Category: bookblogtrain

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5 must read books on Indian festivals

As much as I love teaching my kids about culture and tradition, there is nothing like a good old book that can help in making them understand much better. We live in a world where kids well at least some of them would not have access to experience the essence of the festivity’s books can help them understand the reason behind the celebration came into place, how to celebrate, and what preparations need to be done.


Here are some books that I came across and I’m sure you would enjoy some of them too.


FESTIVALS OF INDIA from Sonia Mehta’s Discover India series


The book unravels the vibrant tapestry of India’s diverse festivities. The book takes readers on a journey through all the festivities. With vivid descriptions and captivating illustrations, the book brings alive each festival from Holi and Diwali.


The Author weaves fascinating stories and legends associated with each festival. Through this, the children learn customs, traditions, and the joy of coming together to celebrate the festivals.


The book is perfect for little minds to explore the country’s rich cultural heritage. The book strikes a perfect balance between information and entertainment.


FESTIVALS THROUGH THE YEAR by Rachna Chhabria


Through the eyes of twins, Natasha and Nikhil this book helps little minds explore the cultural heritage of the country and celebrate it.


Starting with Lohri in January to Christmas in December, Natasha and Nikhil explore festivals throughout the year.


The book is a treasure to cherish and revisit because of the detailed descriptions and wealth of information it contains about each of the festivals.


Young readers are introduced to rituals and joy associated with each festival along with explaining the significance.


Right from Holi to Diwali the child understands the traditions and customs.


Not only that Natasha and Nikhil record their experiences of the festivities on a blog.
Their observations add depth and authenticity to the storytelling.


AMMA, TELL ME ABOUT FESTIVAL series by Bhakti Mathur


This set is a lovely find for book readers. Fortunate to have had the chance to review these books, what caught my attention was the colorful illustrations, simple text, and engaging story narration.


Holi, Diwali, and Ramayana are the books in this series where the mother tells the children the story of how the festival came into existence.


Klaka and Kiki, the two siblings settle down for a story from Amma where she weaves a charming story on a delightful journey to celebrate Holi and Diwali.


SHE CELEBRATES


This book is an anthology of 21 stories by women across the world who are of Indian origin. Each of these stories has a backdrop of an Indian festival like Lohri, Sankranti, Teej, Onam, and Vishu to name a few. What I loved the most was the recipe at the end of each chapter associated with the festival. The illustrations were good too.


These are some of the books that had a festive background, caught my attention, and remain a favorite to me and my kids though these books were published long ago. But that’s what books are for right? To be remembered for time immemorial and to be revisited often.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘BookishCafeBloghop2024’ hosted by  Rakhi   and Samata Dey Bose .

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My favourite Author – Kavita Kane

One of my favorite Authors is Kavita Kane, an Indian writer known for her works in mythological fiction and primarily based on Indian Mythology. All her books focus on the stories and perspectives of the female characters in the epics who are marginalized and overlooked in the original narratives.


Her bestseller is Karna’s Wife: The Outcast Queen, which tells the story of the wife (Uruvi) of Karna, the tragic hero of Mahabharata.


I love reading her books cause of the reason that they are captivating, inspiring, and insightful. I love how while reading her books, I get transported to a different realm, that lets me explore the rich and diverse heritage of our Indian spirituality and culture. It helps me in a challenging way that it lets me think about issues and the dilemmas faced by characters in an empathetic and critical way on how they could relate to the contemporary world. Her books also bring out the importance and celebrate women’s courage, wisdom, and strength which can make a difference in their lives and of others.


Some of her books which I like are,
SITA’s SISTER: This is the story about Urmila who is the sister of Sita and the wife of Lakshmana who was left behind at Ayodhya when Ram, Sita, and Lakshmana went to the forest. Her sacrifices, resilience, and struggles as she faces the trials and tribulations in Ramayana are very well explained.


MENAKA’S CHOICE: This is the story about the celestial nymph, Menaka who was sent by Lord Indra to seduce Vishwamitra, the sage from his penance. Contrary to the purpose for which she was sent, she fell in love with the sage and gave birth to Shakuntala, the book portrays her choice, passion, and dilemma.


LANKA’S PRINCESS: This book narrates the story of Surpanakha, who was Ravana’s sister, and the catalyst of the war that blooms between Rama and Ravana. For the injustice and humiliation done by Rama and Lakshmana, the book explains her actions and motives as she seeks to take revenge on the brothers.

