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There is not a single Bengali child who grows up without reading a lot of Rabindranath Tagore. From the toddler stage whether in poems, stories, songs or plays, Tagore is an integral part of Bengali consciousness. And even outside the confines of Bengal on both sides of the border, Tagore, as the only Indian Nobel Laureate in literature occupies a position that is peerless. Feisal Alkazi’s book Tagore for Today is a teaching resource that aims to bring the bard into the classroom, and make him more accessible to the current generation of children, by using not just academic tools but an interesting mix of literature and art appreciation.

Most of us are already familiar with Vikram and Betal and in this book Natasha Sharma brings some of these stories to life. The book Vikram And The Vampire is a somewhat simplified take of some of the stories from the Baital Pachisi. A merchant comes to King Vikramaditya’s court and presents him with an apple and tells him to keep it with him carefully. The merchant returns every single day that week and gives the king a different fruit. The king soon finds that all the fruits contain a precious jewel…

We have all read stories about Vikram and Vetal, in various forms and versions, and more specially, in the Amar Chitra Katha. Dipavali’s book, based on the same stories, might have given the feeling that it is the same old stuff once again. But the refreshing way in which she has handled the subject makes the book a real pleasure to read. She has treated the familiar mythology by ‘both abridging and expanding’ the original, and writing it in a modern style while staying close to its Sanskrit text. The Sanskrit names are always followed by words that explain the meaning of the names. For example the meaning of the names Gunashekhara, Indulekha, Dharmadhavaja, Abhayachandra are given as ‘virtuous’, ‘crescent moon’, ‘super-righteous, and ‘unafraid’, respectively. The explanations add a colourful touch and provide a better understanding of the character’s personality.

In line with Devdutt Pattanaik’s philosophy which portrays myth as a subjective truth, he essentially tries to tell a story that has been told innumerable times in history as a more flexible and consequencedriven recount of events. He takes on the Ramayana by delving into Sita’s psyche while breaking the epic into five seamlessly knit together chapters, each one unfolding as one of her choices. It is his perception on the reasons behind a character’s actions which makes it an original account. For a young mind, these justify the behaviour and choices of the various characters and highlighting their contrasting characteristics clearly.

I have heard and read a hundred times stories about Ganesha, and thought I knew them all: how he refused Shiva entry following Ma Parvati’s instructions, which enraged Shiva so much he cut off the child’s head, and then repented and got him an elephant’s head Anju Virmani THE STORY OF HANUMAN Text by Mala Dayal. Illustrated by Taposhi Ghoshal Red Turtle/Rupa & Co., New Delhi, 2016, pp. 74, R395.00 GANESH By Subhadra Sen Gupta. Illustrated by Tapas Guha Rupa & Co., New Delhi, 2016, pp. 42, R295.00 instead; how he broke off a tusk so that the writing of the Mahabharata was seamless; how he encircled his parents three times to win the race against his brother Kartikeya. So it came as a bit of a shock that there are other versions of the familiar, conventional tales.

The stories of Hanuman, son of Vasu and Anjana, his adven- tures as a child, his role in the Ramayana, and then in the Mahabharata, are a cornerstone of Hindu mythology. Hanuman’s life is like an adventure movie—filled with acts of great strength and courage, in- terspersed with evidence of his learn- ing and wisdom—so that it can be as exciting for the youngest child as it can be profound for an adult. In ear- lier generations, children had the fa- cility of grandmothers and grandfathers to tell them stories from our rich and varied mythology. With ever shrinking families, the child must have access to other sources. In her book The Story of Hanuman, Maya Dayal introduces very young children to some of these tales. Told simply, the book touches upon many events he is famous for: swallowing Surya, then persuading him to be his teacher; becoming Sugriva’s minister as guru-dakshina, and then helping him and Rama get together.