Anvita and Anika's Book Newsletter - June 2017

e-granth – Anvita and Anika's Book Newsletter, June 2017

From the Editor’s Desk

Here is the June Newsletter which you all have been waiting for. In this newsletter, I have decided to include sections, so that you readers, can navigate easily through the newsletter, searching for the section that might contain your favourite books. As my sister and I are alternating on who would run the newsletter, this time, it is I, Anvita Agarwal, who is editing the newsletter. This time, I have included books that have not been read by me for a long time. My sister provided the content for four books, and I added the rest. In the next newsletter, we mostly will have a section on the textbook reading we do.

Enjoy reading this newsletter!

- Anvita

Horrific Horror
As the name suggests, this section will have horror stories. Bunnicula and Araminta Spook are included in this section. This time, these books aren’t that scary, so people who don’t like spooky books, don’t worry. You won’t get too spooked out.

Bunnicula, A Rabbit Tale of Mystery

Vampires, Draculas and other horrific creatures are common. What about a bunny-dracula? Or should I say Bunnicula? This horrifyingly funny book is written by Deborah and James Howe, describing the odd behavior of a new pet rabbit. The rabbit has fangs, sleeps during the day and wakes up at night, and, has odd markings on his fur, more like a Dracula. Suspicious, the two pets of the house – Chester, the cat and Harold, the dog, are bent on finding out the mystery behind this odd rabbit. This is another one of my cousin’s books. I never wanted to open it until I was bored and decided to read something I hadn’t read before. It wasn’t that scary as it was funny. Young children would love reading this books, though it has a slightly chilling title and quote that says, ‘Today Vegetables...Tomorrow the world!’. This is a series of books, with seven books in it. Though I have read only one book in the series, I would love to read the rest of the six books. Anyone would love to sit and read these books without stopping to even have a sip of water. [link]

Araminta Spook

Looks like I have a taste of horror-comedy books this month. The second book I’m going to include in this newsletter, is a series of books written by Angie Sage – Araminta Spook. This is the third book that my cousin has given me, which I naturally read, because I have enjoyed the books she has given me till now. My cousin gave me the second book in the series, ‘The Sword in the Grotto’, which I enjoyed a lot. I then bought the first book, ‘My Haunted House’. More than scary, I found it adventurous and funny. All the characters in the book had hilarious dialogues (bar Araminta), and it didn’t feel boring after a small part of the book. I liked the second book more than the first one, though the first book is usually supposed to be the better one. I want to review the second book in this series, as I liked it more. The general idea of this book is how Araminta and Wanda, decide to fetch a sword kept in a dark and dangerous place for one of their ghost, Sir Horace’s five hundredth birthday. This book is something I’ve read a lot of times but never felt it to be boring, or that the storyline wavers in between. It is well written and is enjoyable. In fact, I’d love to say ‘Best Book Ever!’ [link]


BOOKALICIOUS
This is the third section, and as a matter of fact, it contains exactly three books! George’s Adventures, The Lemonade War and Horrible History: Wicked Words. These three books are truly lovely books, and I’m sure you won’t be bored by them. This section has the books I’d mainly want you to read.

THE LEMONADE WAR

I liked this book a lot. It talks about how Evan and Jessie, two siblings, start fighting, as Evan is embarrassed that his little sister is being promoted from second grade to fourth grade, the class he is going to, this year. Evan knows that he is not as good at Math and other subjects as Jessie is, and is afraid that he will feel ashamed that his sister knows more than him. Not wanting to tell Jessie this, he starts acting rude to her, which starts a full-fledged quarrel. They decide to have a bet. The one who earns one hundred dollars from their lemonade stand wins, and the loser should give the winner all his earnings during the war. This starts the Lemonade War. Who will win? Will Evan tell Jessie the truth behind his odd behavior? This is the main story. Jacqueline Davies has done a very good job in describing the sibling rivalry. She is mainly known for her Lemonade War series, though she has written many books. I have read two books, ‘The Lemonade War’ and the following book, ‘The Lemonade Crime’. Both were interesting and different. I enjoyed both a lot. There are business tips in between the book that are interesting, and important. She describes each character’s strengths and weaknesses properly, so you could understand when they face a problem, how they would handle it. She shows what happens in day to day life, jealousy. Jealousy is a feeling that is common between siblings. For example, when the mother praises one of the siblings for something, the other experiences this feeling. I liked the book, and really want to read the rest of the books in the series.[link]

