby Sharp suggests you then try to find images of modern-day Mumbai with your students so they can see the juxtaposition of high-rise buildings and the shanty towns beside them. Here is one I found.

Minni lives in Mumbai and every day is a struggle for her family. Water is not readily available. Every day adults and children have to till their containers at communal taps and often the water only comes through as a trickle. Worse, this water is contaminated and so it is essential to boil and filter it before drinking. Minni's mum became quite ill last year from drinking the water.

Mumbai is a city of rich and the desperately poor. The rich have taps that provide cold and hot water in their own homes - they even have swimming pools filled with water.

The monsoon is late and water is becoming even more difficult to obtain. Then Minni, her brother and another young friend witness someone stealing water - taking this precious resource with the intention to sell it to the poor of the city at highly inflated prices. Her brother and his friend have been seen by the criminals so they are whisked away to safety far from the city. Then Minni's mother becomes very ill and so she leaves to recover in the home of her sister - also far away. Minni's mother works as a servant to a rich family in one of those high-rise apartments. Her mother needs this work and so Minni is sent in her place. You will gasp with Minni when she steps inside the luxury apartment and sees carpet, and water, and possessions beyond her wildest imagination. After working for the family for many weeks, the rich father arrives home one evening. Minni only glimpsed the men stealing the water, but she recognises him straight away. How can young kids convince the authorities that they have found the water thieves - the water mafia?

This is a fairly short novel with 179 pages but it is such a powerful story. Readers will hopefully gain and understanding of life in other places and feel enormous empathy towards young Minni. It might also give them a small insight into the importance of education as a way to move out of poverty. Here is the webpage of the author. Be sure to read the "about me" section. I highly recommend Thirst - you should add this to your Primary library wish list.

In this poignant, relatable work, Bajaj expertly depicts class and wealth differences; Minni’s worries for her mother and anger at the injustices inflicted on her community are especially moving. Kirkus

Colby Sharp - awesome, heartbreaking, read this book!

Thirst was a 2022 Global Read Aloud book.

Here is a video of Chapter One.

Awars for Thirst: