Little Tsering’s Abi (grandmother in Ladakhi) is going to be preparing his favourite dish, Thupka, a noodle soup, for dinner. A delighted Tsering invites a few friends whom he meets during the day to join them.
Everyone soon arrives looking forward to a bowl of warm soup accompanied by stories to while away the cold wintry night. They start to pitch in to prepare the meal. Suddenly, however, the lights in the village go off and the house is plunged into darkness. Now what? How can the soup be prepared? What will everyone eat? Undeterred by the situation, Tsering, who is visually impaired, steps in to save the day, as, after all, “Lights on or off doesn’t matter to me.”

Beautifully narrated from Tsering’s viewpoint, we happily arrive at the conclusion that a physically disabled child is really not much different from other kids. In fact, they are all children first, within and without.

Sensitively rendered by Praba Ram and Sheela Preuitt and accompanied by Shilpa Ranade’s stunning visuals of Ladakh, the book is a veritable treat.
An additional treat is the recipe for the Thupka, in case you are left yearning for some by the end of the book.

Thukpa for All was selected for the 2019 IBBY list of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities.