Age-old stories, drawn from popular and marginal sources, gently question rigid notions about myths. Through pictures and words, these retold stories encourage different ways of seeing and understanding. They carry forward the spirit of oral storytelling and show how myths change, and still endure.
Drums, cymbals, trumpets… It is the festive day of the Ratha Jatra at Puri and Pria wonders why the idols of Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balabhadra are unlike other gods. That’s how Jagannatha looked when he lived deep in the forest, her grandmother tells her. And so starts a story of Nilamadhaba, the secret god of the Sabaras. Central to this is the dynamic...
Pappuram and Kojaram are kaavadiya bhaats, storytellers from Rajasthan. Each has his own favourite story about why Lord Ganesha is always worshipped first, before any other god or goddess. They open their kaavads, the beautifully painted storytelling boxes, and begin – only to realise at the end of it that the stories may be different, but are still...
The quiet villages of Sundarban are terrorised by a monster with wild eyes, sharp teeth, striped skin and pointed nails — Dokkhin Rai! Until finally, Bon Bibi, protector of the forests and people, asks him a simple question: Why do you do this? The answer to this question is central to the age-old theme of human-animal harmony. Set in the lush and...
Valmiki has barely put down his pen after completing his magnificent creation, the epic Ramayan, when he realises he has competition. The sage Narad tells him that there is a better Ramayan, written by Hanuman. Valmiki is devastated! As the story of Hanuman's Ramayan unfolds, humorously and gently, so does the idea that there is no one version of the...
The sage Vyasa enlists Ganesha's help to write the Mahabharata — at a price! This is the well-known story about the writing down of the long and multi-layered epic that is the Mahabharata. Presented with lively humour and great affection, it shows the very recognisable human dilemmas faced by Vyasa and Ganesha. Delightful pictures enable a new generation...
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