Horrible Histories: Wicked Words

I got this book from a nearby library, trusting it to be hilarious, judging its cover. My father recommended me to read it, as it looked good, and I have read other books in this series. Recently, I’ve been reading a book like this called ‘The Knowledge: Triffic Chocolate’, as I enjoyed the book ‘Wicked Words’ so much. It isn’t a storybook, nor is it an encyclopedia. It is a mixture of both. It gives you a lot of information on how language came into use, what language is, who was the first one to use language, and a lot more. It talks a lot about different categories English words come under, like Acronyms. I enjoyed reading this book. It was hilarious, as it had illustrations that described precisely what they wanted to say. Towards the end, they give you a great deal of new tongue twisters. Here, I’ve provided two of them for you try: ‘Sister Susie’s sewing shirts for soldiers, such skill at sewing shirts our shy young sister Susie shows, some soldiers send epistles, say they’d sooner sleep in thistles, than the saucy, soft, short shirts for soldiers sister Susie sews’ or ‘There’s no need to light a night-light on a light night like tonight for a night-light’s a slight light for a night like tonight.’ If you have doubts on reading this, I’d ask you not to have them. It isn’t a boring encyclopedia, I can promise you that. Reading this will be filled with a lot of laughs and odd facts, full of fun knowledge.[link]


George Adventures, by Lucy and Stephen Hawking

 These series of adventures revolve around two kids George and Annie. They both are constantly having adventures in space, visiting different galaxies and what not. I know this sounds a bit farfetched but the truth was that they had a supercomputer named Cosmos. Cosmos was an amazing computer that could create a space portal that could take them anywhere in the Universe. He had been created by Eric who was Annie's dad, his old tutor and Graham Reeper. It once took them on a cosmic treasure hunt all over the Universe, got Eric trapped in a black hole, etc. This series of books were written by Stephen and Lucy Hawking. The books have lot of information in the books on space stuff.  There are small snippets and paragraphs in between. You get to learn a lot through them (even though I hardly look at it). It is a bit like the Magic Tree House series because both the books have information in the books through which you learn a lot and at the same time you don't get bored because of the story given. My dad had bought the first book for my sister. At first I found it boring and didn't understand it but as I grew older I got interested and enjoyed it a lot. I found out that there were two other books in the series and got them as e-books. Both were as good as the first. I loved the series and it was very enjoyable to read. [link]

HOT OR NOT
This section talks about books that we think are not too good, but not too bad at the same time, they’re just fine, and cannot decide. The section only contains one book, Sheltie in Danger. This is my opinion on the books, so it depends on your taste – you might like it or not.

SHELTIE IN DANGER
Sheltie in Danger is yet another book given to me by my cousin. It revolves around a brave, tough and strong Shetland pony named Sheltie, who is owned by a young girl named Emma and her family. One day during winter, when Emma is skating on a part of a frozen lake which she thinks is completely frozen, the ice cracks and Emma falls in. Sheltie rescues her but his legs get stuck in the sticky, gooey mud at the bottom of the lake, and cannot escape. Sheltie is rescued, but has very little chances of surviving. This is the storyline. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have, but it was fine. It was not as good as I thought it would be. Usually I like reading animal stories, and half the time the books turn out to be good. Maybe I didn’t enjoy it as I didn’t read it at the right age. Peter Clover has written this book, and many other books, mainly ones that include animals, but he is best known for his series of books with Emma and Sheltie. Children of ages 8 to 10 might particularly enjoy these books.[link]

FORMIDABLE FANTASY
I’m sure everyone loves dragons, fairies, gnomes, pixies, elves, and all those lovely and wondrous creatures. For lovers of these creatures, I present to you, FORMIDABLE FANTASY. Allow this section to delight you with its wondrous creatures. This time, you get to decide between two of them- dragons and witches. So, which one do you choose?

The Worst Witch Series

This hilarious series of books written by Jill Murphy is interesting and enjoyable to read. The main character is Mildred Hubble also known as the ‘Worst Witch’. She is constantly getting into trouble and messing up things at Miss Cackle’s Academy for witches. However hard she tries she ends up making a dramatic entrance every year at her school. Her two best friends Maud and Enid stand by her side every time whereas her arch-enemy Ethel does not. Ethel is the teachers favorite and a brilliant at about everything. She tries her very best to make sure she gets Mildred into trouble and look bad in front of the teachers while she, Ethel shines. I know this sounds exactly like a scene between you and your enemy at school! She mostly did it in front H. B otherwise known as Miss Hardbroom. Miss Hardbroom was the unofficial and stern second in command after Miss Cackle, the Headmistress. The author Jill Murphy used to picture herself as Mildred Hubble as she too was constantly getting into trouble herself! I know this for a fact as I once had an English chapter on her when I was in second grade. The Worst Witch series is known to be her first series of books and was an enormous success. She has written many more books but is more commonly known by the Worst Witch series. I have read two of the books in the series and enjoyed them a lot. I love the series and am looking forward to reading a few more books too.[link]

