Sadhu aur Jadugar received the first prize in the category of ‘Jadu Bhari Kahania’ in the Hindi Children’s Literature Competition organized by the Children’s Book trust.
Rajkumar Sarang wants to marry Princess Kanchan of the adjoining kingdom, but his parents are not in favour. Rajkumar leaves the palace in a huff, and after a long journey reaches a thick forest. He meets a snake who promises to help him to get married to Princess Kanchan. But he cannot because he was transformed from sadhu to a snake by a Jadugar and lost his supernatural power. How does the snake help the Prince? The snake can do so only if he finds the Jadugar to get his supernatural power back. Only the pigeon knows where to find him. The pigeon gives them several clues one after another. Ultimately after solving several clues, they find the Jadugar. Since he was the original culprit, the Sadhu punishes him by transforming him to a rat.
The final outcome of the whole story is left to the imagination of the children.
Too many characters using their supernatural powers unnecessarily make the story long. The introduction of Pigeon with its clues is superfluous. The illustrations by Ankur Mitra are eye catching and relevant.
The other drama is Fanse Gaya Pecha written by Dipti. The story is about generational gap. The trauma, the youth face if their point is not understood. Here there is also a tussle between father and daughter due to differences of opinion .
November 2023, volume 47, No 11