Rohin is fifteen and, despite his father’s wishes, wants nothing to do with science in school. But what does he want to do instead?
On vacation at his grandparents’ rambling haveli in Lucknow, he stumbles upon the secret diary of fifteen-year-old Hassan Ali, or Hasnu, reluctant cook’s apprentice, the despair of his father and black sheep in a long line of illustrious chefs to the nawabs of Lucknow. As Rohin reads the story of Hasnu’s doomed culinary career, he decides he has to track down Hasnu and find out what happened to the Bekaar Bawarchi. Did he escape the kitchen? What did he do instead? And how did he tell his father he didn’t want to be a cook?
Rohin’s search unearths some hilarious stories-of spotted eggs; how a famous actress demanded a hot meal; the disappearance of a khandani khazana; of friends and kitchens!
And one day Rohin realizes what it is he wants to do with his own life.
990 CE, Tanjore, India
Twelve-year-old Raji is growing up during the reign of Rajaraja Chola in south India. Raji is a girl of spirit—brave, bright and bold. She is also a dancer, a warrior and a sculptor who models kingdoms in stone. Raji, however is not happy: she misses her family. Her mother is in exile and her father has left home in grief.
On a dark night as a storm rages, Raji rescues a Chinese sailor at sea. This sets off a chain of events with unforeseen consequences.
A Shiva statue goes missing, a prince disappears and there is a murder inside a temple. As Raji and her friends, the prince Rajendra Chola and his cousin, Ananta, try to help the Chinese mariner, they realize that he may have some of the answers Raji has been looking for.
Will the Criminals be brought to justice?
Will Raji’s family be reunited once again?
Will peace be restored to the mighty Chola Kingdom?
The year is 1939. In the little village of Shona Gram in Bengal, Neela hears about how the freedom fighters will stop at nothing till they send the British back. The day after her sister’s wedding , her father goes to Calcutta to join a protest march called by the Congress. He promises to be back in a week. But when three weeks go by and there is still no sign of him, Neela decides to take matters into her hand. Dressed as a wandering minstrel, she arrives in Calcutta. There she befriends Bimala, the rich daughter of a judge and cousin of Samar, a young freedom fighter Neela had rescued from the police in her village. They begin a desperate search for her father and get to know he is in jail and that he will be deported to the Andaman Islands in a few days. Neela has to free her father before that . But can a twelve-year-old girl outwit the mighty British empire? Set in a dramatic period in India’s history, this racy adventure will have you turning the pages to find out if Neela finally manages to succeed in her mission.
8 August 1942: As Gandiji and prominent leaders are put in jail, Babu and Manju suddenly find themselves a part of the larger protests–their schools close down and their father is put behind bars. Their daring brother Mohan goes underground and the rest of the family moves to Narayanpur, a sleepy little village seemingly untouched by the turbulence in the country. But Narayanpur is seething within and it all comes to a head when a group of children dare to confront the police.
Hampi, September 2005: A breathtaking landscape, the ruins of a prosperous kingdom, and over cups of hot tea, two friends discover stories about the world’s smartest jester— Tenali Raman. Sulekha is studying in Class V and has been allowed by her principal to accompany her mother to Hampi, on the condition that she produces a full report about life in the Vijayanagar empire on her return. In Hampi, Sulekha meets the cocky TJ, who claims to be a descendant of one of Vijayanagar’s most famous citizens, Tenali Raman, and together they start collecting stories about the jester and his kingdom. Tenali, it turns out, had a solution to every problem that befell the kingdom— from the mundane to the bizarre: How do you carry a pot brimming with holy water, over hundreds of miles, without spilling a single drop? The king wants to build a palace he has seen only in his dreams, how can he be stopped? And a man is to be hanged for having a ‘bad-luck’ face, can Tenali prevent this? As they exchange anecdotes about Tenali Raman, Sulekha and her friends also learn more about the Vijayanagar empire, King Krishnadevaraya and what life was like in sixteenth-century south India. Wonderfully witty and bubbling over with fun and facts, this book is not just about one of India’s sharpest minds, it is a peep into a vibrant period in Indian history.
We need to take him out of here. Xerxes will never grow up with Mamavaji around.’
Xerxes’ mother wants him to be like JRD Tata, but all Xerxes wants is to be like his Grandpa – his beloved Mamavaji.
His mother thinks Grandpa is a bad influence on Xerxes and she wants to separate them. Xerxes cannot let that happen! If Grandpa learnt to fly, it might just solve the problem. But Grandpa isn’t interested in any plans for him! Whatever is Xerxes going to do?
‘We need to take him out of here. Xerxes will never grow up with Mamavaji around.’
Xerxes’ mother wants him to be like JRD Tata, but all Xerxes wants is to be like his Grandpa—his beloved Mamavaji. His mother thinks Grandpa is a bad infl uence on Xerxes and she wants to separate them.
Xerxes cannot let that happen! If Grandpa learnt to fl y, it might just solve the problem. But Grandpa isn’t interested in any plans for him! Whatever is Xerxes going to do?
Illustrations by Niloufer Wadia
This is the story of Babur, the first Mughal emperor of Hindustan. It is based on the Babur Nama, in which Babur writes about the events in his life, and of the people and things he loved or hated. Descended from two legendary conquerors, Chenghis Khan and Amir Temur, Babur spent much of early life losing kingdoms, wandering through the Uzbek mountains and almost living the life of a vagabond. This is the story of the strange and wonderful things the future brought to him.
Lavishly illustrated in Mughal miniature style paintings, this action-packed tale of this legend, king and adventurer will fascinate children and their parents alike.
