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There is a nightmare haunting each and every one of us—young and old—the fear of contracting the dreaded Coronavirus. Life has turned upside down ever since the pandemic made its presence felt, and the struggle to embrace ‘the new normal’ has taken a terrible toll on us. The risk of contracting the disease is grave indeed, but equally alarming are the mental health issues that are spreading as rapidly as the virus itself. Children have been severely impacted by this situation. With their regular routine completely disrupted, and talk of the dreaded virus blasting them from all corners, they feel bewildered and insecure, many are quite traumatized. Their need for assurance and understanding from the adults in their lives has grown immensely during the pandemic…

Susruta Patil is just another kid—but not quite so. He loves sketching, but is terrible at football. He is a great friend, but suffers at the hands of bullies. He loves poetry, but cannot punctuate. His name does not make it any easier, especially when he wets his bed!SP, as his friend Lobo calls him, sinks into the deep hole of depression. He feels the world is against him, and that he cannot catch a break. However, Lobo, and Kuhu, the best footballer around, help him see better. He opens up and shares his world with them, and suddenly the hole isn’t so deep and dark after all…

‘After all, a story survives only a few minutes…Who doesn’t know that most newspapers are waste in the afternoon?’ This is Ramayan Prasad, a journalist, working for one of the leading national newspapers in India. For past many years, he has swiftly and skillfully worked on some really troublesome reports; he follows the cases, files his copies and moves on. But something has changed since he started working on a case of a gang rape in the national capital…

If the children of India dream, let them dream of India.’Anant PaiOn Anant Pai’s 90th birth anniversary, it is fitting for Rajessh M Iyer to have penned a homage to the life and work of the father of Indian comics in his biography Uncle Pai: The Man Behind the Iconic Amar Chitra Katha. From the Author’s Note to the Epilogue, the biography pays glowing tributes to Anant Pai, his vision and dream, in such a way that some readers may even term it a hagiography.In terms of including criticism of Pai’s work, there do exist fleeting indications of ‘baseless criticism’ (p. 316), a passing reference to Pai’s anger and a brief section entitled ‘Objections’ describing Valmiki Sabha’s objection to Valmiki being portrayed as a thief, leading to Pai’s effigies being burnt…

This is the first time I have encountered a movie adapted to a book. It is based on an adivasi boy called Oonga and his story. The author has created a brilliant atmosphere around the whole plot. The book is an eyeopener for me. The words come alive right from the first few lines. The characters in the story are also so unique, they are brought to life in the story. The story woven is realistically displayed with all the flaws in life, in the system, in different people…

A well-written book with extensive vocabulary, Teji Grover’s Mann Mein Khushi Paida Karne Wale Rang is full of memories, stories, haikus and appealing art. Divided into fourteen chapters, the author reminisces about some of her childhood memories and describes them in detail. Each of the fourteen chapters tells a different story. Readers are able to vividly imagine the incidents, some of which include the rescue of a cat on Deepavali, the life story of the author’s friend Alan or the recollection of her visits to countries. She also writes about the art she made in her childhood, the use of natural colours and their importance…