HT reviewer Chintan Girish Modi picks his favourite reads of 2025
A short biography of the Rice Man of India, Dadaji Ramaji Khobragade, and a book about a child’s discovery of his passion for medu vadas, that is also a tribute to the openness that migrants bring with them.
People often ask me what I like to read outside of work, and the answer almost always is “children’s literature” because it nourishes and soothes me. The sheer variety of books that Indian authors, illustrators, editors and publishers are creating for children warms my heart.
In 2025, I loved reading a picture book called This Land is My School, written by Yogesh Maitreya and illustrated by Bhargavi Rudraraju. It is a short biography of Dadaji Ramaji Khobragade, who is known as the Rice Man of India. Born in 1939 into a Mahar family, he was a farmer and plant breeder who conducted experiments and developed new varieties of rice.
He could not study much due to an illness and caste-based discrimination but that did not keep him from getting an education. Throwing light on young Khobragade’s relationship with nature, the author writes, “The earth was his grandmother and the sky his grandfather. In their company, he began to learn. He felt secure and comforted. The land became his school for life.”
The thoughtful illustrations heighten the impact of the sparse text. The illustrator captures, for instance, a foundational moment from Khobragade’s childhood when he was perched on his father’s shoulders at a village gathering addressed by Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was transfixed.
The centrespread in this anti-caste book shows Khobragade lying down on a cot in his farm, gazing at the star-spangled night sky, imagining the stars “as grains of rice” planted in the vast expanse above. Instead of focusing on the oppression that he endured due to his caste background, the book shines a light on his creativity, and celebrates him as an innovator.
Another book that I enjoyed is Manvinder’s Medu Vada. Written by Riddhi Maniar Doda and illustrated by Vinayak Varma, it is a funny and beautiful chapter book about a Sikh boy whose family migrates from Chandigarh to Bengaluru. On a visit to a restaurant, little Manvinder is served a plate of medu vadas, and it is love at first bite. As the author says, “Crispy and golden-brown outside./ Fluffy and white inside./ The perfect-sized hole that fits his finger.”
At one level, this is a story of how all the adults in the family do their best to satisfy Manvinder’s cravings by trying to make medu vadas for him. At another level, it is a tribute to the openness that migrants bring with them when they go to a new place and embrace a new culture and an unfamiliar cuisine. The author does not get into the reasons behind their decision to relocate. She puts the child’s desire to eat his favourite new food at the centre of the story, and plays along.
The illustrator dials up the humour by showing how Manvinder’s sister Gurpreet fries vadas that look like maps of Rajasthan, Mizoram and Kerala. After their father steps in and makes some fresh batter, the vadas become “harder than the rocks of the Rock Garden in Chandigarh”. Eventually, a resourceful local comes to their rescue. It is a magical, mouth-watering book.
Chintan Girish Modi is a journalist, educator and literary critic. He can be reached @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.
