Good old Indian folktales need a Magic Genie

New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Once upon a time, traditional folk tales from thePanchatantra or, say, stories of Akbar and Birbal used to be hugely popularwith Indian children.But ask a kid today about her favourite book, and chances are she will namean Enid Blyton, a Nancy Drew, a Hardy Boy and - even more likely - a HarryPotter.

To give an example, the pre-bookings for the seventh edition of the HarryPotter series to be released July 21, is escalating at a rapid rate. Thesixth in the series sold a smashing 160,000 copies in India last year.The story is entirely different for Indian folk tales and other children'sbooks. A predictable storyline, monotonous illustrations, lots of moralbaggage and more importantly sloppy marketing have led to their taking abeating."Most children have heard the folk tales before - either from their parentsor their grandparents. So there is no attraction to read a folk tale book,"said Vandana Bisht, an author based in Delhi."Moreover, they don't find the Indian folk tale books interesting becausethey are not laid out as interestingly as their foreign counterparts. "Most traditional Indian stories have a rural backdrop or a royal setting.Many have birds, animals, trees and flowers talking and interacting freelywith man -far removed from reality and a rather different take on fantasycompared to, for instance, a Harry Potter!

"The main problem I think with these books is that they compromise on the fun factor by attaching too much of moral baggage. Also, kids get bored of seeing the same kings and queens in their royal garb," Bisht told IANS.Currently working on a book based on Tibet and with elaborate illustrations,Bisht has authored many children's books like "Avadhi Folktales" and"Princess With The Longest Hair".

Mamang Dai, another writer of children's books based in Arunachal Pradesh,said that besides lacklustre illustrations, the marketing strategy adoptedby publishing houses and agents here is perhaps not good enough to attractmore readers.Agreed Gita Wolf, publisher of Chennai based Tara Publishing House. "Thereason why certain things are popular is often not because of theirintrinsic merit, but because there is a huge marketing machine behind them.This is increasingly the case."This is not to say there is no merit in Harry Potter - on the contrary. Butsadly, marketing budgets need to be several times larger than publishingcosts - and Indian children's books do not have pride of place in Indianbook shops," Wolf told IANS.Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, deputy director of publications of the NortheasternHill University based in Meghalaya, said there is a need to revamp folktales to suit the changing tastes of children."

There should be an element of modernisation along with the mythical elementin the folk tales so that children can relate to the stories. There shouldbe contemporary characters with elements of mystical powers. While somethings - a part of the essence perhaps - are going to be lost because ofthis, there will be something gained as well," Nongkynrih saidThe author of numerous folk tale books in the local language of Meghalaya,Khasi, he said there was also an urgent need to transform these stories that hardly goes beyond three pages into full-length novels.Bisht points out yet another reason."Children today are looking towards the West in every aspect. Be it inclothes, movies or food.

So is the case in books. Moreover, the ruralsetting or royal background which the Indian storybooks generally deal withis not identified with by the children," said Bisht.Steering away from this trend, some publishers like Tara Publishing House ofChennai and Katha of Delhi are giving a push to children's books that aremore realistic and have extensive illustrations.One of the books by Tara, "Trash! On Ragpicker Children and Recycling", forinstance, is based on the real life experience of ragpicker children.It talks about one particular child who runs away from home and ends up as aragpicker in the city. His trials and tribulations, humorous instancessprinkled with serious ones like child labour, child rights and recycling,earned this book a mention in the Munich-based White Ravens, a selection ofinternational children's and youth literature.

- Azera Rahman

Ma Ganga and the Razai Box

'Ma Ganga and the Razai Box’ is a delightful story that combines mythology and contemporary environmental issues. A miffed Ganga, an awakened hill people – together they spread once again Shiva’s matted locks – the mesh of roots and branches holding back the topsoil from being swept away by the river.

