Thursday, September 23, 2004

Kahaniwallah: New Githa Hariharan children's book

I received a publication announcement for a new book by Githa Hariharan, a well-known novelist and teacher in Delhi. (If you're looking for a sophisticated treatment of gender/sexuality issues in a time of ethno-religious warfare -- and aren't we all -- read In Times of Siege. It's her best book).

Hariharan's new book is called The Winning Team, and it has illustrations by Taposhi Ghoshal. Here is the description (I edited out some hokey-sounding stuff):

Once there was a storyteller who was out of work. He didn't know how it had happened - but he no longer had anyone to tell his stories to.

But luckily for Kahani Bhai (also called Bhai K), he finds the best audience in the world - the winning team of friends, Nasira, Gopal, Akbari, Veer, Dulari and Ram. And like magic, or like the kahaniwala he really is, all the old stories crowding Bhai K's mind, all the happy, clever and funny faces - of Tenali Raman, Naseeruddin Hodja, Gopal Bhar, Birbal - change into real people as he tells the stories.

Ten stories of the different kinds of people the winning team meet as they get into the stories, from Ramu the Boy Wonder, to the hill-moving Hodja, to the bald babus of Krishnapur, to Nasser the Ferryboy.

Looks fun. Anyone out there have kids?

BTW I once knew a bald babu from Krishnapur -- hell of a guy. Always on the ball.

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