Catagory: Children

Experience all that the jungle has to offer with the first in The National Park Explorers series!

Sameera, Alex and Tarun are headed to Bharatpur with Uncle Avi. They’ve heard that the Siberian cranes have returned to Keoladeo National Park after more than twenty years.

But things just don’t seem right at the park. The three young explorers find themselves in the midst of things wondrous and wild as they spot birds and animals, bump into wildlife biologist Rauf Ali and sleuth around to solve mysteries along the way. Is the legend of the hidden gastrolith gems more than just folklore? Who is that strange guy lurking around the park? And where are the fabled Siberian cranes everyone is talking about?

Chaos at Keoladeo is an entertaining adventure, travelogue, encyclopedia and birding guide all rolled into one.

Dad is determined to make Marcus Atkinson a cricketer. So off Marcus goes for cricket lessons. But will he be able to learn what’s a silly point and a googly? And will he be able to score a sixer off the last ball? Find out all about his laugh-out-loud antics on the cricket field as he records everything in his diary.

For centuries, Rajasthan has been a gold mine of oral traditions and histories with Padma Shri Vijaydan Detha being one of the foremost storytellers of all time.

Timeless Tales from Marwar gives a new lease of life to his folk tales. It is a hand-picked compilation from the much-celebrated Batan ri Phulwari–‘Garden of Tales’–a fourteen-volume collection written over a span of nearly fifty years.

Retold in Detha’s magical narrative style complete with imagery, this selection offers some of the oldest and most popular fables from the Thar Desert region. Discover tales of handsome rajkanwars, evil witches, exploitative thakars, miserly seths, clever insects, benevolent snakes and more. Vishes Kothari’s vivid English translation introduces one of the most venerated figures in Rajasthani folk culture to a wider audience.

In The Room on the Roof, Rusty, a sixteen-year-old Anglo-Indian boy, decides he has had enough of the tiny, diminishing European community and his tyrannical guardian, and runs away. To his delight, Rusty finds that life on the open road is packed with excitement and high adventure…
In Vagrants in the Valley, which picks up from where the first book ends, Rusty is joined in his travels by Kishen, another ‘runaway’. As they venture further into the unknown, they discover new friends and participate in more escapades but also begin to understand the complexities of growing up and the boundaries that circumscribe even the freest spirits…
Sharply observed, witty and wise, haunted on every page by the sights, smells and sounds of India, this evocation of youth, innocence and friendship will be read for a long time to come with deep, lasting pleasure.
The Room on the Roof won the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize.

An evergreen classic about friendship and growing up, by a master storyteller

This book catches up with our favourite Rusty as he plunges not just into the cold pools of Dehra but into an exciting new life, dipping his toes into adulthood.

Winding his way back to the city with Kishen, Rusty discovers that his beloved room is no longer his! Undaunted, however, and in his trademark style, he forges new homes and new friendships as he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that spans the beautiful hillsides of India.

By turns thrilling and nostalgic, this heart-warming sequel is Rusty is at his best as he navigates the tightrope between dreams and reality, all the time maintaining a glorious sense of hope. Striking, evocative, witty and wise-this is an ode to youth and all its complexities, amidst the colours, sights and smells of Bond’s India.

Looking out of his carriage; the Dalai Lama saw people crying with joy. Their Kundun had returned.Born to a family of farmers in a remote corner of Tibet; Lhamo Dhondup; was recognized as the fourteenth reincarnation of the Dalai Lama at the age of two. He took charge of his country in 1950 when the Chinese invaded Tibet. The rest of his teens were spent in negotiations with the Chinese government. However; as Chinese violence against Tibetans increased; Kundun was forced to flee his native land. His escape over the Himalayas is the stuff of adventure novels.Exiled now in India for over five decades; the Dalai Lama constantly champions Tibet’s independence while remaining its greatest spiritual mentor. He received the Nobel Prize in 1989 for his non-violent efforts to gain freedom for his country. Rich in personal anecdotes; this engaging biography shows how Kundun blends spirituality with politics. To the Tibetans; the Dalai Lama is God incarnate. To the world; he is the face of Tibet. To young readers; he can be a living embodiment of the ideals of peace; democracy and freedom.