The Hindu
(Young World, Saturday, 15 June 2007)

Teaching through story telling is often more entertaining and effective than laying down a list of dos and don’ts. The two books from Katha —Ma Ganga and the Razai Box and Satyadas — employ allegory to provide a charming yet instructive account of issues that affect us all.

Young Yasho of the Hill people is the protagonist of Ma Ganga and the Razai Box. Though young, she bears the responsibility of finding a solution to the problem of soil erosion that is depriving her village of the fertile top soil required for cultivation of crops. An added problem is the scarcity of water, as a peeved Ma Ganga has decided not to run her course and instead sleep inside Yasho’s razai box, till the Hill people find Shiva’s matted locks over which she can flow. Complete with vibrant and dramatic illustrations, the story, written by Geeta Dharmarajan, weaves environmental concerns like pollution, soil erosion and desertification with mythology, without losing out on the simple human tale.

The Author

Geeta Dharmarajan

The Illustrator

Sonali Biswas

Publishers: Katha
Cover Design: Geeta Dharmarajan
Category: Children's Books
Statistics: 32 pages
ISBN 81-89020-74-9 [PB]
Price: Rs 80 [India and the subcontinent only]

Buy now!

Satyadas

Satyadas is a simple allegorical tale of changing fortunes and the exit of human values at the advent of material well-being and prosperity.

The Hindu
(Young World, Friday, 15 June 2007)

Exploring truth

Satyadas is the name of the mysterious visitor who appears on a rainy evening in front of Raghunath’s humble grocery shop. Unable to travel in the bad weather, he is offered food and shelter by Raghunath, the warm and caring host. He goes away the next day, but not before leaving a pouch whose valuable contents will test the limits of Raghunath’s honesty.

While the charcoal sketches bring to life the humble life and household of Raghunath, the story, originally written in Bengali by Bimal Kar and translated into English by Enakshi Chatterjee, is about the decline in human values as one falls a prey to greed. As the prologue to the book describes, it is a story “exploring truth, falsehood and everything in between.”

The Author

Bimal Kar

The Illustrator

Neeta Gangopadhya

The Translator

Enakshi Chatterjee

Publishers: Katha
Cover Design: Geeta Dharmarajan
Category: Children's Books
Statistics: 40 pages
ISBN 81-89020-68-4 [PB]
Price: Rs 75 [India and the subcontinent only]

Buy now!

Parthiban's Dream

A melting pot of mystery, adventure...

Chandamama
(June 2007)

A gripping story spanning a wide canvas, Parthiban’s Dream is a melting pot of adventure, mystery, romance, black magic and history. It is cast in the times of the Cholas and Pallavas, and brings alive the period in its lively and intricate description of the life and times of the people. In the background is the bustling port town of Mammallapuram (now called Mahabalipuram) and the sound of stone-chipping and sculpting can almost be heard as the writer describes the dream of Narasimhaverma Pallava, the King of Kanchi.

In the foreground is Woriyur where the waning Chola kingdom is surviving on the dreams of King Parthiban. Burning with desire to restore the Chola kingdom to its past glory, Parthiban raises his flag in defiance of the powerful Pallava ruler and refuses to pay taxes to the Pallava state. A war ensues and Parthiban loses his life on the battlefield. Enter a strange character – the Sivanadiar – a strange old man ostensibly dressed like a devotee of Lord Shiva, but obviously he is a lot more than that. Parthiban dies, leaving his infant son and young wife in the cares of the Sivanadiar.

The novel picks up the thread of the story six years after the death of Parthiban, with his son grown from a mere slip of a lad to a handsome and chivalrous young man, the pride of father’s kingdom. He lives his father’s dream as does his mother Arul Mozhi. The presence of the mysterious Sivanadiar, and the dream of King Parthiban overshadow the entire novel.

