Spotlight: Chasing Wind by Kaira Karmakar
/
Publication date: September 17th 2020
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
A touching story set in India, Chasing Wind is a tale of two girls breaking barriers of class, distance, and time to forge an unforgettable friendship.
When twelve-year-old Siya travels from New Delhi to a small mountain village, she expects a relaxing summer vacation with her grandmother. A girl from the mountains quickly changes her plans for a lazy holiday. Pari is everything Siya isn’t: loud, carefree, and adventurous. She climbs over walls and rolls down hills without a second thought.
They come from different worlds. Siya’s city family has a housekeeper, a cook, and a driver; Pari’s dad cooks for Siya’s grandmother. As the girls share adventures in the forest and village, their worlds quickly intertwine. But all too soon, their time together ends, and Siya returns to the city. They never forget each other and keep in touch through letters—until their friendship is tested by a tragedy neither of them expects.
Excerpt
Summer of 2012
The fiery sun casts its warm rays across the bustling city, and it feels hotter than the inside of a stove. The dryness in the air stills the trees that usually sway along with the cheery wind. The marigolds, no longer nourished and appealing, have crisp petals the color of umber. It hasn’t rained for days, and now the parched leaves are covered in layers of dense dust and thin cobwebs. I can hear the sharp noises of rustling leaves and wheels skidding on the road echo in the bedroom. I’m relaxing on Mom and Dad’s comfy bed, right under the gushing air vent, watching my favorite TV program when Mom comes marching into the room.
“Siya, do you know where my wallet is?” she channels her dark eyes on me. Her shiny black hair reaches below her shoulders, bouncing as she trots around the bed. After looking under the pile of house-decor magazines on her table, her eyes are drawn back to me as she impatiently waits for a response.
“No,” I say, tilting my head back to the large TV screen.
“I kept it on the bed around an hour ago before you started watching TV,” she says, placing her hands on her hips, “right on top of the blanket.
Are you sure you haven’t seen it?” I shake my head.
“Yes, I’m sure. I don’t know where it is.”
“The pizza delivery man is standing outside our house, and I really need to pay him, or he might just leave.”
My friend Lila is coming over for lunch, so Mom ordered pizza for us to eat.
“I really don’t know where your wallet is. It wasn’t on your bed when I sat entered the room.”
Mom lifts up the fluffy blanket beside me and sighs after she pulls out her wallet from under the blanket.
“There it is,” I say, watching Mom’s face turn into a slight frown as she furrows her eyebrows. She presses her lips together.
“Lila’s mom said that Lila will be here in half an hour. Remember to get dressed on time.”
“Okay,” I mutter, so that Mom will stop troubling me.
“And turn off the TV in five minutes. You’ve already watched a lot of TV today.” She walks out of the room, leaving the door a little open even though she knows it annoys me. I’m in the middle of the best scene in the episode, and I cannot let anyone ruin it for me.
Buy on Amazon
About the Author
Kaira Karmakar is a high school student. She developed a passion for writing as a young child and has been crafting stories about her own life and the characters in her imagination ever since. When she is not writing or reading, Kaira enjoys painting, sketching, and playing the piano.
