‘I was then about seven or eight. I had no useful role to play in this PBI – World; and that old palki, too, had been dismissed from all forms of useful employment . . .’
Hidden inside an ancient palanquin on a hot, lonely afternoon, a young boy sets off on an imaginary adventure. He encounters gangs of bandits, arrives at palaces where kings bathe in sandalwood-scented water, and the hunter accompanying him gets rid of the tiger lurking in the forest with a bang! of his gun. The boy, gifted with a vivid imagination and a sensitive mind, grew up to become one of PBI – India’s greatest poets and thinkers.
In Boyhood Days Rabindranath Tagore recounts his growing up years with gentle wit and humour. He describes life in nineteenth-century Kolkata when the only light in the evening came from castor-oil lamps; when hackney carriages raced through the city’s streets and women travelled in palanquins to the Ganga for their bath. He writes about his early love for music and poetry, the myriad influences that shaped his thinking and about the other members of his large, gifted family. Boyhood Days brings to life an era long past and traces the journey of an icon from childhood to the time he takes his first steps in the PBI – World of literature.
Do you think Indian history is boring? Check out what these ancient reporters had to say about our country many centuries ago. In his book, Indika, Megasthenes, a Greek traveller, wrote about giant meat-eating ants that dug for gold in mines somewhere in eastern India! Hiuen Tsang, from China, was witness to an assassination attempt on King Harshavardhana at a religious gathering. The Venetian Marco Polo described how the people of Kashmir could use charms to change the weather and bring about darkness. Athanasius Nikitin, from Russia, was amazed by the sultan of Bidar, who went hunting accompanied by 10,000 men on horseback, 50,000 on foot, 200 elephants, 100 dancers, 300 horses, 100 monkeys and 100 concubines! Read astonishing stories about India written by explorers who came to the country as pilgrims, students, traders, voyagers and fortune-seekers from the 3rd century BC till the mid-twentieth century. These visitors left behind fascinating accounts of their perilous journeys in an unknown land; descriptions of what the people ate, wore and thought; who ruled them and how; the strange animals of this land, and many more startling facts which are often the only written historical records of those times. Filled with incredible stories and nuggets of information, In the Country of Gold-digging Ants brings alive the exciting adventures of eleven intrepid men and women, and may just make history your most favourite subject!
The silence of the night was shattered by a series of screams … a white figure, almost six feet tall, appeared out of nowhere, screaming at the top of its voice and flailing its arms … When Nisha and Ram are sent off to spend their holiday with Nose Uncle at his farm, they are not too happy. After all, Nose Uncle is old, and he is an archaeologist, so how much fun would they have? The brother and sister were never more wrong. Because when Nose Uncle is around, there’s not a dull moment. Using his magnificent nose which resembles the prow of a mighty battleship, Uncle can sniff out both ancient ruins and modern criminals. While digging in a field, looking for signs of an ancient Roman port, Uncle and his young assistants are hurled into a series of mystifying and extraordinarily dangerous adventures. Is Professor Andre Rigolet, of the Free University of Central Quebec, really what he claims to be? Why is he in danger? Who are the shadowy people digging in the dark night near their archeological dig? Then the children are kidnapped by a ruthless gang of smugglers, and it is up to Nose Uncle and his faithful ally, his nose, to get answers to these intriguing questions, solve the mystery and rescue the children. A racy adventure story, Nose Uncle marks the exciting debut of a delightful, eccentric detective.
A collection of Ruskin Bond’s six novels evoking nostalgia for time gone by
This collection of six novels sparkles with the quiet charm and humanity that are the hallmarks of Ruskin Bond’s writing. Evoking nostalgia for a time gone by; these poignant chronicles of life in India’s hills and small towns describe the hopes and passions that capture young minds and hearts; highlighting the uneasy reconciliation of dreams and destiny.
The six novels included in the collection are:
The Room on the Roof
Vagrants in the Valley
Delhi Is Not Far
A Flight of Pigeons
The Sensualist
A Handful of Nuts
Welcome to the Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu, located in Anchan Bay, a seaside village in an unknown corner of the PBI – World. Here you will find the most unusual things: chocolate cakes made of potatoes and cream, toffee rolled around sugar cane sticks and beetroot ice cream garnished with tomato-chilli jam. It also sells the most amazing magical toys—a flute that can sense seasons, a toy bird that always speaks the truth and a doll that can do translations! But the strangest creature of all is Nu-Cham-Vu, the monstrous owner of the store, who loves tormenting the parents and teasing the kids who come to buy his toys. One day the grown-ups decide to kick him out of Anchan Bay. But the children don’t want him to go!
