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Author: Nitin Kushalappa
Price: Rs 186-196
Genre: Folk tales /folk lore/Myths & Legends
Translations of folk songs and re tellings of folk tales across generations
A children’s book should satisfy 3 criteria.
- Easy, fluid language
- Suspension of disbelief aka rich imagination
- A moral of the story (or even 4 as in Bala Nagamma)
This collection of tales from the South India aka Dakshin Bharat ticks all the above. It’s a world where animals are often wiser than humans, where magic happens at the snap of a finger, and where each tale offers food for thought, much like our Sanskrit epic Panchtantra.
Amazon.in link:
The tales are multi-hued ranging from 7 headed cobras to kangaroos which can leap from earth to heaven & even silver rice. Tales like ’the cow and the tiger’ have a faint resemblance to Dilip’s cow in Kalidas’s Raghuvansham. Tale of Moosay Kaka is rife with innocent humour. Tales give a fresh perspective to current geographic locations as Mount Eli, river Kaveri & also the Coorg style saris.
Although targeted at 10-12 age group readers, there is no reason the adults should miss out on this joyous bouquet.
Verdict: Carries the rich flavour of southern soil in every tale. Children (and adults with young hearts) can indulge alike.
Impractical Dreamer: Sweety Shinde 