The adventurous Vikraman visits Mammallapuram and gets a glimpse of the beautiful Pallava Princess Kundavi. Unaware of each other’s identity, the two fall in love with each other. However the Chola Prince’s identity is revealed and the wrathful Narasimhaverma, finding his enemy of his doorstep, banishes him from his kingdom. Vikraman seeks his fortune in the lonely island of Shenbaga Nadu where he is easily accepted by the people as their ruler. Bolstered by his new status, Vikraman makes bold to regain his old territory. Black magic in the middle of thick forest, a vicious hunchbacked dwarf, and several shadowy characters from a hazy past complete the picture that is Parthiban’s dream. Who is the Sivanadiar? What role does she play in the story? Do Vikraman and Kundavi marry in the end? To know the answers to these, you really must pick up the book.

A simple and elegant style of writing and eloquent charcoal illustrations in a folksy style are highlights of the novel. A pictorial historical map, tracing the Pallava and Chola kingdoms, would have added spice to the presentation.

- Sumathi Sudhakar.

The Author

Kalki

The Translator

Gita Rajan

The Illustrator

Srivi Kalyan

Publishers: Katha
Cover Design: Geeta Dharmarajan
Cover Art: Srivi Kalyan
Age Group: 10 + years
Statistics: 240 pages
ISBN 81-89020-64-1 [PB]
Price: Rs 150 [PB]

A World of Words

KATHA's Storytelling Workshops for Children begins again in May 2007, from 21st to 25th: a five-day module of fun, intrigue, adventures and thrills. In today's context of globalization where the dynamics of marketing, product promotion and packaging have made reading choices a foregone conclusion for children, Katha perceived a need for introducing children to fiction that has been written by the great wordsmiths of our country but which have completely bypassed their readership.

This Story-telling workshop for kids in the age group 3 - 9 years, is an initiative by Katha to bring to children in the age group the best of Indian fiction, both classical and contemporary. It seeks to cultivate in young minds a taste for fine writing and subtle sensibilities. Stylishly presented, the workshops will present books that strike the right balance of Indianness in content, and a global up-market look and feel. These are stories children would love to read and be seen with!

Come, join the KATHA family!

Register @

KATHA
No 8, 1st Main Road,
Karpagam Gardens,
Adyar,
Chennai 600 020

Timings: 10.30 AM – 1 PM

Age Group: 3 – 9 Years

Dates: 21 – 25, May 2007

For further details and enquiries, please contact us at 4211 4326/ 94443 90134

Daddoo's Day Out

Daddoo, the little frog, decides to do something different on her day out ... A lively book that celebrates friendship and introduces children to the world of animals, colours and sizes.

The New Indian Express
(Wednesday, April 18, 2007)

Does Daddoo’s Day Out remind you of the popular film, baby’s Day Out? This book, written and illustrated by Prabjhot Kaur is somewhere on the same lines and even won the Runner-Up Prize at the 10th Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations!

The story revolves around Daddoo, a cute young frog, who lives in a small pond with her mother (Ma) and her friends. Her life goes on happily until one day when Daddoo gets bored of doing the same things everyday and decides that it was high time she went exploring into the outer world and made new friends.

The story is all about Daddoo’s day out in the world that lay beyond her small pond, where she meets other animals like a black snake, white swans, and an alligator! By the time she makes her escape from Mr Alligator, it becomes dark and even starts raining, leaving poor Daddoo miserable, under a mushroom’s umbrella. How Daddoo realizes her folly and how she gets back home is what the rest of the story is all about.

The story has illustrations in bright and bold colours that merge into each other to give an adventurous feel to the story. They are present in all pages and have been done in a very novel style, with a lot of lines in them. They are used to convey certain ideas that cannot actually be put forward with words alone and the language used through out the story is very lucid and easy to understand.

The story’s concept or more popularly called ‘the moral’ has been subtly expressed and clearly explains to the Gen-X, what a nightmare, leaving home at such a tender age, could turn out to be. The way in which Daddoo, at the end of her day out, says, “I want to go home!” strikes a chord with the readers and clearly portrays how lost a child can feel without the protection of his/her family and friends.

