Anandhu S. The sun sank below the horizon, painting the sky a deep red before twilight took over. Birds flitted across the evening sky racing to their nests as darkness wrapped around the village of Panchavankadu. Adithyan Namboothiri, the youngest of the Kizhekkeparabil family, walked quickly along the shadowy path holding a flambeau made from … Continue reading The Femme Fatales: The Enigmatic Yakshis of Kerala
The Fruit
Kalpita Mukherjee As stories and fantastical tales have been shared among and between generations from antiquity through oral storytelling, the author of this piece too tells her tale orally for the reader to close their eyes, open their ears, and visualise the images and emotions she conjures with her voice. For the listener, and the … Continue reading The Fruit
Early Bengali Children’s Periodicals: an Archival Bibliography
The history of the children’s periodical in Bengal can be seen as a narrative of the evolving idea of childhood and juvenile reading practices. As an ephemeral cultural commodity, it recorded the various contentious ways in which generations of Bengalis responded to colonialism and anti-colonialism, nationalist pride and transnational exposure, communalism and social unity, war … Continue reading Early Bengali Children’s Periodicals: an Archival Bibliography
Book Review: Sanika Deshpande’s Kya Tum Ho Meri Dadi?
Publisher: Jugnu Prakashan (Ektara Trust) Year of Publication: 2020 Price: Rs. 130/- Sanika Deshpande’s Kya Tum Ho Meri Dadi? begins with little Avani wondering why there are suddenly so many people at her house. No one seems to want to answer her question and, to top it all off, her grandmother – the one person … Continue reading Book Review: Sanika Deshpande’s Kya Tum Ho Meri Dadi?
Periodicals in South Asian Children’s Literature
What are those periodicals you read growing up in India? What are those periodicals from your part of the country that we hardly know about? How did these periodicals shape your childhood and adulthood? Write to us!
Editorial: Childhood “Prets” and Other Premonitions
Introduction My (Ahona’s) earliest memories of the supernatural blend with memories of hot rice, white steam like spirits rising from my plate, the sounds of shakha-pola (bangles) on Dida’s hand clamouring as she approached with a ladle full of dal and the words from Dadu’s stories taking on strange shapes and colours, as the ghosts … Continue reading Editorial: Childhood “Prets” and Other Premonitions
The House of Rizwan
I am telling a friend about an incident back in school. He is not even listening to what I have to say. I start narrating, nonetheless. I cannot recall what prompted me to begin. Maybe need to get his attention. Or, just say something interesting to enjoy his company for a few more minutes. So, … Continue reading The House of Rizwan
Inexplicable
Dr. Krishnendu Das Gupta Teacher and Scholar We Bengalis have a tradition of ghost stories. Compared to the occidental vampires and werewolves or the genie of the Middle East, ghosts, ghouls are part and parcel of Bengali rural life. They are very many in number and their ghost class depends on their nature of death, … Continue reading Inexplicable
B for ‘Bhoot’: In Conversation with Manisha Naskar
Manisha Naskar is a well-known freelance animator and illustrator from Bengal. Her work includes illustrations for famous Bengali children's stories like Satyajit Ray's Pagla Dashu for Pratham Book's Storyweaver and an animated adaptation of "Mr Shashmoler Sheshratri" (A Strange Night for Mr. Sashmal) as part of her diploma project . In this interview, Manisha opens … Continue reading B for ‘Bhoot’: In Conversation with Manisha Naskar
The Cult of the Great Tree-Witch
By Payal Priya “Paya I ate ....now play round and round.” My 3-year old niece Myra came running with my phone in her hands. YouTube can make her do anything; she can eat while listening to CoComelon, she learns rhymes and alphabets from Shafa/ Vlad and Nikki , she dances to the tunes of Chak … Continue reading The Cult of the Great Tree-Witch