The Dragon Slayers Academy

This is the first time I’ve read this book, and I really liked it. This is the first book in the series of four books, which is why the story is not completed at the end. It is written by Kate McMullan. It is a good book, and will be ideal for ambitious people, who love anything to do with dragons and knights, and all those creatures. I read it just yesterday, curious to know about the book I’d been avoiding for a long time. It is not a very long book, so I finished it in an hour. It talks about a young lad called Wiglaf, who is the runt of his family of fifteen, including himself, twelve brothers and his parents Fergus and Molwena. Though Wiglaf is the runt of the family, he has a kind heart, and dreams that he is born to be a hero. One day a poor minstrel tells Wiglaf that he is born to be a hero, after the minstrel reads Wiglaf’s fortune. The next day, Wiglaf sees a sign asking for admission to the DSA (Dragon Slayer’s Academy). Excited, he decides to seek his fortune there, with his parent’s approval (they are more than happy to get rid of him). I liked it a lot. It was funny at the same time it was adventurous. It doesn’t end the story, so I really want to read all the books to know the rest of it. [link]

PAW PAGES
Animals...cute, cute, animals. Everyone loves them. This section I dedicate to all dog lovers. After all, I quote, ‘Dog is the Man’s best friend’. Enjoy this series, and feel the pain our friendly friends, dogs feel. Happy Doggylicious reading!


The Call of the Wild
This is a book on a wolfhound named Buck. He lives in America, and is owned by a rich family, who fulfill all his whims and fancies. One day, he is kidnapped and sold somewhere in the Far North as a work dog. From that day, onwards, Buck starts to experience pain and misery, which he has never experienced before. Buck must live with courage, and not give up hope, to live with his new life. The Far North is full of greedy people wanting money, so he finds it difficult to obtain the affection he had before. I loved this classic. I was so touched, that I felt slightly emotional as I came to the end of the book. I was dumbfounded at the immense courage that Buck showed, and his condition at the start when he was not used to doing so much work. As I went through the book, I could experience all the emotions going through Buck throughout the book. It was a beautifully written book. Jack London wrote many books, and ‘Call of the Wild’, was one of them. Even though I felt it to be too sad at times, I couldn’t stop reading it, hoping something good might happen to Buck. This book has many good values hidden in it, courage, bravery, strength, and love are just a few of them. This was a recommendation by my father, as he said this classic was worth reading. I read it, as I know my father is correct most of the time, and because I’ve read a few classics like ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘Oliver Twist’, A Christmas Carol’, ‘Little Women’, etc. I enjoyed all of them. I would really like people to read this book. It is a wonderful tale of courage. [link]

EPIC READING
For lovers of our rich culture, heritage, and especially our language. Two books under this section will be enjoyable to you lot of people. These two books talk a lot about our rich collection of books, or has snippets, and short stories from them. I personally enjoy these books, and I’m sure, so will you.

KARNA’S WIFE

This book talks about a character known to very few. She is rarely mentioned in most versions of the Mahabharata. Uruvi, the daughter of King Vahusha and Queen Shubhra, the princess of Pukeya and the wife of Karna. She is a playful, spirited young girl who grows up to and finds herself in love with Karna. Her parents disapprove of him due to his association with Duryodhana. in the end, she finally does get the man of her dreams but along with it she also gets a lot of criticism. Uruvi loved Karna and her new family was nice to her. Gradually she noticed that everyone around her had changed. They all treated her as a sutaputra's wife or an outcast between them. Would Uruvi learn to adapt to her surroundings and learn to live like that? This book is written by Kavita Kane and is fabulous. I have read two other books of hers and between the three and this one was the best. I found the other two to have a lot of romance included which I didn't like that much whereas Karna's wife was romance free. Everything was described through her eyes and based on her thoughts and feelings. It describes her worries before the Kurukshetra war, the shock of realization that Karna was destined to die and her repulsive feelings for Kunti on learning about Karna's birth. I read the first two books and learnt that there was a third. I found out that a library close to my house had the book and immediately borrowed it. There is a sort of magnetism in Kavita Kane's books that sort of makes you complete the whole book. [link]

The Culture Course

 

Weak in history? Well here's a way to learn history easily and in a fun way. Read the Culture Course to improve your learning. This set of books are a lot like the Purṇa Vidya series that were mentioned in the April edition. The Culture Course series narrate around 15 stories in each book. Based on each story there are 6-7 questions. There is only one difference between the Purṇa Vidya series and the Culture Course. Purna Vidya mostly talk about stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata whereas the Culture Course books narrate stories about folk tales, Mahabharata and Ramayana stories, stories about great rishis, the foundation of holy places, rituals, etc. These books talk a lot about the holy places in India and rituals performed there. I have finished the 4th book and am currently doing the sixth. These books teach you a lot about Hindu culture and at the same time they are very interesting. I enjoy reading and answering the questions in this series. [link]


NOTABLE BOOKS
Notable Books, is almost the same as Bookalicious, but here I really, really want you to read the books I mention her. Also, I am mentioning these books to you more formally, which means that even adults would love to read these books. The book I have picked for this section, suitably matches this section. Adults would love reading this, and can recommend the books under this section to others.

