#375 - The Incredible Life of Milkha Singh
by Swati Sengupta and illustrated by Devashish Verma
“The Incredible Life of Milkha Singh : The Runner Who Could Fly” by Swati Sengupta and illustrated by Devashish Verma. Published by Talking Cub, the children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger. A short illustrated biography of Milkha Singh who was one of the finest Indian athletes of all time.
The book begins with Milkha as a seven or an eight year old boy. He lived in a small idyllic village of west Punjab called Gobindpura. It was nearly 400 km from Lahore and 600 km from Delhi. He lived with his parents and brothers in a small mud hut. He led a carefree life running, playing with friends and flying kites in the village surrounded by open fields. His two hour long walk to school was quite an adventure given that it would get very hot and he had to walk barefoot. This made him start running so that he could reach home faster. This was in the 1930s when India was ruled by the British.
Along with India’s independence in 1947 came another momentous event which caused deep misery and agony for thousands of families. The partition which resulted in one of the largest migrations of people. This led to widespread riots in the affected areas and caused upheaval in Milkha’s life. He lost most of his family to the shootings in his village by a mob of fanatics and managed to survive by running away from his village. Within a short duration, he had lost his secure life full of loved ones and become alone as well as friendless. He managed to get recruited to the Indian army in Secunderabad. Read the book to know how he overcame all the suffering, pain and hurdles that life threw at him and finally found his passion of running races.
My 8.5 year old son and I enjoyed reading the story of this magnanimous personality through the book. We were astonished to see someone who had suffered so much in his early life beating all odds to rise to the occasion and focus on his joy and success. He managed to create unprecedented records in Indian sport history and become one of the most inspirational athletes ever for Indians. His never say die attitude, grit, unwavering focus and determination to succeed are so motivating. The title of “Flying Sikh” that he earned was so apt given the way he ran or maybe flew :)
My son was moved by the story and glad to have known about Milkha Singh through a book like this. He had been wanting to read a book on a male sportsman after having read “Women in Sports” recently. This book came out at the right time and he was thrilled to read it quickly! The book is part of a new series of short and illustrated biographies of Indian icons for younger readers by Talking Cub. The series aims to introduce readers to a diverse group of Indian achievers, both well-known and those who should be.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 10 and above for self reading. However, it can be read aloud to a slightly younger child like we did.
Reasons to Read
To know about the incredible achievements of the legendary “Flying Sikh” who did not get deterred by the adversities and hurdles in his life.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Talking Cub here.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Talking Cub, for review. Thank you to Tanu, from Talking Cub, for sending across the book!