A Mouthful of Petals

A Mouthful of Petals is a nonfiction account of three years working in an Indian village in the early 1960s. Previously published, it became a minor classic among good samaritans, particularly in Britain, and was reviewed by The Times, New Statesman and such like.

At the invitation of India's venerated political leader and activist Jayaprakash Narayan, Wendy and Allan Scarfe, two dedicated but far from solemn young Australian teachers, travelled to the remote village of Sokhodeora in Bihar in 1960. They had been asked to take charge of the educational activities of his ashram, but over the three years they lived there, their activities extended far beyond that.

This humane and important book recounts their efforts in helping local people counter the misery, poverty and ignorance that afflicted so much of the region. By the time they left, the Scarfes had succeeded in teaching both children and adults much that would help them to lead better and fuller lives. And they left behind, for the young at least, something to hope and work for.

This new edition of A Mouthful Of Petals includes an account of Wendy Scarfe's return trip to Sokhodeora during a famine in the late 1960s, and how those who live in Bihar state fare in the early twenty-first century.

Wendy and Allan Scarfe graduated from Melbourne University, gained qualifications as teachers, and taught in Australia, England and India before settling with a young family in Warrnambool. Together they wrote nonfiction books revealing their interest in history, political conflict and social injustice. Separately they wrote poetry, novels and short stories. Allan died in 2016 but Wendy still lives in Warrnambool and continues to write. Her novel Hunger Town was long-listed for the prestigious Nita B. Kibble award for women writers. She has a son and three daughters, and four grandchildren.