Ponniyin Selvan
History is full of names and dates, making it difficult to understand. This series of six books has taken the history of the Chozha empire and written it down in a fictional-fun way. It is extremely hilarious at times, and feels more like an interesting storybook than the history of the Chozha empire. It has been written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. The books name itself suggests that it will be on the Chozha empire, as Ponniyan Selvan is another name for the prince Arulmozhivarmar, popularly known as Raja Raja Chola. These books only go until the time Raja Raja Chola is coronated. The main characters are Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan, Azhwarkkadiyaan Nambi, Kundhavai Devi and a few more. It talks about the plots and plans to help overtake the Chozha empire. It is very interesting, and talks in detail about all the characters and plots. It was the first time I liked a book like this. It also talks about the true nature of some characters. The hilarious parts include the time when Azhwarkkadiyaan Nambi and a shaivite start fighting, insulting each other’s gods, making fun of them. It also starts to become hilarious when the great Vana warior Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan is brought into the picture. He usually tends to casually let go of funny sentences. I loved this book. I have all six of them at home, and have read only five of them. I am on my last one, and need to finish it.[link]

Thank you all for taking the time and patience to sit and read the newsletter that I have prepared for you. Hope you found it enjoyable, knowledgeable, and a good source of information.
You can download the original version of this newsletter, in PowerPoint form, here

-Anvita

© 2017, Anvita, Anika.

The Six Spellmakers Of Dorabji Street

The Six Spellmakers of Dorabji Street, by Shabnam Meenwalla

Nivi, a young 12-year old has shifted to a quiet street in a boxy grey building where her family thinks is perfect for her to grow up . She is greeted quite comfortably by all her neighbors excluding  pie Mrs Braganza and crafty old Mrs Katodia.  These two old ladies are enemies but share one thing in common, their hatred for children and feel like destroying the peace in Cosy Castle and get the right opportunity when the boys in Cosy Castle playing cricket make one small mistake that gives Mrs Braganza and  Mrs Katodia referred to 'the dragon and the crone' the upper hand and this leads to the cutting of the beautiful Bimbli trees that Nivi, Sarita, Venu, Vijay, Nikhil and Rehaan referred to 'the six spellmakers' love. These old ladies join hands in order to plot against the children in Cosy Castle. Watch out spellmakers! There is trouble brewing up at Cosy Castle.

This book written by Shabhnam Minwalla is about a two hundred page long book which is an adventurous book which includes fantasy, but has touches of humour added to it. In this book all the characters have their own speciality. It stars Nivi as a shy girl who can open up when her near or dear ones are in danger. Sarita is a don't careish kind of girl and both of these girls share one thing in common which is their belief in fairies. Shabhnam Minwalla has written this book in a way in which once you pick up the book you don't feel like leaving the book till the last page. This book is a book that one must not miss.

To find out more join the six spellmakers down the lane of Dorabji Street in Mumbai and enter Cosy Castle to join them to find out the sinster plan of those two crafty ladies. Please read this book, The Six Spellmakers Of Dorabji Street.

Amazon, Amazon US, Kindle IN

Scion of Ikshvaku, by Amish Tripathi - Review

The Scion of Ikshvaku

Amish has taken the story of the Ramayana, added his own ideas, and created all kinds of twists. So, do not mistake it to be the great epic, Ramayana. It is a fictional retelling of it. When I heard that it was a fictional retelling of the Ramayana, I got attracted to it. In the book, not all the characters are the way they are in the Ramayana. He has described some characters differently, so you might have to read that part again to understand it. One of his change in characters is when he has described Urmila. He has described the character of Urmila differently. I’ve read a few books on her, and they describe her to be a fiery, bold and brazen girl. In this book, he has described her be shy in nature.

Note: This review contains a few minor spoilers. People who want the book to remain a mystery can skip over those parts.

Warning: Minor spoilers ahead. Skip the next paragraph, if you want the book to remain a complete surprise.

