Description:

Twelve year old Aarya is a bookworm, and was unsurprisingly quite bored during the COVID-19 pandemic. The heritage and culture of Ahmedabad, her hometown, occupies a big place in her heart. Aarya often visits the heritage sites and draws her own interpretations of these places. Ever since the COVID crisis began, she is sadly unable to visit the heritage sites of the city. But destiny has other plans for her, as Aarya soon finds herself undertaking a journey to discover India’s UNESCO listed World Heritage sites.

Does her Pa’s well preserved magical book on the Marvels of India help her on her journey? Placing her fingers on the pictures of the Heritage Sites she wanted to go to, Aarya twirls through different realms and finds herself teleported to the ancient marvels of India.

Agra Fort, Hawa Mahal, Rani Ki Vav, the Great Chola Temples are just a few of the sites that she explores to keep her sanity in this crisis. As the young girl hops from one site to another, she explores the dense forest trails of Kaziranga National park, the whispering statues of Mahabodhi temple complex at Bodh Gaya, the echoing caves of Ellora and the marveling architecture of Agra Fort. But that was not all, as she catches up with the galloping horses of the Sun God at Konark Sun temple, and the whistling Mountain Railways of Darjeeling.

Adventure follows Aarya as she decodes the cryptic texts of ancient Nalanda, traverses through the mighty Himalayan Ranges and its national parks, makes friends with a lone young golden langur and tries her hand in trying to budge the gigantic Krishna’s Butterball at Mahabalipuram monuments.

Memories of Taj Mahal flutter by, especially at night when the moon rays illuminate the monument to make it look like another moon on earth. Finding her way through this is easier said than done as Aarya traverses through wild forests, all the time keeping the ancient book in sight. She also keeps an eye the sites already visited and one on the golden langur following her for hours.

Alas! Time doesn’t last forever. Aarya travels back to Ahmedabad and explores the labyrinthine city and its Pols and loses herself in the moment before hearing the faint cooing of pigeons from the bird feeders. Her expedition has resulted in dirt all over her body, hair tangled with leaves and twigs and mud all over her dress. After having her day’s fill of adventure and sore feet, Aarya gets back home only to find that she may be a bit too late for dinner…