The author has taken the fact that children no longer want to stick to their roots, thanks to the increase in individualism in our society, and has spun a simple but impressive story that tells us what the consequences of such a rash decision can be.

Tips for parents and teachers:

A great read-aloud book to share with a young child.
A beginner’s book for children learning to read.
The story with its view of life in a small pond and the larger forest can be used as a supplementary reader in the classroom.

The Author & Illustrator

Prabjhot Kaur

Publishers: Katha
Also available in Hindi
Age Group: 5-8 years
Statistics: 24 pages size 10 x 8
ISBN 81-87649-94-1 [PB]
ISBN 81-89020-13-7 [Hindi]
Price: Rs 75 [PB]
Rs 50 [Hindi]

The Secrets of Kalindi

Have you ever had the urge to protect an elephant from poachers? Or work with a scientist who's doing research in solar energy? Have you wished for the power to motivate a whole village or help a group of women achieve their dreams?

If you are looking for action, adventure and fun, then this is the book for you. The Secrets of Kalindi has many, many stories within it, and many, many endings. You are the star of this book. You decide what you want to do! So go ahead and choose the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that will make your picture. Learn a little about how you can help Planet Earth - our only home. Happy adventuring!

Hindustan Times
(December 13, 1998)

Have fun reading and enjoy the puzzles too.

YoCee.in
(The Hub for Kids in Chennai)

This book is no ordinary book. In this book you literally write your own story! You should not read this book from the first page to the last. Read till the end of a page and choose from the options open to you. This will take you on different trails.This example is worth noting!You and your friends are ready to go on a two-day excursion to Kalindi Kunj. You reach the place by nightfall and you go to sleep. The next morning you find that you are up before everyone else. You feel that there is time for a little exploration. You have the following options:If you want walk to the ruins go to page 50If you want to go off on your own turn to page 8 If you decide to stay with the group go to page 6...

The story keeps branching! The rest is up to you. You are the one who chooses the path.With eye-catching illustrations and mysterious touch, ‘The Secrets of Kalindi’ has many stories within it that leads you to different endings. Brought out by Katha Publishers, this book is by Geeta Dharmarajan and is priced at Rs. 75.

- J Anirudh, Class 9, Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School, Adyar.

The Author

Geeta Dharmarajan

The Illustrator

Atanu Roy

Publishers: Katha
Category: Katha Books for Children/Balkatha/A Jaldi Adventure Book
Statistics: 80 pages
ISBN 81-85586-44-6 [PB]
Price: Rs 75 [India and the subcontinent only]

Igniting young minds

The dreams of thousands of children in Delhi's slums are lost in poverty. As part of a unique initiative, a Delhi-based NGO has set up Asia'a first computer clubhouse. Suruchi Khubchandani reports.

Amidst the chaotic traffic signals of the Capital, the race among them to get going is what we witness everyday. Often clad in torn clothes, these innocent faces make for a heart-wrenching sight.

Statistics affirm that there are about 100 million children who live on the streets in our country today. Sans any respite, most of them starve, dwell in unhygienic conditions and bear the burden of virtually parenting their siblings. Education or brush with technology is unthinkable.

But for a Delhi-based NGO, Katha, the status quo wouldn't have ever changed, at least in the Govind Puri slum cluster of south Delhi. Katha, which has stemmed from the renowned publishing house with the same name, had with the initative of Geeta Dharmarajan kick-started a literacy project, It started with just five children in the slums of Govind Puri way back in 1988. In a small setting at Sarvodaya Enclave three months back, the NGO gave shape to Intel's first Computer Clubhouse in the Asia-Pacific region besides giving a reason to the street and slum kids to smile. Not that they no longer feel the need to go and beg for alms or do nitty-gritty jobs at the traffic junctions, the enticement of a new technology, is helping hold their steps back.