First, I’d like to start with describing to you a few changes in this story. One of the main surprises you will find is the difference in the relationship between Dasharatha and Ram. He has written that Dasharatha was not fond of Rama as he had gone to battle with Ravana the day Rama was born, and lost the battle. He took the child to be a bad omen and started intensely disliking the boy. This I thought Amish had taken a bit to the extreme. I liked most of his changes, but this one is not one that I cast a favourable eye upon. I don’t like it as he earlier in the book mentions that Dasharatha had wanted a child desperately. He married Kausalya, but she was not able to beget a child. He married Kaikeyi next, and finally Sumitra. He did all this so that he could get a son. When he did get one, he blamed the fact that he had lost a war on him! This is one of the things I have found slightly abrupt and strange.
After this, the book has lots of twists and changes. The next thing I found interesting was the mysterious behavior of Rishi Vashishta. The Rishi is said to be straightforward and knowledgeable, and is not said to have been involved in any mysterious work. In this book, it is said that he is involved in something mysterious. I liked this, as it made the reader want to know what the great Rishi was involved in. I will only mention another change, or the book will no longer remain a mystery. The last thing I really enjoyed was the change in the behavior of Vishvamitra with Rama. It is said in Amish’s book, that Vishvamitra did not favour Rama at all! This was surprising, but this behavior of Vishvamitra towards Rama turned out to be crucial, judging the turn of events later mentioned in the book.

I will also be giving you a small idea of the storyline. The story covers the birth of Rama, his marriage and it ends when they are in exile and Sita is abducted. It doesn’t go too much in detail with Rama’s childhood, but it does occasionally mention the pains that Rama had experienced during his childhood, by being neglected and ignored. Later everything is described in detail, as the rest of the book is extremely important. The book ends when Sita is abducted, and Rama sees the Pushpak Viman taking off with her. This is the first book, and the second book has been published too. Its title is ‘Sita, the Warrior Princess’. This book will talk about Sita and her life. This series may contain three or four books.

This book is extremely well written. I never felt bored and am really excited to read the second book, and then will be awaiting the arrival of his third book in this series. I really liked Amish’s creativity and ideas. He added so many twists which made the story one which you will want to read. I found each change in the story unique. The start of the book is slow, but later you really start to enjoy it. You might have to read some parts of the book again to understand it. It is a worthwhile book to read. It describes many things in detail, making it simple for the reader to understand. It is very different from the Ramayana and has many things that have been changed, but it does not make it unpleasant to read. Even kids of ages 10 to 12 will find the book enjoyable, as it has mystery, adventure and all those categories that children of that age read and enjoy. I trust that you all enjoyed the review and will want to read the ‘Scion of Ikshavaku’, and its following books.

The book was forced upon me by my father, who is constantly trying to pry me away from Harry Potter, and Narnia books, though he finds it very tough to. He gave me this book, hoping I would read it and help me give up my obsession over those books. I was not happy at first, but then I started to enjoy it.

Amazon US, Kindle US, Amazon IN, Kindle IN



Preview:

Vamana Purana, by Bibek Debroy

Vamana Purana, translated by Bibek Debroy

VAMANA PURANA
The Vamana Purana written by Bibek Debroy, is full of stories and interesting tales from the times of the asuras and the gods. This is the fourth review of the Puranas that I’ve written, so if you want any detailed information on what a Purana is, you can see them on my blog. Before I narrate a few stories that would catch your interest, I will tell you a bit about the Vamana Purana. The Vamana Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, and also a rajasika, as it glorifies Brahma more than Vishnu and Shiva. It is not too long, as it only consists of ten thousand couplets. The ten thousand couplets are divided into a first part, Purva Bhaga and a second part called the Uttara Bhaga. The Vamana Purana has ninety-five chapters in all.

Anvita and Anika's Book Newsletter - April 2017

 This is a monthly newsletter, on books that can be read, books we have read and mostly a lot of information on books. This one is the first edition, and has been edited by me, Anvita Agarwal. Some of the content has been provided by my sister, Anika, on books she read. This being my first newsletter, I focused on authors I really knew about, so I could write about their books with ease. Venita Coelho, Kavita Kane, David Walliams and J.K Rowling are authors I am familiar with. I have included many sections in them, so you can pick the section you want to look at. I have enlisted the sections below:

A Series of Unfortunate Events: This series of books has recently been converted to a T.V serial with episodes in the first season. The series of 13 books revolves around three siblings, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire, and their unfortunate lives which all started when their parents died. They were sent to live with a terrible man, Count Olaf. Count Olaf was an evil, distantly related relative of theirs. He plotted and planned in all thirteen books, on ways to steal the three siblings’ fortune. This series was extremely interesting, and, it forces a person to read it, even if a person doesn’t want to. Lemony Snicket does so by dissuading the reader from reading his book. As we humans are too curious, we tend to pick it up! This is called reverse psychology. The only reason I picked this book up was because of the blurb written at the back. He described the book to be full of adventure and unfortunate events, which appealed to me. [link]

