A Yatra Begins Under-The-Bed

Can a torn blanket be a magical carpet? One that whisks you under the bed and then heaves you into a cave? And not with a foreign sound, not with a BOOM or a THUD. But with a peculiarly desi one, “GADA-BADA,” which means what it sounds like: chaos, confusion, thrills and chills. Such a phat-a-phat leap is possible if you’re the twinkly-eyed, gap-toothed Vivaan, who clambers down his bunk bed to escort his twin, Reha, through an electrifying ride. It’s a journey that starts, like most kids’ forays, in a comforting, womb-like dimness from under the bed.

Shot Into a Chamakdar Cave

The softness that rolls them like “masala in a dosa” conveys them into a cave filled with radiant objects. “Shiny rocks. Twisty roots. Glowing mushrooms.” And then, LOL! Something that a kid might encounter IRL under a bed, a smelly, old sock. Something that the quick-thinking Vivaan must morph with a finger snap into something darker, and more perilous. This isn’t an “old sock” but a snoring, upside-down bat, who introduces himself to the duo as “Batappa.” Like a grouchy, old grandpa, Batappa, despite his upside-downness struggles with insomnia. He insists the twins summon Sangita Sheep to bleat out a lullaby.

Saathis at Every Stop

Off they scurry, in a frantic search, meeting others on the way: like Gyanesh Goat, the quiz master, whose gatepass is a riddle. Sangita Sheep, coiffed like a veteran classical performer, drops her tablas to accompany them. Will Batappa be soothed or not? You need to read “Gadabada Blanket and the Cave Under the Bed” to find out. Better still, if you read it to your wide-eyed, inventive tots.

Dishooms, not Booms

One can almost imagine a grown-up snoring in the room, perhaps in another bed, unaware that the twins have fled their room, and soared to other places, before landing back with a “FRAPP.” Overall, this book has been written with delightful Indian sounds – besides, “GADA-BADA”, there’s “THABAAL”, “ZORR, ZORR…” “Aiyo” and the “Dha-Dha-Dha” of the tabla. The lush, vivid illustrations with the painted smudginess of dreams add to its appeal. More than anything else, it reinforces to desi tots that magic isn’t elsewhere, but right where they already are: mostly in places that adults can’t sneak into, like under the bed.

References:

Ashok Rajagopalan, Gadabada Blanket & The Cave Under the Bed, Tota Books, Speaking Tiger, 2026