The Tiger King by Kalki. Translated by Gowri Ramnarayan. Aleph. Pages 35. Rs 199
Book Title: The Tiger King
Author: Kalki
Publishing house Aleph’s latest bouquet of books for the young ones has four very different offerings. One is the classic tale of ‘Kabuliwala’ by Rabindranath Tagore, the other is ‘The Hoopoe on the Lawn’ by children’s favourite author Ruskin Bond. The third book is ‘ABC of Hinduism for Kids’, Devdutt Pattanaik’s reimagining of alphabets the Hindu way. The surprise here, however, is Kalki’s ‘The Tiger King’, a satire on those in power.
by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Illustrated by the author.
Aleph.
Pages 65.
Rs 399
Kalki was a Tamil author known for his humorous and satirical articles. It tells the tale of the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram. As soon as he was born, astrologers foretold that the he would be killed by a tiger one day. As the child grew up and took the reins of his kingdom in his hand, his entire being became involved in hunting tigers. He moved the earth to kill 100 of them. But wait, wasn’t the 100th tiger supposed to kill him? Even though the book has been marked as ‘chidren’s book’, young adults would relish the humour equally!
In Pattanaik’s ‘ABC of Hinduism for Kids’, A stands for atma — unafraid of death, always at peace; B is for Brahma whom no one worships; C is for caste and how despite the law banning discrimination, some are still afraid to give up the old, even cruel, caste rules. And so we move on, meandering through F for forest where kings spent life in exile; flowing along with the serene waters of G for Ganga; various (Q for) quarters in Hinduism — four goals of human existence, four phases of life… ending it at X as Romans wrote 10, thus wrapping up this short journey into Hinduism on Aryabhatta’s math-defining discovery!
This reimagined retelling of Hinduism and a Hindu way of life is colourful and fun, a welcome addition to Pattanaik’s out-of-the-league children’s literature.
‘The Hoopoe on the Lawn’ is the newest story from Bond, the master storyteller. It’s an ode to the joys of childhood, bounties of nature and the magic of relationships. Arunava Sinha’s translation of Tagore’s ‘Kabuliwala’ has been richly illustrated, giving it a fresh look.
