In this collection of stories and essays by children and young adults from different parts of India, we see unbridled imagination and empathy, as they write about what is happening around them. While one writer wonders why her dreams have gone missing, another turns to history to see what lockdowns would have been like in ancient times.

There are heartrending and deeply emotional stories of lives lost and the stark inequalities that the pandemic has laid bare. Some writers wonder if the star of hope will ever shine again, and others look for relief in scientific thought, in writing, and in books.

Throughout the collection there runs a sense of time lost and gained—of how this phase of global history is a bend in time. Intensely honest, wise yet innocent, thoughtful and full of hope, this anthology, introduced by award-winning children’s writer Bijal Vachharajani, is a peek into the mind of a generation that could re-imagine our world and, if we are lucky, make it safer, wiser and more compassionate.