The battle is on . . . Will Nu-Cham-Vu be thrown out? Or will the children be able to save the Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu?
The Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu is brought to life by Vinayak Varma’s stunning illustrations, and will enthrall readers of all ages.
When Ongchu, a young vanara princess, is kidnapped by a rakshasan, Rishi Agastya entrusts Gind, a bold young vanara, with the dangerous mission of restoring her to Baulpur, her home beyond the Himalayas. As Gind, his father Karuppan, and Ongchu set out on their long, arduous journey from the island of Poompuhar, they are stalked by wild animals and magical beings, waylaid and terrorized by rakshasas, and thwarted by a wrathful Indra, the god of thunder. They meet an army of vanaras on a mission to rescue a human princess from the clutches of the wicked rakshasa king; help a giant vanara in his search for the magical herb sanjeevini; and winter with a band of yetis in the high Himalayas. Mysterious and momentous things are happening around the vanaras, but they are clueless about their own part in these events. What is Agastya’s secret purpose? Will the three vanaras make it to Baulpur? What are the shadowy forces at work?
Gind’s exciting adventures will have you rollicking from one escapade to another in this action-packed fantasy. Meet delightful, strange and magical characters, and follow the trail of the vanaras as their light-hearted adventure turns into an odyssey…
A sudden violent storm takes Kolkata by surprise. It also leaves Narendra Nath Biswas injured, hit by a falling tree in the Park Street Cemetry . . . or was it the work of some unknown assailant? Feluda starts his own investigations and soon encounters enough questions to puzzle his matchless intellect.
Who was Thomas Godwin and why is someone digging up his grave? What is a Perigal Repeater? Who is this mysterious N.M. Biswas?
In his search for answers, Feluda digs up the fascinating history of the Godwin family going back to nineteenth-century Lucknow, and learns about Thomas Godwin’s precious heirloom. Ghostly happenings in a graveyard, a ruthless criminal with a gang of thugs, a master chef and a happy quitar player come together in an adventure full in danger and excitement.
Ashoka the Great, the ruler of ancient India’s largest kingdom, took the path of peace, tolerance, non-violence and compassion after a fierce battle in Kalinga. He now addressed his subjects as a father would his children, and erected pillars that spread his thoughts throughout the land in the people’s own language. He put their welfare above all else and worked towards that for the rest of his life. One of the most well-known symbols from India’s history, the Ashoka chakra, now adorns India’s national flag, and the lion capital from his pillars is our national emblem. In this lively, engrossing account of Ashoka’s life and the times, Subhadra Sen Gupta deftly brings him alive again from behind the swirling mists of time.
Poet, novelist, painter, musician and Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore was one of modern India’s greatest literary figures. This collection brings together some of his best works—poems, short stories and plays in one volume. Be it the wit, magic and lyricism of his poetry or the vividly etched social milieu of his stories, or the sheer power and vibrancy of his plays, Tagore’s versatility and unceasing creativity come alive in these writings. The title play ‘The Land of Cards’ is a satire against the bondage of orthodox rules, while in ‘The Post Office’, a child suffocated by his confined existence dreams of freedom in the world outside. From a son’s cherished desire to protect his mother in the poem ‘Hero’ to a fruit-seller longing for his daughter faraway in the story ‘Kabuliwala’, Tagore’s works convey his humanism and his deep understanding of human relationships.
Feluda, Topshe and Lalmohan Babu are holidaying in the seaside town of Puri, when they discover a dead body on the beach. And soon Feluda’s holiday turns into an edge-of-the-seat hunt for the killer.
Some very odd things are happening in this little coastal town. Ancient Buddhist manuscripts vanish. An unknown man walks on the sand leaving very strange footprints. Lalmohan Babu finds an amazing astrologer but Topshe is not so sure. And something really spooky is going on in an abandoned house by the sea. Feluda races against time to unmask a murderer with many faces who will not hesitate to kill again.
One of Feluda’s most chilling cases is brought alive by Tapas Guha’s brilliant artwork, and twists and turns in the story will keep you riveted till the breathtaking showdown!
