Constable Jincy Jose is on the hunt for a stolen buffalo. “One of Erumannoor’s finest constables”, who “doesn’t prefer using any pronouns when identifying themselves”, Jincy finds many hindrances to their search — the biggest being the friendly village folk, who wonder why any thief would bother with such an ugly animal when there are so many pretty cows abound.
The true value of this beloved buffalo becomes evident at the end of the story, which ties it in with the larger picture of agriculture in India. Meanwhile, Jincy’s mystery-solving adventure fits right in with the rest of the stories in Tales for Tweens, Chennai-based Flourish Books’ latest collection of simple yet deliberately inclusive stories that paint a picture of villages, cities, hills and islands around India that embrace everyone, just as they are, without making a fuss of it.
