Children's & YA
December 2018
The Story of Tanya
by Arupa Patangia Kalita
A father brings two fluffy bundles of joy from the foothills of Bhutan for his daughter to replace her dead dog Tom. Siblings of Tibetan Spaniel breed, the girl Tanya is given away to another loving family that dotes on her as their own child and the ball of fluff enters a life of adventure, sheltered by the love and bonding of the town’s children. Tanya is adopted by Arunabh’s family from Jilmil’s, leaving her brother Jigme behind. Although her new life starts with the pain of parting from her brother, Tanya quickly adapts to her new surroundings and continues her ‘adventurous’ life. She thinks she’s brave as a tigress, but in reality, as chicken as a hen. She almost gets run over by military trucks, is nearly crushed by the family’s fat aunt, and she rattles her entire household one night over a stray tom cat that she thinks is a thief. Tanya also rides an elephant and she did actually protect her family from a poisonous snake once. As the years go by, and her loving brother Arunabh steps into adulthood, Tanya grows into an old lady in the body of a baby. Arunabh goes to Delhi to continue his studies and Tanya misses his company and the tunes of his harmonica. The story ends with Arunabh’s mother noticing her son and his friends’ adulthood as the veil of childhood innocence is lifted from her eyes with Tanya’s death. Tanya is a universal story of a cute dog and her adventures. What she communicates with her peers and what she says to her family is beautifully expressed through imaginary speech by the author. Albeit with a sad ending, Tanya is a happy story of a dog that lived a happy life, spread mirth and joy among whoever she came across and overshot the average life-span of her breed. Narrated in twenty-one chapters, the story of Tanya unravels through short and interesting episodes presenting her adventures and emotions across a span of 10-11 years.
