New Delhi, Nov 13: After a series of stories based on western culture ranging from Enid Blyton`s tales to J K Rowling`s `Harry Potter` series, children will now have an opportunity to enjoy books based on Indian themes and culture.
A series of four books about the adventures of children from rural Assam, Orissa and UP was launched here today by Justice (Retd) Leila Seth at the inauguration of a four-day children`s programme "Magic In Their Hands" at Delhi Haat.
Produced by NGO Dastkari Haat Samiti and published by Penguin Books, the authors include Jaya Jaitley, politician and president of the NGO, Shalini Reys, Jolly Rohatgi and Bulbul Sharma.
The books highlight rural India besides focusing on traditional crafts of the country. Jaya Jaitley, author of "Biju Spins Some Magic", the story of a boy from a weaver family in Orissa, said that she tried to connect rural children with urban kids through her story.
She said children need to be exposed to stories about India`s culture and crafts, especially the people who are behind traditional arts.
Jolly Rohatgi, author of "Mumtaz Embroiders Her Dreams", contended that children are starved of such type of stories and said the response from them has been "wonderful".
The other two books are "Bulli and The Tiger" by Shalini Reys and "Manu Mixes Clay and Sunshine" by Bulbul Sharma.
Also present on the occasion was the new director of UNESCO for India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and The Maldives, Minja Yang.
Bureau Report
