Title: A to Z of Indian History
Written by: Archana Garodia Gupta and Shruti Garodia
Illustrations by: Aradhana Rawat
Published by: Puffin Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House)
Type: Paperback
Length: 167 pages
Age recommendation: 10 years and above
India is a country which is rich in history spanning millenia and brimming with numerous dynasties, discoveries, legends and towering stalwarts. To be able to distil this ocean of facts into an exciting and concise book is a truly remarkable achievement! Kudos to the authors for crafting a fabulous piece of non-fiction!
History is typically associated with being stodgy and belonging to the moth-eaten pages of long forgotten textbooks, but thanks to Archana Garodia Gupta and Shruti Garodia, Indian history receives a rejuvenating makeover. Eighty fascinating historical instances have been selected, catalogued alphabetically and been retold in a fun and interesting manner.
This thoughtfully curated list consists of some of the lesser-known and dare I say, forgotten personalities and stories.
A for Ajanta and we are transported to stunning Buddhist murals of ancient India.
C for Champi where we learn about a fascinating Indian gentleman who introduced “champi” to the West!!
The authors haven’t restricted themselves to retelling only one story for every alphabet. Most alphabets have multiple stories filed under them, purely because all the stories are equally intriguing and need to be narrated to the world.
It’s a herculean feat to select instances from a history as vast and vivid as India’s. There are stories covering pre-hisrtoric Indian creatures to Harappan children playing lagori. Tales of the Mughal splendor and valor (Akbar’s love for elephants, the Peacock throne are some of them) and how the British transformed India. The book’s alphabetical trail takes you on a journey where each story is retold in an engaging manner and peppered with anecdotes and humour. The borders of each page are decorated with bright Indian motifs and the intricate illustrations enliven the stories.
Apart from learning about the history, I particularly enjoyed how each story has a ‘fun fact’ which provides an interesting takeaway! For example, did you know that there are more than 300 versions of the Ramayana or that Meghalaya and Kerala follow a matrilineal form of inheritance?! I was also intrigued to know that we have stories about instances or people even for the alphabets X, Y and Z!!
You MUST read this incredible book to learn which dog-loving ruler chose to take dogs on his plane, instead of one of his wives and kids, while leaving for Pakistan in 1947!!
Do you know who India’s first stunt heroine was?
I was awestruck by this book and highly recommend this to all the readers.
I cannot wait to read this to my kiddos when they are older and I believe, this book will be the perfect gateway to Indian’s incredible history.
This isn’t an academic text about long-forgotten facts but a vibrant ode to our rich cultural heritage!
The author duo have written many books together.
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