Adventures of Maya, the Big City Girl

It was 2007. It all started with a series of storybooks about the Adventures of a Big City Girl. Me.

I had grown up in Bombay, India. And so my stories were different from those of many other Indian moms and I wanted to share the stories with my two Indian-American children. So I taught myself to write stories and make books by hand. I made copies of the books for my son, who could read a bit. He would check them out in bed before he fell asleep. In the morning he would give me a thumbs up, thumbs middle, or thumbs down.

The series was mostly about animals, and two specific foods—one Maya loves and another which she hates. But the stories are also about places where I saw them and learned about them. Even though these stories are for children, the questions that come up can engage adults as well as Maya, as I named myself, asks a lot of questions. From being vegetarian to ahimsa, from the wonder of fish-filled rivers to cute monkeys jumping across rooftops who turn out to be vicious, as Maya learns we all get a slice of her adventures.

The first story, Bakri, was set in Bombay from when Maya was six and is about goats. And goat curry.
Hanuman was from when she was eight and is set in Deoghar, where mother had taken her brother and her to visit during their vacation and she sees her first black-faced langur.
Bandar is set in Haridwar and Maya is nine years-old and attending a wedding. But one hot afternoon, monkeys enter the room where all the wedding supplies are stored.
Kairies, is set in Jabalpur, when Maya is 10 and sees her first summer storm.
Haathi, is set in a tea garden and Gorumara National Park in Northern West Bengal. Here Maya is 12 and sees her first Indian elephants—a baby and a mommy.
Gaai, is set at another wedding, this time in Varanasi and how Maya, the 14 year old has to defeat cows as she decorates the wedding car.
Nariyalpaani, is set in Goa, when Maya visits as a 16 year-old who hates coconut water but is constantly offered some on the beach.