Beauty is Missing review: A delightful children’s book about a music-loving buffalo

Priya Kuriyan is easily one of the finest writers and illustrators that India can boast of. Her work stands out for many reasons – her powers of observation, sense of humour, grasp of local nuances, vibrant colour palette, celebration of quirky little details, and wild imagination. If you have missed out on her work, get started with her new book titled Beauty is Missing.

She has written and illustrated this delightful story about a buffalo named Beauty who likes listening to music on her stylish red radio. Beauty is a connoisseur. She has different musical preferences for different parts of the day. When she is milked at dawn, she prefers Western classical music. Bollywood songs are best for when she is out grazing in the open. While wallowing in the pond for self-care, she is in the mood for romantic Malayalam songs. Before she retires for the night, she likes to be soothed by soft instrumental tunes with dim lighting.

How on earth did the author come up with such an adorable protagonist? The answer is at the end of the book so that your enjoyment of the story is not diminished. She writes, “Buffaloes are highly intelligent animals who love socializing with others of their kind. They’re often found wallowing in mud or taking dust baths in order to protect their sensitive skin from sunburn and insects that bite. They enjoy grazing and being outdoors. Research shows that buffaloes also like listening to slow music. It helps alleviate stress and relaxes them.”

All the research on buffaloes was made available by the Humane Society International (HSI), which funded the development of this book. They gave a grant to Pratham Books, which is the publisher. HSI works on animal welfare projects in more than 50 countries of the world, and this includes promoting the animal-human bond and animal-free testing and research.

Beauty belongs to a loving and assertive woman named Tessamma who is upset when Beauty disappears. She marches off to the Erumannoor police station to file a complaint. When Inspector Gopi and his stooges see Beauty’s picture, they burst out laughing. “Who names a buffalo Beauty?” Tessamma is clearly not amused. Neither is Jincy Jose, the new constable. The illustrations here are so evocative that the pages look like scenes from a movie set.
Jincy understands that every moment without Beauty is painful for Tessamma, so she promptly gets down to doing her work. She puts up a poster with Beauty’s photograph, and this appeal: “If you see this buffalo, call 100.” After this, Jincy gathers more details from Tessamma, who has had a harrowing night without her beautiful companion beside her. Jincy is impressed when she learns more about Beauty, and says, “What excellent taste in music!”
In the process of searching for the buffalo, Jincy goes around the village to ask various people if they have seen Beauty. One of the villagers, Thommachan, says, “I don’t like buffaloes. I only like my cow Chandanakutty and she doesn’t wallow in the mud like those buffaloes.” Remani, another villager, says, “Anyway, who would steal that useless buffalo?” Savithri, who is Remani’s sister, says, “If she (Beauty) were a pretty cow, I would steal her.”
This is an intelligent way to challenge stereotypes that equate beauty with having fair skin. Isn’t it unfortunate that human prejudices about dark skin run so deep that they won’t even spare animals? The book makes a powerful point without belabouring it. Read the story to find out how Jincy nabs the kidnapper, and brings Beauty back to Tessamma. The chase is gorgeously illustrated, with fireflies lighting up the night when Jincy is on the prowl. Thankfully, Inspector Gopi has a change of heart. He says, “Beauty is indeed a beauty.”

Chintan Girish Modi is a Mumbai-based journalist and book reviewer.

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