‘This is the story of how my grandmother became a famous artist. It happened somewhere between my seventh and eighth birthdays, so she was really old and also a grandmother, and I didn’t know she was an artist. And, of course, she was not famous. And then she was both, all at once.‘
For Nini, Minima is just her normal everyday grandmother. So when Minima suddenly shows an interest in doing something new, Nini is not sure that she likes it. After all, a grandmother’s first job is being a grandmother, isn’t it?
Catagory: Literature & Fiction
When Blackbirds Fly
Life is sweet growing up in Aizawl, with his family and friends, and all the narrator wants is a peaceful life. But the independence movement in Mizoram means that regardless of what he wants, he is drawn inexorably into a world where everyone has to choose where they stand …
Set in the initial stages of the two-decade-long struggle for Mizoram’s independence and against the backdrop of the 1966 bombing of Aizawl, this stunning debut novel is an universal story of how individual dreams and lives are shattered when larger conflicts arise.
This book is part of the Not Our War series, which looks at the lives of children in conflict zones.
Ghatotkach Ke Mayajal Mein
Young Chintamani Dev Gupta, on holiday in a bird camp near Lake Sattal, is transported via a wormhole to the days of the Mahabharata. Trapped in time, he meets Ghatotkacha and his mother, the demoness Hidimba. But the gentle giant, a master of illusion and mind-boggling rakshasa technology, wields his strength just as well as he knows the age-old secrets of the forest and the elemental forces. And in his enlightening company, Chintamani finds himself in the thick of the events of the most enduring Indian epic.
An intense yet tender look at a rare friendship as well as the abiding puzzles of the past, this is a fascinating read.
Chatur Chanakya vs the World Wide Web
Meet the smartest of them all!
The Super Six of Ganesh Colony are back, with new faces and new challenges. Lakshmi is all set to represent Vani Vidyalaya at an inter-school maths tournament, Chanakya is busy learning about the World Wide Web and Arjun . . . well, he’s up to his usual shenanigans.
But Lakshmi seems to be harbouring a terrible secret-she’s being bullied online! As she receives one nasty message after another, she fears being disqualified from the tournament. Can Chanakya and Arjun combine the intelligence of the past and the future to catch the culprit?
Get ready to join the gang on an exciting adventure-cum-whodunnit! Get ready for Chatur Chanakya.
Heroes the Colour of Dust
Everything in this book is absolutely true, including the things that happened, the things that didn’t really happen and the things that would have happened if history had been more interested in telling an exciting tale!
Gandhi and his followers intend to set out on their long walk to Dandi to protest a salt tax, but little do they know of the dangers that stand in their way. They mustn’t despair, for a group of fearless sparrows are ready for self-sacrifice and derring-do. They’ve made a resolution, you see, to protect Gandhi from any foe-bird, mutt or Britisher.
Open this book to join the ranks of the Mahatma’s Guards-heroes six, with India’s greatest poet in the mix-as their adventure takes wing!
That Year at Manikoil (Songs of Freedom Series)
Madras, 1944
While World War II rages in Europe and the Japanese army draws closer to India, Raji and her sisters are sent off with their mother to stay in Manikoil, her mother’s family village. But with her brother now a soldier in the British Indian Army and refugees fleeing from Malaya, Burma and other eastern countries back to India, Manikoil is no longer the peaceful haven it once was.
And while there is hope of Independence in the air, Raji is uncertain whether it will come to pass-and what it will truly mean for her and her family.
The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.
The series complements school textbooks about the independence movement. As the stories are told from a child’s point of view, these stories bring the facts of the independence movement to vivid life in settings all over the country—and inspire each reader to engage with the idea of India.
The Chowpatty Cooking Club (Songs of Freedom Series)
Bombay, 1942
With Mahatma Gandhi’s call to the British to Quit India, the city has become a hotbed of revolutionary activity-student protests, secret magazines and even an underground People’s Radio which broadcasts news that the British want concealed.
Sakina and her friends Zenobia and Mehul desperately want to be part of this struggle for freedom. But there is little that they are permitted to do. But at least, they are trying to do something useful, while their mothers are only running a cooking club …
The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.
The series complements school textbooks about the independence movement. As the stories are told from a child’s point of view, these stories bring the facts of the independence movement to vivid life in settings all over the country—and inspire each reader to engage with the idea of India.
Tales from the World
Tales as old as time, retold
for readers, both young and old
Collected from storytellers on snow-capped mountains, and in eerie forests, opulent palaces and countries near and far, the captivating folk tales in this book have mesmerized generations.
Injected with freshness, mystery, adventure and magic, Geeta Ramanujam retells her all-time favourite stories with a song here and a twist there.
Travel along with this imaginative storyteller as she shares peculiar myths and incredible trivia from around the world in this magnificently illustrated volume of twenty tales from Russia, Japan, France, Tibet, India, Korea, Scotland and more.
Chumki and the Pangolin (hOle Books)
The dangerous virus is making everything go into lockdown. But the village poacher trying to catch the pangolin Chumki has befriended. How will Chumki save the rare animal in these tough times?
Malhar in the Middle (hOle Books)
Malhar wants to be a famous tabla player. But why do tabla players always sit to one side of the stage? Are they not important enough? Malhar wants answers–and he wants to sit in the middle!