New Releases – Children’s Literature from India
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The Story of India’s National Flag by Kavitha Mandana
About the Book
In this beautifully illustrated book filled with little known facts from Indian history, and pictures and photographs, read some unusual stories about our Republic: How the first flag for the freedom movement was created in 1906 by a pair of revolutionaries—Hemchandra Kanungo and Sachindra Prasad Bose. About Sister Nivedita, the Irish teacher who became a disciple of Swami Vivekananda and created a flag for the freedom movement, whose elements live on even today. About the journey of Kartar Singh, the nineteen-year-old revolutionary who joined the Ghadar Party that also made a flag for a free India, and who was hanged by the British. And about the genius of flag designer Pingali Venkayya, who was a linguist, geologist and agriscientist as well, who made 30 different Indian flag designs.
As you discover these facts, also read about the days leading up to India’s Independence in 1947, when the Flag Committee of the Constituent Assembly worked quickly to create a new flag for a free India. Their final design was a flag that would proclaim the country’s fundamental values of peace, non-violence and sacrifice through the graceful tricolour.
About the Author
Kavitha Mandana has written books for children published by Talking Cub, Puffin (Penguin), Karadi Tales, Pratham, Red Turtle (Rupa). Her short fiction has appeared in various anthologies as well as in school English textbooks. She’s been writing and illustrating for the Deccan Herald’s children’s supplement for the past twenty years.
The Story of India’s National Anthem by Kavitha Mandana
About the Book
In this beautifully illustrated book filled with little known facts from Indian history, and pictures and photographs, read some unusual stories about our Republic: How Rabindranath Tagore came to write a poem called ‘Bharata Bhagya Bidhata’, which later became ‘Jana Gana Mana’. When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose wanted a song as an anthem for the soldiers of the Indian National Army (INA), at the advice of Captain Lakshmi Sehgal, he chose ‘Jana Gana Mana’, but in a Hindustani translation, called ‘Shubh Sukh Chain’. And Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s bestselling novel Anandamath had the song ‘Vande Mataram’ in it, which became so popular that it was banned by the British!
Also read about how the national anthems of some other countries came to be written—Algeria’s anthem written by a poet in prison, Mexico’s national competition to choose an anthem, and Austria’s anthem that had to be updated for the times. Find out the astonishing chapter from our freedom movement about India’s underground radio network that kept protest songs and speeches alive, and the men and women who sang songs in the face of bullets—words that remain unforgotten even today, from ‘Sare Jahan Se Achcha’ to ‘Jhanda Uncha Rahe Hamara’.
About the Author
Kavitha Mandana has written books for children published by Talking Cub, Puffin (Penguin), Karadi Tales, Pratham, Red Turtle (Rupa). Her short fiction has appeared in various anthologies as well as in school English textbooks. She’s been writing and illustrating for the Deccan Herald’s children’s supplement for the past twenty years.
The Story of India’s National Emblem by Kavitha Mandana
About the Book
In this beautifully illustrated book filled with little known facts from Indian history, and pictures and photographs, read some unusual stories about our Republic: How Ashoka, the great king of ancient India, embraced peace and spread his message of non-violence through rock and pillar edicts, and how a symbol from these pillars became India’s National Emblem. How archaeologists dug up the edicts and deciphered the script and told the world about Ashoka and ahimsa. How Surayya Tyabji, a young woman from Hyderabad, first thought of using the lions from the Ashoka pillar in the emblem. How gifted artists and calligraphers illustrated the emblem and also hand-lettered and illustrated the Indian Constitution.
As you discover these facts, also learn the deep meaning behind the words that make up India’s motto—Truth Alone Triumphs. And read about the tumultuous days leading up to India’s Independence in 1947, when the Constituent Assembly worked not only to give us a constitution, but also to create the symbols that would proclaim India’s place in the world as a proud, free nation founded on the principles of peace, justice and fraternity.
About the Author
Kavitha Mandana has written books for children published by Talking Cub, Puffin (Penguin), Karadi Tales, Pratham, Red Turtle (Rupa). Her short fiction has appeared in various anthologies as well as in school English textbooks. She’s been writing and illustrating for the Deccan Herald’s children’s supplement for the past twenty years.
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