One of my closest friends once said, ‘Folklore is boring’. I would challenge him to say this after reading Neha Negi’s book titled When Birds Talked: Folklore of the Hills. A perfect example of how books should be made interesting, especially in today’s time, where the attention span is getting reduced with each passing day. It’s not just about the richness of words, but Negi’s hand-painted illustrations make you stop to look at the beauty of her art, equip your surroundings with a soothing sight, along with a perfect combo of mythology, ecology, and human imagination that leaves you nothing but awe-struck.
The book reimagines the myths of Himalayan birds, but with a beautiful twist. It uses Devbhumi as the foundation, takes its rich oral traditions and then moves on to trace the origins of various beautiful birds. As you move forward step by step in Negi’s world, the chirping of the birds starts getting louder in the winds of a clean sky. A sky where the only thing that exists is peace, no chaos. The same peace gets reflected in the story when Negi calls to protect the fragile ecosystems of our beloved Himalayas.
The architecture of the book is such that spending money on it doesn’t make you feel bad at any point. Further, the storytelling has been done in such a way that it keeps you connected throughout—something rare in contemporary writing.
I keep checking books on Amazon, and this book came to me by sheer luck. I actually wanted to read something on Uttarakhand and hence was searching for the same, but somehow Amazon recommended me this book. And I’m glad it did. Finished this in about 2 hours, as the book isn’t very dense. A positive effort from a mountain girl.
Appreciate and best wishes.
When Birds Talked: Folklore of the Hills by Neha Negi can be purchased here.
Aditya Gupta is an independent journalist based in Delhi. He loves to read books.