Book Review: The Gift
1 min read
Team Kitaab reviews The Gift by Ramendra Kumar (Niyogi Books, 2025), illustrated by Gauri Shilendran.
Ramendra Kumar’s The Gift is a gentle yet profound narrative that celebrates compassion, service, and the redemptive power of human empathy. Adapted from the life of Dr. Aquinas Edassery, a real-life physician who devoted her post-retirement years to providing healthcare in remote Indian villages. The story operates on two levels: as a children’s tale of kindness and as a quiet meditation on the moral imperatives of care.
The story unfolds in a small, unnamed village where a postman delivers troubling news: a young boy, Bullu, has fallen gravely ill. Responding immediately, Dr. Edassery sets out from her modest clinic to tend to the child. The narrative traces her journey, both literal and metaphorical, as she confronts the realities of rural neglect and medical inequity. Through her diligence and warmth, she not only restores Bullu’s health but also affirms a larger, more universal truth: that healing is not merely a medical act but an ethical one, grounded in empathy and equality.
