Draft:Thukpa for All

Thukpa for All

Author	Praba Ram. and Sheela Preuitt
Illustrator	Shilpa Ranade
Language	English
Genre	Children's Picture Books
Publisher	Karadi Tales Company
Publication date	2019-10-01
Publication place	India
ISBN	978-81-9338-898-3

Thukpa for All is a children’s picture book published in 2019 by Praba Ram and Sheela Preuitt and illustrated by Shilpa Ranade; rated for grades K-3. In 2020, the South Asia Book Award listed Thukpa for All with a Highly Commended award. Additionally, the book was recognized by the United States Board of Books for Young People in 2020.

Thukpa for All provides unique insight into a traditionally underrepresented identity in popular children’s literature. The Ladakh region of eastern India, a place many people are unfamiliar with, is beautifully illustrated, bringing the region to life in this children’s book with Ranade’s unique art style. The book demonstrates the cultural practices of the Ladakhi through the small glacial streams used for drinking and washing, their stone houses, and the large vegetable gardens in front of their homes. The audience follows a young blind boy, Tsering, sweeping his guide stick across the ground, traveling back home for his grandma’s thukpa (a traditional noodle soup commonly consumed in the eastern states of India). The audience relates to the Ladakh region as Praba, and Preuitt employs onomatopoeias to immerse readers in Tesering’s journey. On his path home, he invites his neighbors and friends to join him and his Abi (grandma) for thukpa; each guest brings ingredients to contribute to the soup. The gathering of friends for thukpa demonstrates the culture of the Ladakh region through community connection

Plot

Tsering is a young blind boy living in a region within the states of Jammu and Kashmir in India, Ladakh. On his journey home, his "Abi's noodle soup beckons," and he walks along humming a thukpa song. Using his sense of touch and the familiar sounds of his environment, Tsering negotiates the path home with the help of his cane. Tsering comes across different friends and relatives on his trip home. Their unique sounds and voices aid him in identifying everyone. In his excitement for thukpa, he invites friends and family to join him and his Abi for thukpa. At first, Abi was worried about needing more ingredients to make enough thukpa for everyone. However, each person Tsering invited brings a special part of the dish that contributes to the soup. Tsering can function in his environment by using his other senses instead of vision, which serves him greatly when the power is shut off while making thukpa. He can help Abi because he can identify the different spices in the dark just by smelling them. Those around Tsering struggle to form the noodles for the soup in the dark. Tsering has no problem shaping the noodles in the darkness, and when the lights turn back on, he has perfect-looking noodles. Tesering’s love for his Abi’s thukpa brings those close to him together to share his delight for thukpa, illustrating the connection between food and community.

Theme

Food and Community

Preuitt and Ram illustrate a distinct culture by highlighting the interconnection of food and community. As the audience follows Tsering (the main character) on his adventure home, he invites his neighbors for dinner. The main character, Tsering, wants to catch up with friends and family, so he invites them all to share his favorite meal, thukpa. This is further demonstrated by the title of the book Thukpa for All. This special soup is meant to be shared with special friends and family.

Friends and family not only share food, but they also contribute to the feast. As each neighbor shows up, they bring ingredients such as spinach and noodles to add to the thukpa. Some also bring apricot jam and tea for Tsering’s Abi (Ladakhi term for grandma). This calms her as she is concerned that there is not enough for everyone, but after viewing the collection of ingredients, she states that there is “Plenty for all.” Tsering’s Abi is cooking the thukpa when the power goes out, making it difficult to finish the soup. However, everyone pitches in, rolling noodles in the dark to help complete the thukpa. Thukpa for All provides a unique insight into the beauty of the Ladakh culture through the perspective of Tsering as he invites his neighbors throughout his journey home. The gathering of Tsering’s friends, family, and neighbors demonstrates the interconnection between food and community as they enjoy time together through a shared meal of thukpa. Even though many Western readers are unfamiliar with the specific food, landscape, and culture, in Thukpa for All, the audience can identify with a desire to connect with those around them and connect over a love for food.

Disability Acceptance

Thukpa for All is set from the perspective of a blind child, depicting Tsering’s disability not as something that sets him apart from his community but rather as something that offers him talents in unique situations. Readers meet Tsering as he effortlessly navigates his way home with the swishing of his guide stick. On his adventure home, Ram and Preuitt utilize onomatopoeias to depict the auditory stimuli of the Tsering environment, such as the “cruck, crunch” of Tsering walking home on a gravel path or the “flap, thwap” of the prayer flags in the Ladakh wind. This centers the audience’s attention on the central sensations of Tsering’s environment. This is further demonstrated as he plucked pea pods from his garden and “carefully squeezed each pod on the seams” to prepare them for his Abi’s Thukpa.

While his Abi was preparing the Thukpa, there was a power cut, and the lights went out. This makes it very difficult for Abi to finish the soup. Everyone pitched in to help his Abi finish the thukpa, but many struggled rolling noodles in the dark. However, Tsering states, “Lights on or off doesn’t matter to me.” When the lights return, Abi highlights, “Tsering has made perfect-looking noodles, all exactly the same.” Although the darkness impacted the other’s ability to roll noodles, the darkness did not impact Tsering’s abilities. This story provides a subtle implication of a disability while beautifully illustrating how they would navigate their surroundings and demonstrating how a disabled person may have stronger abilities in some areas.