Tulika-Ammama’s Sari (Wordless)

Oh-oh! Ammama’s sari has a hole in it! So she gets down to some snipping and stitching. And the sari becomes a pretty curtain, a snug baby-sling, a perfect plaything for the cat... Niveditha Subramaniam’s stunningly textured cloth collages weave through the pages of this wordless picture book with the touch and feel of the sari. To her, they evoke comfortable sensory memories of her own Ammama — the grandmother for whom upcycling was as natural as being in a sari.

Ammama’s Sari is a wordless story by Niveditha Subramaniam from Tulika Books that appeals to everyone alike with its intricate details in the beautiful illustrations and a great story of a grandmother who can upcycle anything! This picture book was shortlisted for the 2020 Neev Book Award – Best Picture Book. One day, Ammama’s sari gets a hole, so she starts upcycling it, and turns it into amazing things like a beautiful curtain, a snug baby-sling, a perfect plaything for the cat!

The character of Ammama is unforgettable and quite relatable as it represents the typical grandmother of an Indian household and is inspired by the author’s own grandmother. The story is easy to understand and enjoy even for little toddlers as it contains large, stunning artworks and expressive pictures with vibrant colours without any words.

The illustrations are unique in the form of stunningly textured cloth collages that perfectly show the recycling of saree and the things made out of them. This wordless storybook gives a great message of upcycling things instead of abandoning them.