Ajay and the Mumbai Sun

Shah, Varsha. Ajay and the Mumbai Sun

July 4, 2023 by Chicken House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ajay was abandoned by his mother at a Mumbai railway station and makes his living selling The City Paper newspaper. His dream is to become a journalist, and when he gets a chance to meet its editor, Mr. Gupta, to ask for a job, he's very excited. He goes to buy ink at the market, and spills some on Mr. Raz, a renowned environmentalist, who allows him to purchase the supplies he needs to write an article to give to Mr. Gupta. Sadly, Mr. Gupta informs him that the paper is laying off staff, and definitely not hiring ten year olds. Ajay does find an old printing press that the paper is getting rid of, and with the help of some friends, takes it to the equipment room at the railway station where his friend Saif is an apprentice engineer. He starts to look for articles to write, and manages to find pink waste paper to print on, and old t shirt dye from his friend Yasmin's workplace to use as ink. He sees groups of threatening looking men putting up signs, taking photos of them, and then taking them down. The signs are notices that the slums are going to be cleared, which means that people will lose their homes. He published that in his Mumbai Sun newspaper, but no one seems very interested. Realizing that people like sports stories, he arranges an interview with a local cricket player, and does sell more copies. He also finds out that the factory where Yasmin works has had some code violations, and investigates. Yasmin is angry when the article comes out, because her factory is shut down and she has no job. When she goes to talk to the boss, the building (which Ajay heard the boss saying was unsafe) collapses. Yasmin narrowly escapes with Ajay's help, and her boss is killed. This launches Ajay and his friends into a full investigation, which uncovers shell corporations with untraceable origins. They manage to get documents from a lawyer handling some of the cases with the help of Lata, an intern, and even realize who is running the corporations. Will they be able to convince the local politicians that clearing the slums and relocating the residents is not in their best interests, but rather the work of villains?

Strengths: This balances descriptions of daily life with social justice issues very nicely, and is a fast-paced look at children who see a problem and want to solve it. Ajay may not have all of the advantages of the private school they approach to play a match against the street children, but he has grit and determination, and puts his desire to become a journalist into practice. His friends include not only Saif, who is learning to fix equipment of all sorts, but also Vinod, who is an excellent cook, and Yasmin, who is a champion for workers' rights. The investigation takes Ajay to all manner of interesting places, like the address of one of the shell corporations inhabited by a three year old who is supposedly the president, and the fancy legal offices of Mrs. Pain. There were some interesting things about Indian culture that I learned, like the fact that caste discrimination has been illegal for 60 years, and a twist at the end that I should have seen coming and didn't. This was an interesting look at a happier version of life for children in India than Venkatraman's The Bridge Home.  
Weaknesses: My students may not understand why Ajay and his friends don't have parents taking care of them, so there could have been a bit of explanation for readers who are not familiar with Indian culture. Also, this had a decidedly British feel to the characters, and the names were a bit quirky. One of the shell corporations has the acronym FISHY. This makes the book seem a little less serious than it is. 
What I really think: This is a must have for fans of Bajaj's Thirst, and a great example of Children Doing Things. While it seemed a little unrealistic to me taht Ajay would have had such an impact, I wish my students had a thimblefull of Ajay's gumption. Definitely purchasing, and am looking forward to handing to students next year.