Udaipur-born author Arefa Tehsin’s latest book, ‘The Chirmi Chasers’ has been shortlisted for the prestigious Neev Book Award 2021.

The Chirmi Chasers, which went to print with its second edition just a couple of months after its release, has been published by Duckbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It is shortlisted in the Emerging Readers category.

Based in a small town of Rajasthan around a game of sitolia, The Chirmi Chasers is a story of friendship and playing against great odds and prejudices. It brings to life the sound, colours, culture and life of rural Rajasthan. Aimed at emerging readers, who are transiting from picture books to full length books, the story is brought to life by illustration from Pia Alize Hazarika.

The Neev Book Award for distinguished children’s literature aims to recognise outstanding writing that leads to a fuller understanding of India, Indian lives, and Indian stories. This award aims to promote and encourage high-quality children’s literature from India. In 2018, the Neev Literature Festival extended its vision to promote and encourage high-quality children’s literature from India. (Website: https://www.neevliteraturefestival.org)

About Arefa Tehsin

Born in Udaipur, Arefa Tehsin is the daughter of renowned naturalist Dr. Raza H Tehsin. She has spent her childhood treading jungles with her father, exploring unknown caves and handling snakes. Arefa has authored 16 fiction and non-fiction books, both for children and adults and contributes columns, features and travel articles to various publications like The Hindu, Deccan Herald, The Indian Express, Outlook Money and TerraGreen. Among her books that have got her recognition on the literary platform are 'Amra and the Witch', 'Wild in the Backyard', 'The Elephant Bird', 'Do Tigers Drink Blood and 13 Other Mysteries of Nature', etc. Few schools in India and Sri Lanka have taken up her book as textbooks and supplementary readers. Arefa was also appointed as the Honorary Wildlife Warden of Udaipur district and has pursued nature conservation through her writings and columns.