The rendezvous with computers for these children starts every morning and afternoon, when the vans known as the 'Tamasha Road Vans (TRS) collect them from areas such as INA, RK Puram, Hauz Rani and Saket. Says coordinator Rajesh, Exploring various keys of the keyboard, their functions fascinated these children. With the passing days, they have learnt to draw and play on the computer and in the process have become familiar with many things including words. From the initial ''I can't' the proposition has changed to 'I can', they have knocked the T. More than 157 kids have visited the computer club and 50 have become regular. Besides divulging in Word programs, movie software and games, the children upto the age of 12 years, have transgresses to browsing the net.

But as it goes, the start is always a Herculean task and the computer club also found it difficult to attract and retain the children initially.

Starting from 10 children in the first month, the count increased. "It is not always easy to convince a child, more so if the child happens to be a breadwinner. These children have never been to a school so they are quite reluctant to follow a routine and use their thinking power. But when they come here, get acquainted with the computers and experience the thrill of operating one, they became quite regular. In fact, lately the numbers have increased to the extent that the TRS became jam-packed and children who were left out started running after it," adds Rajesh.

A spin-off of this set-up being that these children observing the well-dressed people doing rounds of the place have suddenly becomes conscious and aware of their own.

Amrita Talwar of Katha says, "They have become hygiene conscious and want to take a bath, comb their hair. In the long run, this exposure will instil lifelong learning skills in them, who are oblivious to such mannerisms."

Katha is back with its Summer Workshops!

Summer visits Chennai in full force, and together with it comes Katha's refreshing array of workshops for children, this 2007, through April and May - with more stories, activities and games than ever before, designed and created especially for youngsters! Katha's Books for children and young adults transport them to a land of make-believe, yet root them to the very real world around them. Katha displays its superbly told stories this summer, through its story-telling workshops, with fresh perspectives in language, illustration and design - chosen with care to suit the target age group.

Katha wishes to leave a creative imprint on the fresh minds of children much before they take on the fine print of an adult world. Something that will linger on and colour their years to come.

Come, be a part of the fun-filled Katha family, and listen to our stories!

Katha will hold these workshops for children in the age group 3 - 9 years, on the following days in April:

Module I: April 9th - April 13th 2007

Module II: April 23rd to April 27th 2007

Age group: 3 - 9 years

Timings: 10.30 AM to 1.00 PM

Katha's storytellers will entice you with beautifully rendered tales, challenging activities and creative games. Workshops are scheduled for May as well.

The Summer Workshops will be held at:

KATHA
No 8, 1st Main Road,
Karpagam Gardens,
Adyar,
Chennai 600 020

For further details, please feel free to call us at 4211 4326/94443 90134.

Katha in Paris!

Mukundan, Sobti, Kamleshwar books head for Paris Book Fair

New Delhi, March 18 (IANS): Delhi-based publisher Katha will showcase author Krishna Sobti's works along with Kamleshwar's "Not Flowers Of Henna", M. Mukundan's "Dance", Laxmibai Tilak's "Sketches From Memory" and Damodar Mauzo's "These Are My Children" at the Paris Book Fair this year.

Katha's slice of verse, in an anthology by stalwarts like Na Pichamurthy and young artistes like Kanimozhi and Udaya Narayana Singh ("Second Person Singular"), is also bound for the March 23-27 fair. The children's section will include "Kaleh And The Sing Song Castle" by Rizio Yohannan Raj, "The Chase, First Sun Stories," - by various contributors - and "The Famous Smile" by Geeta Dharmarajan.

"The Vigil" by Shurhoezelie Liezietsu, "Looking for Ismail Sheika," by Homen Borghohain, "The Full Moon In Winter" by Dilip Chitre, "Tales Of City" by various authors, and "Anoma's Daughter" by Santanu Kumar Acharya are listed under college fiction. Sobti, the Hindi author of "The Heart Has Its Reasons" and "Listen, Girl", will be in the spotlight at the fair as "author in focus".

