Abbakka is your typical warrior princess in training, a skilled archer, fierce, courageous, witty and embodies an easily likeable character as the protagonist. A girl thirsty for any sort of adventure as she sets out into dangerous missions to track down spies in her seas. She accompanies her mother whom she has a strong bond with in stopping the firangis (Portuguese) from capturing their precious pepper crop.
I started reading the book which at first, looks like a page from everyday life that revolves around this teenage boy Taran and his family. Starting out with a peek into sibling rivalry and taking us through the colours of Ganapati visarjan, the story efficiently unfolds its adventure and fantastical elements with a quick turn of events. Soon enough, Taran finds himself charged with a mission by the Lord Ganesha himself!
Here’s a selection of picture books (for children between ages 4-7) by Indian authors, that are absolute favourites at Nandita da Cunha’s home. These are the books her daughters (now 7 and 9) have read and re-read (and continue to do so…!)
What do you do when your parents are at loggerheads and don’t let you play together? Inu and Putti have become friends and are determined to dissolve the animosity between their parents.
Ahimsa by the author Supriya Kelkar is about India’s fight for Independence through the eyes of a ten year old girl, Anjali. The story revolves around Anjali’s life when her mum joined the ‘Quit India’ movement. The drastic changes in her life, the risks her parents took along with the people who were part of the movement, the peer pressure she experienced from her classmates because her parents were part of the movement and also because she treated the ‘untouchables’ like a normal human being.
This book revolves around two children named Sivakka and Basava, a magical chisel and hammer, who went back in time to the famous city of Vijayanagar! It is a mix of adventure, magic, history and all three put together makes it a good read.
