Book Review: Stories From Kathasaritsagara

Kathasaritsagara is a collection of 11thcentury India Fairy Tales and legends retold in Sanskrit by SomaDeva.  It means “ The Ocean of Stories” and rightly so because there are 18 books with about 124 chapters each.  Stories are themed around love, loss, intrigue, bravery and wisdom. 

“ Stories from Kathasaritsagara” by Devika Rangachari are a collection of 10 of the best from this vast ocean of stories. They have been retold in a simple and lucid manner in simple English.

The first story is about a man called Putraka who founded the city of Pataliputra. The plot is filled with twists and turns. Putraka escapes an assassination attempt by his own father. He comes in possession of magic flying shoes, a vessel that makes food on its own and stick that can bring to life whatever one writes with it. Putraka falls in love with a princess Patali and creates the city of Pataliputra in her honor.

Sample another one. The Abandoned Children about the story of how a brother and sister are lost in a forest and what becomes of them. This is an Indian version of the much more recent Fairy Tale Hansel and Gretel.

As with any work of literature pre-dating our times, if the book is to be read to a younger audience, parents might have to modify it a little and suit it to context. But, for older kids the stories can be read as is,  and will provide a great insight into the cultural ethos of the time and place they were set in. Some stories have a moral take away, some don’t. But the plots are almost always twisted and the kids are likely to read through it as it will be pique their curiosity.

Buy your copy at just INR 88 here

Educational Value: 5/5

Role Models & Attitude Portrayal: 4/5 ( Characters have to be given a leeway because they are part of a different social context)

Age Band - broad band : 12+ years

Publisher : CBT

Retold by : Devika Rangachari

About the Reviewer:

Roomana Basha: Mother to a book lover  | Founder and CEO ekdali.com | Loves books - Currently reading Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick | Fitness Freak | History Buff

Bangalore Literature Festival

This is quite an exciting time for us at Ekdali. Literature and books gets us very excited. Last year we walked in to the Bangalore Literature Festival as a visitor and we were enthralled by the width and depth of literary activity it presented. This year Ekdali visits as a partner, fascinated still, but with a added hint of pride. Visit us at the books section in the Bangalore Literature Festival! When: 27th and 28th October 10:00 Am onwards Where: Hotel Lalit Ashok Entry is free. hashtag#ekDaliGetsLit hashtag#blrlitfest

Book Review: Adventures with Hanuman

“Everyone can see and hear and talk to someone from a story they know and love”, many of us can relate to this statement. This is also the statement Hanumanji gives by way of explanation to the surprised Raghu, when He materializes in Raghu’s room.  Raghu is a 12-year-old boy and he is upset about his life! His problem is the same as what most of us go through. When life is simple and everything is peaceful, boredom sets in. This is what makes Raghu yearn for an adventure.

When Hanumanji materializes in his Room, he offers to take him on his adventures. Raghu protests saying that all his adventures are over, the Ramayana is over, Sita has been found and there is nothing left to do.  “ The Ramayana is always happening”, says Hanuman, “ every time someone reads it”.

Thus begins an adventure for Raghu where he accompanies Hanuman as he plays his role in the greatest epic of our time!

Every reading of the Ramayana is different, because you experience it differently. Every story teller tells it differently. Arshia Sattar  in her book “ Adventures with Hanuman”, describes it as a 12 year old boy from our times as experiencing the Ramayana. This makes it easier for 12 year olds from this generation to read and relate to the story.

Raghu is not a mute spectator in this Ramyana. He assists and aids Hanuman. The conversations that the two protagonists have are laced with wisdom and yet conveyed in a simple manner. This book is also age appropriate as Hanuman returns Raghu back to his bed, before starting the final battle, which is filled with all the gore of a war!

This is an endearing rendition of the Ramayana that every pre teen must own.

