Review: 'And They Lived바카라�Ever After' Rewrites Fairy Tales Through A Disability Lens

Fiction/Anthology, HarperCollins, Rs 399, 224 pgs

What if visually impaired Cinderella found a way to love herself? What if hearing impaired Snow White bonded with a community she could call her own? How does a neurodivergent Ugly Duckling turn into a self-reliant swan? Can a wheelchair-using Rapunzel save her prince? The anthology And They Lived바카라�Ever After, a collection of fairy tales crafted by 13 disabled women, gives readers a chance to re-imagine many familiar stories바카라�as well as the world we live in. Disabled women rarely make an appearance in fairy tales. On the rare occasions that they do, they are often painted as twisted or scary figures. This anthology is a welcome intervention to shatter stereotypes embedded in the popular imagination. It gives a voice to those who have been left out of the narrative for far too long.

And They Lived바카라�Ever After was born in a writing workshop held by Rising Flame, a non-profit organisation working for the protection of the rights of people with disabilities. Rising Flame바카라�s 바카라�My Tale Too바카라� workshop equipped participants with the writing skills they needed to revisit age-old tales and reshape them. The 바카라�My Tale Too바카라� project was conceived with the aim of bringing disabled realities into the mainstream through popular stories.

The stories in the anthology weave the authors바카라� everyday realities into the tapestry of fairy tales. Their lived experience바카라�ups and downs, fears and dreams, and the frustrations of navigating the world as people with disabilities바카라�shine through. There are notes of love, compassion, and hope. There are innovative attempts to redefine 바카라�happily ever after바카라� and 바카라�fairy tale endings바카라�. Some of the stories sensitively trace the lives of children with disabilities. The casual cruelty of her classmates hurts Maryam in Sanchita바카라�s 바카라�Maryam and the Moon Angel바카라�. The children exclude Maryam from their games because she has a wooden leg. She senses their disdain and finds refuge in nature. The sky, the breeze, birds, and the 바카라�Moon Angel바카라� soothe her. They motivate her to claim her rightful place in the world. Zara, the heroine of O Aishwarya바카라�s 바카라�The Swan in Disguise바카라� is visually impaired. She is an excellent student but she dreads school, a place where she is always made to feel like an outsider. Her classmates suggest she attend a 바카라�special school바카라�. They call her names: freak, ghost-eyes, ugly duckling. But things change when she makes a new friend and discovers the transformative power of the arts.

바카라�Agal바카라�, P. Karkuzhali바카라�s powerful feminist retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy taleraises the question: 바카라�Should a person with a disability be an extraordinary one to earn basic respect?바카라� Kanika Agarwal바카라�s 바카라�The Deaf Snow White바카라� gives Snow White a chance to make friends and find joy in community. Her new friends help her realise that 바카라�hearing is not the only thing needed to thrive in this world.바카라� Nidhi Ashok Goyal바카라�s 바카라�It바카라�s Still Your Choice바카라� tells 21-year-old Aditi바카라�s story in the intimate first-person voice. Aditi loses her sight in an accident and is devastated. But her parents are extremely supportive of her, and she slowly picks up the pieces. When she enrolls for French classes, she meets Krish, her prince charming, who sweeps her off her feet. But when has the course of true love ever run smooth?When she loses Krish, Aditi finds the strength to 바카라�rewrite what happily ever after meant to her.바카라�

In Somrita Urni Ganguly바카라�s memorable story 바카라�Cinderella바카라�s Sister바카라�, little Mamoni바카라�s mother tells her, 바카라�Just because we were raised a certain way, we don바카라�t have to remain that way.바카라� By extension, the stories in And They Lived바카라�Ever After tell the world that just because popular tales have conjured up certain images of people who live with disability, they don바카라�t have to be boxed in. It is possible to break freeand to script new stories. It is never too late to build an inclusive world which embraces differences and makes room for diverse bodies and minds to thrive.