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: You all must have heard of this book. It is a textbook casually dropped in the Harry Potter series, in the book lists. J.K Rowling later writes this book as a screenplay, and it becomes so famous that it got turned into a movie later! I only read this book after continuous chiding from my friends, on the wonderful movie. J.K Rowling describes each scene with such importance, that I can imagine the whole story going about in my head. It talks about a wizard Newt Scamander and his fantastic beasts during the time of Grindelwald, a famous dark wizard. A small accident occurs and a few of his creatures are let loose, and this causes a slight problem. Meanwhile, an Obscurus, a dangerous force, is going around killing muggles and threatening to endanger the Magical Community. This fabulously written book has been turned into a movie with Eddie Redmayne as the star, who really did justice to the character of Newt Scamander, and fit into the character perfectly. [link]

Just Add Magic: Three BFFs - Kelly, Hannah, and Darbie - find a magical cookbook that leads them to cooking recipes with strange consequences. They start doing so to help Kelly’s grandma, who they believe is under a spell. On their journey through cooking, they meet sinister people like Mama P, and unknown friends like Miss Silvers, a strange old lady. This wonderful series has been turned into a movie with Olivia Sanabia as Kelly Quinn, Abby Donnelly as Darbie O’ Brien and Aubrey Miller as Hannah Parker-Kent. (Amazon Prime.) I never knew of this serial before. I found out about this serial by pure accident. One day I was casually scrolling through the kids’ section in Amazon Prime when I landed upon this. After reading the storyline I wanted to see it, as I’m a fan of anything to do with magic. The episodes got more interesting as they continued. Each episode ended with something mysterious going on. This way a person would continue seeing it, even though they wouldn’t want to, to uncover the mystery. [link]

Tiger by the Tail: Kela, a langur, is Agent 013; Bagha, a tiger, is Agent 002 and has a license to kill; and Rana, Agent 11.5, is a human, and all three are agents from the AIA (Animal Intelligence Agency). They must rescue the tigers that are being taken to China for illegal activities. Venita Coelho has protested against animal trade through this book in an interesting manner. [link]



Dead as A Dodo: Rana, Bagha and Kela are three agents from the AIA on a mission. They discover that the extinct species, the Dodo is alive! Only one managed to survive and is held at Mauritius, South America. They go to Mauritius but the dodo is taken by another person. Their job is to rescue the dodo, Sam, and find a home where people won’t try to hurt him. [link]


Monkey See, Monkey Do: This is another book written by Venita Coelho. Bagha, Kela and Rana are off on another mission to rescue the animals on whom cosmetic products are being tested. On their way, they encounter a dangerous silverback gorilla called Alpha who detests humans and his goal is to wipe out the entire human race. Rana, Kela and Bagha must rescue the animals and deal with Alpha. [link]


Tiger by the tail, Dead as a Dodo and Monkey See, Monkey Do are the three books I absolutely enjoyed to the core. My father got me Tiger by the Tail, as my birthday present. The book doesn’t look that interesting. I took it to be a book filled with facts about tigers only. I read it even though I wasn’t sure about my interest in the book. It was so well written, I couldn’t get up until I had read the complete book. It was hilarious! After my younger sister came across this book, she loved it so much that she decided to buy the other two books in this series, Monkey See, Monkey Do, and Dead as a Dodo. Dead as a Dodo was my favourite between the three. The hysterics of Sam, the Dodo, Kela’s hilarious comments on the wrong time, and Bagha’s angry remarks were the stars of the book.

Ambushed: Tara, a modern-day girl is dismayed when she learns that she is going to spend her holidays near a sleepy tiger reserve at the foot of the Himalayas. Later she discovers a famous poaching gang. With the help of Satya and a friendly wildlife expert Rathore they decide to catch the poachers. I came across this book in an edition of the Sanctuary Magazine. The review of the book was interesting. I decided to buy the book after reading the review. Ambushed was as an amazing book and uncovers the different ways of poaching in India. The book was lovely. [link]



Sanctuary Magazine: This monthly magazine talks about different and unique animals that are not known to many. It describes the different experiences of different people. It has many pictures that wordlessly show the beauty of nature. The best issues that I felt from the year 2016 were the January, March, and May editions. My father had subscribed to this magazine and told us it was a good magazine to read. I started reading it and soon realized how amazing it was. I learnt about many other animals and plants that I was oblivious to. The other editions were just as amazing. It was a pleasure reading them.

