Parimal is an author who lives a quiet life away from the hunting and adventures of his past. But when an old friend comes to him and asks for a favour with the promise of danger, he cannot resist. Why does the old botanist want him to bring his gun and come to his home? He only has plants, helpless happy plants, who cannot possibly be a danger. Or can they? Satyajit Ray brings to life his rich storytelling with this decadently illustrated thriller.
Catagory: Literature & Fiction
Festival of Eid
When Hamid the poor orphan is going to the Eid fair, he has only three paise. All the other boys have an enormous amount of money with which to buy toys and sweets, and cruelly tease him with their riches. But Hamid has a single goal in mind – to buy a pair of tongs so his grandmother won’t burn her fingers making roti. Will his resolve last against lollipops and gulab jamuns? Will the brilliant toy policemen and lawyers of his compatriots break his will? A heartwarming tale of generosity and kindness with a sprinkling of mischief and love by the father of modern Hindi literature – Premchand.
From Swami and Friends
This sweet, short story is from RK Narayan’s iconic ‘Swami and Friends’, a slice of life from a simpler time. Swami has been forced to move to a different school because of his antics, and is struggling to play cricket as much as he likes. His grandmother, his coach, his headmaster all seem to be conspiring against him to ensure that he never gets to play cricket again. Swami’s friends are outraged on his behalf and decide to help him out by going and talking to his headmaster themselves. Will it work? Or will poor impetuous Swami now be confronted with even more furious grownups? Find out in this lovely little snippet from RK Narayan’s original Swami and Friends.
Snake Trouble
Grandfather is an odd but lovely man, and one day in the market, he buys a young python that he sees from the Snake Charmer. Alas, when they bring the python home, Grandmother lets out an ungodly scream, and says it must be sent packing. Try though they might, the python keeps coming home and becomes a reluctant part of the family. But what scrapes will young Ruskin get into with a python as a pet? And how does one take care of the python when you also have a parrot and a monkey? This has Ruskin Bond at his finest, with elegant prose and effortless humour in this delightfully sweet story.
The Gold and Red Shoe
One day, Lata finds a red and gold shoe while playing on the railway track. It was a beautiful shoe, covered in velvet with a sole of felt, and Lata who had never had anything in her life, suddenly had a shoe for show. All the other children who never played with her now begged to be her friend. But her friend had always been Joseph Pinto, the little boy with polio. When they find the shoe, the two children suddenly become the most popular in the slum. How long can a little bit of magic last for two children who have nothing at all? This poignant story by Margaret Bhatty finds joy even in the darkest places.
The Boys Who Fought
A book about handling bullies and being humble
‘When you can fight for the meek without hating the mighty, you follow dharma.’
In the forest, the mighty eat the meek. In human society, the mighty should take care of the meek. This is dharma. A hundred princes should have looked after their five orphaned cousins. Instead, they burnt their house, abused their wife and stole their kingdom. The five fought back, not for revenge but for dharma. What came of the five’s fight against the hundred?
India’s favourite mythologist brings to you this evocatively illustrated retelling of the Mahabharata that is sure to illuminate and enthral a new generation of readers.
Lost in Time
‘I am the rakshasa Ghatotkacha, born of the Lord Bhimasena and the lady Hidimba. I rule over hill and vale, wood and stream, protecting the spirit of the forest and all who live in it.’
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.
The Curious Case of The Sweet and Spicy Sweetshop
Making and selling sweets day after day is the life of Vishnudas Mithaiwala, the owner of The Sweet and Spicy Sweetshop. However, when Laddoo appears at his doorstep one night, claiming to be his estranged sister Revati’s son, Vishnu’s life is thrown into confusion. More craziness ensues when Anu turns up, also insisting that she’s Revati’s child! With no idea how to discern the real Mithaiwala, life is full of chaos for Vishnu, as the two children compete to prove their identity.
And Laddoo, worried about his parents, who have suddenly disappeared, is thrown another curveball-he senses a ghostly presence in the house! When a plot to steal the Mithaiwala family’s valuable recipe book is hatched, Laddoo tries to use this new psychic ability to save the day.
Mandodari
Borrowing from Sanghadasa’s Jaina version of the Ramayana, Mandodari-one of the least known characters of the Hindu epic-is finally given a voice.
Considered to be one of the most beautiful apsaras, she was married off to the mighty Ravana, the legendary king of Lanka. In her story, she speaks about her struggles after her marriage, her insecurities and her pious nature that challenged her husband’s growing aspirations. She narrates the rise of Ravana’s power and the blunders he made that ultimately caused the downfall of Lanka.
Despite her husband’s faults, Mandodari loved him and advised him to follow the path of righteousness. Ravana’s defeat in a thirteen-day war turned him into a villain. But what if he were the real hero on his side of the war? What if his downfall was a result of scheming to push him out of power? This is Mandodari’s story.
The Globetrotters
The call of the wild
Hudhud is horrible to everyone. He polishes off his classmates’ lunches, plays cruel pranks on his teachers and troubles innocent creatures. Until his strange new history teacher decides to set him straight.
The lesson? A curse! Now Hudhud must roam the vast earth . . . with-and as-the greatest migratory animals. His goal? To find the answer to all wrongs. And so begins Hudhud’s remarkable journey: as a blue whale calf separated from his mother in the deep; as a trusting caterpillar who befriends a hunting spider; as a competitive caribou on a perilous trek; as an Arctic tern too scared to fly . . . But fly across the world he must, if he hopes to ever return home.
Follow Hudhud on this surreal trip, through the Arctic Ocean and the Sahara Desert, among fragrant flowers and tall grass, and find out all about the inner lives of some majestic animals and the wonders of the wild.