Educational Value: 5/5

Role Models & Attitude Portrayal: 4/5 ( We take away one point, because the protagonist is sometimes a little casual that can border on disrespect)

Age Band - broad band : 11+ years

Publisher : Rupa

Author : Arshia Sattar

Illustrator: Sunaina Coelho

About the Reviewer:

Roomana Basha: Mother to a book lover  | Founder and CEO ekdali.com | Loves books - Currently reading Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick | Fitness Freak | History Buff

Book Review: Wild in the Backyard

We live in Bangalore, but due to a stroke of luck, we found a quieter area with lots of trees. It also adjoins an army reserved area, there are lot of trees, reptiles, rodents, insects and birds. The popular reaction about animals other than pet dogs and cats, ( and sometimes even to these) is either to fight or flee.  Conservation is usually synonymous with " Save the tiger".  One tends to forget what is quite literally in our backyards . Arefa Tehsin's "Wild in the Backyard" is a beautiful book that reinforces the fact that we cohabit with other animals and birds. They are important to the ecosystem and how they affect our daily lives. To quote a quotation from the book , " In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught"- Baba Dioum. This book predates the previous book we reviewed and recommended "The Globe Trotters" by  the same author .

This book is like an encyclopedia a of all the animals that we come across very often in our daily lives - from Mosquitos to bats! the range is quite exhaustive. The good part is, it is not a typical encyclopedia which becomes a very tough read for children. The tonality is very simple and conversational. There are a lot of facts about the animal, but some how you don't feel over loaded while reading the book. While you get to know a lot of scientific facts about the animal, my favourite part of the book is that even the cultural beliefs about the animals get covered. There are 25 chapters, each covering in detail a single animal. Black and While Illustrations are used to further enhance the content! if only it was in colour :)

The first chapter, for example, is about The Bat.There is a pointer that talks about how one can build a bat house to encourage bats to come and live in the garden. While, I  would have loved to see details about how to build one, I realize that it is out of scope of the book. But , it encourages children to believe that they can do some positive intervention in the lives of other creatures around us. Aztechs, Mayans and Zapotechs, all had beliefs about the bat related to passage between living and dead. Buy the book to find out this and many more facts about the various animals. It is a must in every home and school library. 

Educational Value : 5

Age Band - broad band : 9+ years

Publisher : Penguin India

Author : Arefa Tehsin  

Harmful effects of Screen Time on Kids

While electronic devices and Digital media have improved our lives in many ways, it is still apt  to say that there are many problems that may arise due to overexposure, especially for kids.

 Negative effects on sleep :Increased screen time drastically affects sleep patterns in children. This disruption in sleep can lead to day time drowsiness and poor performances in school. It can also eventually lead to weight gain and obesity related health problems

Lowers attentions Span: A recent study  on two sets of teens 1)teens using mobiles for more than 2 hours a day 2)teens using mobiles for less than 2 hours daily. The group  came to the conclusion this first group of teens are more likely to develop ADHD by the end of the 2 month period.

Hampers Social and Emotional Development: Kids who are exposed heavily to screen time ,have the potential to go through social disconnection and less likely to pick up on non verbal cues. They spend too much time interacting with their smartphone rather than real people leading to poor perspective taking abilities in real life situations  , for example If a child heavily plays or watches violent videos, it may lead to the child in behaving aggressively in a Social situation

Reduces Speed Of Cognitive Development: When kids are exposed to smart devices at a sensitive and young age, there can be unintentionally permanent damage to their still growing brains. The ability to focus, to lend attention, to communicate , to sense other people's attitudes - all such abilities are harmed.

While in today's world one cannot zero down screen time, it is highly recommended that we focus on reducing it to as minimal as possible

Compiled and Curated  by: Vishal Baruah | Marketing team Ekdali.com

Together More : Celebrate More

I lived in a hostel when I was in college. After completing my graduation and campus placement, I lived with 3 other friends in a 2 bedroom house. Life was smooth, till one of my roommates got an opportunity to go "onsite". The green monster of jealousy rose within me, I needed to go onsite too! And so I began working hard, I was the last to leave office, I worked most weekends. Thankfully, this time around when the opportunity came, my team lead recommended my name for onsite coordination! and within 6 months of my roommate going onsite, I followed suit. After this "life" was honestly a blur spending time between Bangalore and any of the onsite locations.

Ours was an arranged marriage, my parents wanted me to marry a girl who could understand my lifestyle. My wife is a software engineer too and works in a big firm with hectic project deadlines. As you are all probably aware, things move pretty quick once parents choose and decide the girl and make you "choose" the same one. I was married 3 months after first meeting my future wife. Did we find our Platinum day of love? Well What I can say is that life was pretty smooth for the next couple of years. We were busy with work, we would make weekend plans if we were free or we would laze around. We did a few foreign holidays too. My job was to book the holidays, my wife would pick the best photos and make Facebook posts. The best among the best were framed and kept occupying walls and corners of our rented apartment!

