Children’s literature in every Indian language has its origin in oral tradition comprising lullabies, Folk tales and stories from our classics, especially the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Here are some books that you may like to know about.
Bhima Charit
The story of Bhima’ one of the main protagonists of the Mahabharata, was written by Ramasawathi in Assamese language. It was composed in the 16th century.
Khirer Putul
Abiandranath Tagore, the great painter, wrote the story of two queens, Suorani and Duorani. Derived form Bengali folk tales, it tales us how Duorani triumphs over her jealous co-wife with the help of her clever monkey-son
Baital Pachisi and Simhasana Battisi
This is a collection of 25 stories of Baital the demon, and 32 stories of throne of King Vikkramaditya. They were written by Lallu Lal in 1799 in Hindi.
Lavanyavathi
Written in the 16th century by the Oriya prince Upendra Banja, this is a love story of a prince of Karanataka and a princess of Sri Lanaka. It was the first epic to be written the Oriya language.
Srikantha
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s immortal classic narrates the story of a young boy who makes friends with people who have desolate pasts and uncertain futur. In later years, the adult Srikantha himself becomes a wanderer on life’s pathways.
The Jnanpith Awards is the highest literary awards in the country. It is sponsored by the Bharatiya Jnanpath, a cultural-literary society that was founded in 1944 by an industrialist, Mr. Shanti Prasad Jain. It was first given in 1965. Familiarize yourself with some Jnanpith award winners
- Naresh Mehta –Hindi
- Sitakant Mohapatra—Oriya
- U.R. Ananta Murthy—Kanada
- M.T. Vasudeva Nair—Malayalam
- Mahasweta Devi—Bengali
- Ali Sardar Jafri--Urdu
- Girish Karnad—Kannada
- Gurdail Singh—Panjabi
Nirmal Varma—Hindi
- Indira Goswami--Assamese
*Nirad C. Chaudhuri celebrated his 100th birthday in November 1997 at Oxford, England. He authored works like The Autobiography of an Unkonwn Indian, a passage to England, to live or not to live, Clive of India and The Three Horsemen of The Apoclypse away in1999.
Inspirations
When you read about the deeds of great heroes you may thinks you are too young. But it is never too early. Read about some young people like you who are famous for their achievements.
Looking for inspiration
Brave hearts
Harsh Shrivastava was only 12 years old when he fought a bull. Harsh saw a raging bull about to gore a child. He did not even for a moment think about himself. But instead he flung himself in front of the bull and saved the child. His sister Rashmi too joined him. These children have been awarded the Bapu Gangadha and Geete Chopra awarda for showing such exemplary courage.
Bobby Fischer
I am sure you known about the great chess champion Bobby Fischer.
Bobby Fischer was born in Chicago. Illinois. Grey up in Brooklyn, New York. When he was six years old, his elder sister taught him how to play chess. Bobby had the talent and he combined it with dedication. When he was only fifteen years old, in 1958, he earned the title of international Grand Master. He was the youngest person in the world to win that title. Bobby Fischer went on to become the world to chess champion, holding that title from 1972 to 1975.
Te Poetess who made India proud- Sarojini Naidu
Here is lady India is proud of—Sarojini Naidu. She was a well-known poetess and politician. She started writing poems at a very young age. When she was 13, she wrote ‘Lady of the Lake’, a poem containing 1300 lines. She took part in the Independence movement .When India became the first governor, of Independent India. Sheer determination and the will to succeed made her one of the most beloved leaders of the country. Do you know she was called ‘The Nightingale of India’?
Brave Son of India
You know that our brave Indian soldiers fought against the enemy and won a victory FOR us in Kargil. Read about Lt. Col. R.Vishwanatan bravery
During the Kargil War, Li. Col. R. Vishwanathan captured three bunkers of the enemy. He went up the cold, barren, snow-covered mountains to recover the bodies of tree of his men. He had to crawl up the ridge on his stomach while the enemy kept shooting at him. Still, he was shot in the groin. He died before any medical help could reach him. He was the true son of Mother India.