Dungeon Tales: This book may look like a bridged version of the Arabian Nights, but they aren’t. This is also written by Venita Coelho. The stories were different and unusual. Dungeon tales is a collection of stories that are narrated by prisoners of an evil Badshah, called the Badmash Badshah. This evil ruler had usurped the throne and killed all the royal members of the family. A dying member of the family had cursed him that when his prison is empty, his time of doom would come. One of his prisoners suggested that he call each of his prisoners, listen to their story and then decide whether or whether not to forgive them. This way, he would listen to one story each night. [link]



Mr. Stink: This book is about Chloe, a lonely twelve-year-old. One day she plucks up the courage to talk to a tramp whose name is Mr. Stink, and the name suits him, as a pungent smell always surrounds him. They slowly become fast and firm friends. Chloe’s mother was trying to become mayor. Her rules stated that all tramps ought to be moved off the streets. A worried Chloe does not want to lose her friend. She does a drastic move and moves Mr. Stink into her garden shed. Now Chloe is trapped between Mr. Stink and her mother. This book is another one of David Walliams bestsellers. My favourite piece was the interview of Chloe’s mother and Mr. Stink. I also like the hilarious side comments that Mr. Stink suddenly puts in between. It too has the feeling of wanting to read more. This book is also another amazingly written book. I loved it. [link]


Gangsta Granny: Ben’s granny is very old and boring. She just likes sitting around eating cabbage and playing scrabble. Ben dreads going to Granny’s house as he gets very, very bored. Little did he know that granny was not as boring as she looked. His boring granny was the Black Cat, an international jewel thief! My favourite bit is when Ben and his granny start planning to steal the Crown Jewels. David Walliams has described the thrill of adventure wonderfully. I really enjoyed the way the story had been created. It makes you want to read more. It was a fantastic book. [link]


What-If: This book talks about weird and worrying questions that often pop up. Randall Munroe has answered many such questions in this book. It answers all these questions scientifically, with hilarious illustrations to emphasis these points. I never wanted to read this book as I don’t like reading books on science like this. I admit I liked it, but I was reluctant to read since I don’t really like reading science books. [link]



JOY OF X: It is a book explaining mathematical topics in a simple manner. Steven Strogatz explains simple concepts in a fun way that helps you understand them. I enjoyed it. [link]



Purna Vidya: Purna Vidya is a series of books that explain to us our Hindu Culture, our epics and various stories. They have many activities that help us have fun as well as learn our culture. They have many books that should be read to a child from childhood. [link, website]



Sita’s Sister: This book is set in the time of the Ramayana. It talks about a character rarely noticed, Urmila, Sita’s younger sister. The book describes everything through Urmila’s eyes. It concentrates on her emotions and feelings. It also describes her long internal struggle as she is separated from her husband for 14 long years. I thought that Urmila must have been a woman of exceptional strength that she was able to bear 14 years of separation. I as a kid felt that the book could have done with a little less romance. Kavita Kane has described everything really nicely. I usually don’t read many non-fiction books but this book was written so beautifully that even I couldn’t stop myself. The story has been written wonderfully. I like Kavita Kane’s style of writing. It is very good. I really felt that this was a book worth reading. [link, Anika’s review]

Feluda (Volume 1): The book revolves around Feluda, a twenty-seven-year-old amateur detective. He is usually accompanied by his thirteen-year-old cousin Topshe. All of Feluda’s adventures have been described through Topshe’s eyes. Topshe too is aspiring to be a detective and is Feluda’s assistant. Feluda has an amazing observation due to which most of the mysteries are solved. I think Feluda is the Indian Sherlock Holmes. My favourite story was the ‘Kailash Choudhary Jewel’. It was the first of the Feluda stories that I had read. This book talks about a shikari named Kailash Choudhary, his brother Kedar and a precious blue jewel. Kailash Choudhary had been receiving anonymous notes and phone calls. Each of them threatening him about a precious blue jewel found in a hidden temple. This investigation nearly gets them run over by a car. Each adventure turns out to be tougher than the other. Each mystery uses all of Feluda’s skills to get to a satisfactory answer. [link]

Moin the Monster Songster: This book is about a boy named Moin. He has a real, live monster living under his bed. The surprising thing is that the monster sings, and brags about being the best singer. He is continually singing and this gets Moin into serious trouble as everyone thinks it is Moin singing. The book doesn’t have a good storyline. I would not recommend it for children above 5 years of age. My sister saw this book mentioned in another story and decided to buy it. Both of us read it and felt the book did not capture our attention. [link]



This newsletter is a planned monthly newsletter on books that Anvita and Anika read, find interesting, plan on reading, read and liked, read but didn’t like, and everything in-between. Some help in formatting and layout was provided by Abhinav Agarwal (@abhinavagarwal)

• Anvita’s blog: anvita.abhinavagarwal.net
• Anika’s blog:.http://anika.abhinavagarwal.net/

© 2017, Anvita and Anika Agarwal.