KARNA’S WIFE: It is the story of Urvi, a princess who falls in love and marries Karna, the son of a charioteer and the tragic hero of the Mahabharata. She stands by Karna in the war, the book explains the loyalty of Urvi, her struggles, and her sacrifices as the war proceeds. We also understand the conflicts and complex relationships between Karna and characters like Draupadi, Krishna, and Arjuna.


TARA’S TRUCE: It is the story of Tara, the wife of Vaali and the Queen of Sugriva. Her wisdom, courage As she tries to restore harmony and peace in her Kingdom Kishkinda, the book portrays her wisdom, courage, and diplomacy. The motives, and emotions of Tara are portrayed beautifully, and her relationships with characters like Rama, Hanuman and Lakshmana.

Learning more about the female characters, their point of view of the great epics was a different experience away from always reading the epics in the same old perspective. I do hope that some of these titles would make you pick them up and get drenched in the female characters courage, wisdom and diplomacy.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘BookishCafeBloghop2024’ hosted by Rakhi Jayashankar and Samata Dey Bose .

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5 unique ways to tackle reader’s block

Quite often while reading a book, we suddenly go blank. Kaboom…. Completely blank that you cannot proceed beyond that point. There is that lack of concentration or that loss of focus that does not let you read thereafter. I was not aware of how you would describe that. As a naïve human, I would just say I went blank or I had no mood to continue. Thereafter I came to know that the term used to describe such a condition is reader’s block. So far, I’ve read only about writer’s block and experienced it at times too.
So now that you experience this emotion or whatever you call it by the term reader’s block, how do you tackle it? The topic mentions to list 5 unique ways, I do have some more and I wish to share them here to help fellow readers.

DROP THE BOOK AND GET YOURSELF A REFRESHING DRINK

Yes, you heard me right. Drop of the book exactly where you are. Leave the place immediately and get yourself a drink. It could be a cappuccino, green tea, lime juice, hot chocolate or even a glass of water. A quick refresh is sure to give you a change of mind.

KEEP YOURSELF OCCUPIED

You can keep yourself occupied, when you are away from the book. Say catch up on some old friends. Call them and talk, complete some pending chores.

GO FOR A POWER NAP

Yep. It’s great to have a power nap and then get up feeling fresh. I’m sure that would give you a lot of new thoughts and energy to continue reading that book.

DO NOT STRESS OUT

When you have a reader’s block, do not stress out on deadlines. You might have to submit a review or even come up with content for a blog post. Do not do that in a hurry or when you do not have the focus. That is not going to give you fruitful results.

BINGE WATCHING

Ahh. Now there is an even better way. Now that you do not have to read why not finish watching the series that you always wanted to, but did not have time for. Some series are shorter that you can finish watching them by the time the reader’s block gets out of you.

SWITCH TO OTHER GENRES

You might have encountered reader’s block at times, because the plot is moving too slow or it goes to the uninteresting phase. So your next step should be simply switching the genre. Take up reading a different genre or short stories or even read out a book for your kid.

DO SOMETHING RELATED TO BOOKS

What if you are not reading, you can do something relating to books. Set up blog schedules or posts. Take pictures, come on you are a bookstagrammer you will have to take cool pictures. Read some articles relating to reading or try reading posts of other bloggers if you are participating in a blog train. Just like we are doing now.

SOCIAL MEDIA

You could catch up on some latest buzz, or read articles or browse pictures or statuses posted online. Check out memes that will give you a good laugh.Let me tell you that is really good to take your mind off. But precautionary is have the right kind of people in your circle, so that it gives you some positive vibes. Not viewing updates of someone who portrays life to be better than yours and you end up feeling like a piece of shit. I’m definitely not recommending following such kind of people.

OUTDOORS

Get a breath of fresh air. Go for a walk. Jog or take a stroll. Go for a ride on your bike or ride in your car. Call your coffee buddy. There is definitely no person who would say no to a coffee.

These are some of what I follow to tackle reader’s block. I hope it would be of some help for people who face similar blocks.

This article is written as a part of #Thebookblogtrain conducted by Vidhya Thakkar and Siddhi Palande powered by Penguin India and Redwolf should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. Hosts are not responsible for any infringement caused.”