Gulab works happily from dawn to dusk in the garden at the house on top of the hill. One evening he takes back with him a big bunch of magnolias for his wife. But on the way he gives away a flower to each of the friends he meets Raju Ghodawala, Tsering and her baby who have come from Tibet, Lachhami going back to her cows, Hari Dhabawala, the girl who loves to paint... And for his wife?
As Gulab wends his way home, the hill town of Shimla emerges in charming and unexpected detail. The places, the people and their stories come together as in a large painting, captured here in the Pahari miniature art style of the region, Himachal. Floating above it all is the beautiful magnolia, the soft white flower 'like the moon'.
Malati Shah studied Art in the USA and has had several solo and group shows. She grew up in a joint family in Delhi, and spent a lot of time looking for quiet places to hide and read. She lives in the USA and in India, with her husband and black labrador named Kaza. Her two children are almost all grown up now.
Amrita Kanther has a Master's in Design (Visual Communication) from the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay. She is interested in designing for children, bi-cultural design, publication design and visual interaction design for digital media. Her earlier book with Tulika was The Lion and the Fox.
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