Tinku Ranbir - Janav's Mother

And so on to our next main character in The Arrival– the dutiful mother, Tinku.

Tinku Ranbir
Mother to the ever-questioning Janav and wife to the stoic Chan, Tinku is a character who has great significance to the story. Her presence is felt throughout both The Arrival and Breakaway, and provides a sense of balance to the two male figures.

Tinku and Janav

It’s somewhat ironic that I initially found Tinku the hardest character to get a bead on in The Arrival.

Many of the stories I’ve written have been said to be “very female” – not just because they feature female lead characters, but also because of the themes and subject matter they contain.  However, when it came to taking a look into what made Tinku work as a character and what made her more distinctive from the rest of the cast, it took me a bit longer to figure out.

It’s too easy to merely say that Tinku is the ‘heart’ of the family – while this is true (in more ways that one), Tinku represents more than the glue of conscience that keeps the Ranbirs together. She’s strong, thoughtful and probably the most socially aware of the family, which are important traits for anyone relocating to a different country, culture and society. As expected, Jen’s artwork conveys all those elements of her character with subtlety, beauty and grace.

Tinku possesses relatively minimal dialogue in The Arrival, but arguably some of the most important lines in the whole story. In some respects, this is as much her tale as it Janav’s…