The Narzary Twins

Gossaigaon village is located in the corner of Assamese mountains, where a tribe of people called the Bodos live, surrounded by vast rice fields and tea plantations.

- Aishwarya Ravikumar

All the homes in the village are made of thin concrete walls, painted pink and blue, and roofs made of aluminum sheets.

In one of the bigger homes live seven-year-old twins Jharna and Rosey Narzary. They are the proud owners of two pigs, three ducks, and one mother hen with ten eggs! Their cat, Tiger, had recently died during a brawl between the neighboring villages.

The monsoon season was at its peak and the village looked deserted, with people staying indoors during the stormy weeks. One morning, after a noisy downpour had growled through the night, Jharna and Rosey were busy flipping through the pages of a one-week old newspaper that the chai-stall uncle had given them to keep them quiet.

“Stop asking so many questions and let me work!” he had said.

Suddenly, Jharna’s rusty red alarm clock rattled loudly—it was time to start getting ready for school! The twins put on their uniforms and placed three books in a plastic bag. They both had short hair and didn’t have to worry about braids or ribbons. Just as they were putting on their socks, they heard the sky grumble: a warning that a squall was coming.

Jharna pointed at Rosey’s shoe with a question.

“I’ll tell you a secret!” whispered Rosey. “I found these shoes next to the river!”

“When?” asked Jharna, astonished at the shoes’ excellent condition.

“The day after Tiger was killed in the riot,” said Rosey, still looking at the shoes. “No one was there to claim them and they fit me perfectly, so I’m using them for going to school.”