History is not a hot favourite with students. Most look upon it as a monstrous subject that is not just voluminous but also irrelevant. Why bother memorizing names of people long dead and their complicated, boring histories? But history can become interesting if you pick up the right book.
Who are the Baigas? The author explains that the Baigas are Gonds, a tribal community that inhabits the forest areas of central India. Like the author, I have spent some years in the area around Raipur, now part of Chattisgarh, as well as in the forested areas of Jharkhand.
The simultaneous publication of two anthologies of the works of Ruskin Bond, Uncles, Aunts and Elephants, and The Very Best of Ruskin Bond is ample proof that he continues to be one of the best loved and admired writers today in India. While a few stories and essays, such as ‘Wilson’s Bridge’ and ‘Bhabiji’s House’ appear in both the selections, the first published by Puffin, is evidently meant for a younger audience.
Books for children cater to a range of interests, with stories of worlds distant and familiar, often with a mixture of fable, myth and the modern world.
Have you ever pondered the pleasure and excitement of solving a riddle? Would you like to explore a book on riddles? Riddles for the English Classroom is a unique collection of fifty-seven riddles by Dr. Phool Singh Narvaria, who is an experienced teacher educator from Gwalior, India and has documented numerous folk forms to use in the language classroom.
You plunge directly into the story, which starts with the birth of a girl called Sundari and an elephant called Lakshmi—at about the same time, and at the back of the palace where the elephant stables are. Sundari’s father is a mahout and so, naturally, she and Lakshmi practically grow up together, Sundari marking the milestones of a human being, and Lakshmi, those of an elephant.