AHIMSA

Narrator Zehra Jane Naqvi transports listeners to 1942 India, where the nation's fight for independence from the British Empire is taking place. Ten-year-old Anjali fears her father will acquiesce to Mahatma Gandhi's request for all Indian families to send a family member to the resistance movement. When her mother becomes involved instead and is arrested, Anjali learns about the causes and effects of "ahimsa," or nonviolent resistance, as she continues her mother's work to integrate her school with varied castes. Naqvi excels at creating realistic voices, presenting the young and worried Anjali in a clear, piping voice that helps establish her youth and contrasts with the lower voice she gives to Anjali's father. The accents used for the characters help establish and maintain the story's setting. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2020]