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SHORT TAKES The Illustrated
Premchand selected short stories
Not for nothing is Tagore called Gurudev. Apart from giving us the national anthem and such inspirational lyrics as Ekla Chalo`85 he has mastered different aspects of arts, viz., short stories, plays, songs, poetry and painting`85you name it he’d done it. This collection of an autobiographical piece, short stories, plays and poetry should enthrall children no end. The play, The Ordeals of Fame, will make them think about not so mundane aspects of life. The stories like More-than-true and The Rats’ Feast are entertaining, while poems such as At Sixes and Sevens, The Tiger etc give boost to kids’ creative thinking and sensibility. The illustrations ought to help enhance their imagination.
Jim Corbett made shikar a literary genre by itself. The number of thrilling stories that he has written is a legend. His encounters with man-eaters—be they leopards or tigers—set our spines tingling. But there is more to his accounts. We get glimpses of life in the hills, especially village life, its
social structure, beliefs and rituals. Along with these we do get some
idea of India’s wildlife. Stories like The Muktesar Man-eater, The
Man-eating Leopard of Rudraprayag etc give our nerves a taut ‘n’
tingling sensation. The tales are made more interesting by excellent
sketches.
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Considered a
Leftist/progressive writer, Premchand has been a very important part of
our growing up process. His stories like Idgah and Namak Ka
Daroga were prescribed for school, and novels like Godaan and
Gaban for higher classes, and perhaps still are. Thus generations
of Indians have been familiarised with the trials, tribulations and rare
triumphs of the underdog. Some of the stories in this collection would
be familiar to readers but others like The Road to Salvation, A
Catastrophe etc, though extremely absorbing, haven’t got exposure
on a par with the likes of Panch Parmeshwar. These translated
stories will impact the thought processes of readers. If the
illustrations are eloquent, the translation is thoroughly professional..jpg)
Children’s Tagore.jpg)
The Second Oxford
India Illustrated Corbett