Ra…Ra…Raman is a children’s book written in Tamil for the very young. The author, Gita Dharmarajan has been publishing books since 1988 under the Katha imprint. Katha’s objective is to publish meaningful books to encourage children to develop an interest in reading. This non-profit organization is working with more than 2,00,000 underprivileged children, bringing joy to them through their publications. It is a part of the Green Books series. The author believes that good literature can provide quality education.
The story under review is a Tenali Raman story. Like Akbar and Birbal stories in North India, Tenali Raman stories are very popular in South India. Tenali Ramakrishna was a famous poet, scholar, and special advisor in the court of King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire. His humorous answers to questions put to him by the King illustrate his presence of mind and ability to extricate himself from tricky situations effortlessly. There are innumerable stories of Tenali Raman’s cleverness. This story is also one such. Once the King asks him to tell him the measurement of the length and breadth of the universe as also the number of stars in the sky. He wants the answers in one day, threatening Raman with dire consequences if he fails. This story is about how Tenali Raman not only answers the King’s questions but also earns the King’s admiration. A must read for youngsters to teach them how they should have the presence of mind and common sense to deal with any situation.
Dharmarajan’s narration is ably supported by the illustrations on each page by Atanu Roy. What we need today are such stories written for children in an interesting manner so that a love for reading can be inculcated in the young.
Ingey Angey is a book of Tamil words which can be taught to children through English text. It is like an English-Tamil pictorial dictionary where sentences have been written in English ending with Tamil words like ‘shake your feathers like a kuruvi’ with the meaning of kuruvi given under the word. Each page contains a Tamil word with its meaning underneath. I found this method of teaching Tamil through English very innovative and interesting. The author has also illustrated each page beautifully with attractive pictures. The young ones would easily pick up the Tamil words through the illustrations. One finds that more and more children, living away from their linguistic States and especially the ones living away from India are not conversant with their mother tongues since their parents also speak to them in English, so this book is very relevant for our times. It will help create an interest in the mother tongue, Tamil. Kudos to the author for thinking and executing a project like this.
Jaya Krishnamachari translates from Hindi into English.