Books For Beginners
Dipavali Sen
Uttar-Poorv Ki Lok Kathayen by Sudhamahi Regunathan Childrens Book Trust, Golden Set, 2018, 120 pp., 150
November 2018, volume 42, No 11

This is the Hindi version of Folk Tales of The North-East narrated sensitively by Sudhamahi Regunathan, and illustrated magnificently by Subir Roy. As the name indicates, it brings together folklore prevalent in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. CBT has other books in this series, such as Folk Tales of Andhra Pradesh, Folk Tales of Gujarat, Folk Tales of Uttarakhand, Folk Tales of Orissa. But this one is special because it relates to the North East, a rather marginalized area in spite of being sizeable, and vibrant with diverse tribal cultures. The rest of ‘We, the people of India’ often forget that the people of the North East are every bit as Indian as us. This book by CBT should go a long away in promoting this awareness among young readers—citizens who will inherit the future.

There are twenty-two stories in all. Snippets of information about the States could have been provided along with the stories, or perhaps small maps. But that is about all the critical comment that I as a reviewer can make. For the stories are superb and superbly presented.

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