For some reason, my parents decided that I wasn't happy and kept asking, "So,when is the bundle of joy coming along?". My wife's parents asked too, but may be they worded the "bundle of joy" differently or any other reason, this wasn't a big issue though.  In any case, our bundles of joy ( yes bundles, we have twins)  did come along about 3.5 years into our marriage. Life became even more hectic, if that was possible. My wife joined back work 6 months after the kids were born, there was an old nanny to take care of the children. 

Kids grew up, life was ok. We "did" a few holidays - we mostly went back to either of our homes when our schedules permitted us. When our twins were 3, we realised that our kids didn't know anything about Diwali or Pongal or Pooja or any other festivals. It wasn't something sudden, since we both had lived outside our home for practically half our lives, we weren't too clued into the festivals. Our kids were growing up the same way too. My wife is the one who reads all that is to read about parenting and she found out why it is important to celebrate festivals with our children 

1) It makes kids know about our culture and roots more and roots are really important to grow into mentally strong human beings

2) It helps in building memories - Special occasions and milestones are really the memories that come to use very quickly when we are looking for something from our childhood

3) Festivals by default also mean more friends and relatives, so we get to bond more. 

4) There is an enthusiasm that builds in the family, when we know a special occasion is coming up and there is a general positive climate. Dinner table conversations are about what to buy, how to clean up the house and what would be the menu for the day

5) Festivals are great conversation starters. Children especially find it easy to talk about events and in mixed environments learn more about other cultures too

And so it is that our journey of celebrating began, the twins are 8 now and we do Pongal in my house, Diwali in hers or vice versa every year. Other festivals such as Navratri are usually spent at our house in Bangalore. The kids really look forward to the festivals. We bond more and we are happy in the hope that as parents we are contributing in our own way towards building rooted and happy children. We also celebrate holidays like Halloween, Holi, Rakhi etc P.S: The other happy side effect is that we buy clothes only during festivals and it really helps yours truly's budget planning better :).  My biggest parenting tip and life tip for happiness is to celebrate more - festivals, holidays. milestones or anything else, juts find an excuse celebrate

Book Review: The Unknown Indians

History was very boring when I was in school. That’s possibly because all I ever did was mug dates and events, so that I could just pass the test. But, once on a train journey to Mangalore, I met this old lady, Nirmala, who was a school Principal. She was a History major from JNU.  She told a few stories that made me fall in love with History.

What was so special about Nirmala madam, well she transformed the subject into a story and so when Rajendra chozha went on his expedition to the Far East, my heart rose in support of this great monarch who once ruled a kingdom bigger than present day India. Since that eventful journey, countless books on History,  have been devoured by yours truly. 

My mother –in- law happens to be a great cook, she is also a beautiful storyteller. She tells stories of food! Stories of the food she cooks . It’s a dual treat when we visit her, food and stories! 

When I came by the book “ The Unknown Indians”  written by Subhadra Sen Gupta, I knew I had to pick it up. As the name suggests, it is not a book about kings and queens but stories of ordinary things that are a big part of our history too.

The book has four chapters, and each can be read seperately. The chapter that fascinated me the most was the “ Delicious Platter of Joy”.  It talks about how everyday food we eat is shaped by the history of our country. This morning I ate Idli with coconut and tomato chutney. What I now know is that this would not have been possible some years ago in our country! Coconut came floating to the shores of our country from Papua New Guinea and Tomatoes were introduced to the country by the Portugese!  The tea am sipping as I write this piece is Chinese, this you probably knew but  the samosa am eating now was brought to India by the Arabs and they called it Samusak!

The other chapters are great too! They explain stories of how poetry, art, textile, pottery etc shaped what we know today as History and culture! I highly recommend this one for kids of 9 to 11 year olds. Apart from being a very interesting read, this also instills a very important thought – That nothing is written in stone ! History needn’t always be about conquests and monuments, the little things you and I do today is also History when viewed by posterity 

Educational Value: 5/5

Role Models & Attitude Portrayal: Not Applicable

Age Band - broad band : 9 + Years

Publisher : Red Turtle

Author : Subhadra Sen Gupta

Illustrator: Tapas Guha

About the Reviewer:

Niranjana Reddy - Mother of two sons | Software Engineer | Loves to cycle| Aspiring Master Chef | Bookworm | Nerd | TV Junkie