"Sobti's style and idiom impart an authentic touch to whatever theme and situation she portrays. The essence of her creativity lies in her honesty and eagerness to reach the truth and to look into things, rather than at them," said Katha managing editor Rizio Yohannan Raj.

"Sobti guards her freedom as a writer and as an individual zealously. The honesty, range and depth of her works make her one of the representative authors of Katha whose vision is to present the eclectic nature of Indian fiction to a wider readership," she added.

Katha also plans to publish three more novels - "Damn You, Mitro", "Sunflowers In The Dark", "Memory's Daughter" - by her later this year. Kamleshwar's "Not Flowers Of Henna" (Rs.200) - translated by Jai Ratan into English - brings together 15 of his short stories in his characteristic open-ended, restive grope for meaning among the ruins of memory. The collection includes "How Many More Pakistans?" - the famous precursor to his celebrated novel "Kitne Pakistan." Kamleshwar died in New Delhi on Jan 27.

Mauzo's "These Are My Children" (Rs.200) - translated from Konkani into English by Xavier Cota - is a bittersweet slice of life from Goa about empty nests and affections betrayed.

Set up in 1988, Katha focuses on English translations from 21 Indian languages.

- Shinie Antony

Motifs with a motive

Illustrator Sonali Biswas tells AMRITA TALWAR about her work for Geeta Dharmarajan's latest children's book

(Metroplus, The Hindu, February 8, 2007)

Over 400 million people in villages, towns and cities depend on the river Ganga for their daily needs. Instead of protecting the river, people pollute it by dumping sewage and chemicals, create soil erosion and endanger the water species. While environmentalists try to put two and two together to undo this, author Geeta Dharmarajan has come up with a simple solution: she along with illustrator Sonali Biswas has used the tool of katha (story). In "Ma Ganga and the Razai Box", brought out by Geeta's publishing house Katha, she has not only narrated the problem but has offered a solution too. She feels that stories reach out to people and can change their outlook towards things.

This is the story of Yasho, a young girl who saved her village by softening Ganga's fury the same way as Lord Shiva did. Ancient myth tells us that Shiva took the weight of the mighty Ganga on his head and allowed the water to come out slowly through his locks, which prevented the river's force from destroying the earth. In the same way young Yasho planted trees, and their roots, which resemble Shiva's matted locks, helped in arresting soil erosion.
Says Sonali, "After reading the script I realised that the illustrations had to be well-researched. I consulted books, magazines and the Internet. I visited the hill state of Uttaranchal to work out the details and depict the village folk."

The various illustrations such as Shiva's matted locks, roots of the trees, Yasho's portrait, Ma Ganga and the Razai box are beautiful and symbolic. Sonali has drawn the sketches on rice paper and used the hues of green, blue, brown and earthy colours. Her motifs for "Razai Box", carvings on the door have been derived from Uttaranchal folk art. For Shiva's illustration Sonali was inspired by the sculpture of Shiva in the Elephanta caves.

The favourite

But her favourite illustration is the razai box. For that, Sonali created a box and decorated it with a motif used in Kumaoni floor paintings.

"I associated it with wooden boxes in which we put our quilts. After that I checked out various Kumaoni paintings and created a motif. It was ritualistic and a symbol of hills," says Sonali.

Sonali has been illustrating for children for over a decade. She is the recipient of the Chitra Katha Award 2003 for Outstanding Illustrations for "One Lonely Unicorn". She has also received the Runner-Up award from Noma Concours for Children's Book Illustrations in 2000 and an Honourable Mention at the Biennial of Asian Illustrators, Japan in 2002.

"Illustrating for children is all about colours, fun, font and clarity. Drawings should be emotive, creative but not too confusing. I get a lot of satisfaction when I illustrate for children. I feel my paintings can breathe."