Matsya Purana, by Bibek Debroy

Matsya Purana

Translated by Bibek Debroy

The Matsya Purana is my third review of the Puranas written by Bibek Debroy. He had translated the unabridged version of the whole Mahabharata in English, with eleven volumes, the eleventh volume being the Harivamsha. Earlier he has translated an abridged version of the eighteen Mahapuranas. I have reviewed two so far, and this is the third I’m going to be reviewing. To know the basic facts on the Puranas, you can read the earlier reviews I’ve written. Let me start by telling you the basics you should know about the Matsya Purana. Firstly, the Matsya Purana is the sixteenth Purana in order, not of importance. Secondly, the Matsya Purana is a tamasika Purana, which means it praises Shiva more, though it has the name of one of Vishnu’s avataras. In reality, it is Vishnu who is narrating this Purana to Vaivasvata Manu. It consists of fifteen thousand shlokas in all. It has a few similar stories to the Shiva Purana. In this Purana, I didn’t find the stories as interesting as a few interesting things shared in the book. I’ll mention them to you

Firstly I found the facts on giving daan very interesting. You will come upon them when you have read most of the book and you are nearing the end. There are sixteen ways of giving daan. All of them are listed below.

1. Tulapurusha : The donator of the daan should sit on the scale and gold should be placed on the other side until both the scales are balanced equally.
2. Hiranyagarbha : A pot full of gold is donated.
3. Brahmanda: A universe made out of gold is donated.
4. Kalpapadapa: A tree made of gold is donated.
5. Gosahasra: A thousand cows are donated.
6. Kamadhenu: A cow and a calf made of gold are donated.
7. Hiranyashva: A horse made of gold is donated.
8. Ashvaratha: A horse and four chariots constructed of gold are donated.
9. Hemahastiratha: An elephant and a chariot made of gold are donated.
10. Panchalangalaka: Ten ploughs are donated, five made of gold and five made of wood.
11. Dhara: A golden model of the Earth is donated.
12. Vishvachakra: A golden model of the Universe in the form of a wheel is donated.
13. Mahakalapalata: Ten creepers of gold are donated.
14. Saptasagara: Seven pits are made in the ground, representing seven oceans. The first pit has a little bit of salt, the second milk, the third clarified butter, the fourth molasses, the fifth curds, the sixth sugar and the seventh holy water. An idol of a god or goddess is placed in each. Brahma in the first, Vishnu in the second, Shiva in the third, Surya in the fourth, Yama in the fifth, Lakshmi in the sixth and Parvati in the seventh. The pits are then covered with jewels to the brim.
15. Ratnadhenu: A cow made of gold with different parts made of jewels is donated.
16. Mahabhutaghata: A pot made of gold filled with jewels is donated.

The second thing I loved the most was when he described the time a house should be built. The points you have to remember while building a house are:

• The building of a house should never happen during Chaitra, as the person who does this will inflict a terrible disease.
• The month of Vaishakha is a good time, as a person will have many cows.
• An individual who begins in Agrahayana has full granaries, in Magha attains all sorts of riches and in Falguna obtains gold and sons.
• Servants and animals are owned by the person who starts in the month of Ashada.
• If you start to build a house in Jyaishta and Shravana you will die soon; in Bhadra you will suffer all manner of losses; in Ashvina your wife will die and in Pousha your goods will be stolen.

One story we commonly know is the story of Sanjana and Surya. There is a particular part that we don’t know about. When Sanjana took the form of a mare and was meditating so that Surya’s radiance would reduce. After Sanjana’s father had chipped a small bit of his radiance, Surya took the form of a horse and joined Sanjana. At that time, Sanjana gave birth to two twin sons. Those two twins were the Ashvini twins. This has not been mentioned in many versions. This was a part of the story I liked, as I haven’t read this in the versions of this story which I’ve read.

The last part I liked was when Bibek Debroy talks about ब्राह्मण (Brahman). During the creation of the universe, there was darkness and the Brahman. We cannot describe the divine essence brahman, as it has no traits that can be described. The Matsya Purana says that the brahman repelled all the darkness, and divided itself into three parts. Those three parts are known as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. All the Puranas have different versions on the creation of the Universe, if you happen to read them. This I found to be the most interesting of the versions I’ve read of. It talks about the Brahman, which is the divine essence said to be formless. This is the part I enjoyed the most. It told me about Brahman, a term I had vaguely heard about.

These parts were my favourite. This book was one of the best from the other two Puranas. This is easy to understand, and can be read by kids. It gives us a lot of information on our ancient texts, the Puranas. Bibek Debroy’s Mahabharata, though long is written beautifully in simple English. One should really read the books written by Bibek Debroy. Also read my other two reviews on the Puranas:

• Review of Padma Purana
• Review of Shiva Purana

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© 2017, Anvita Agarwal.

Padma Purana, Translated by Bibek Debroy

Padma Purana (Great Epics of India: Puranas Book 2)

Translated by by Bibek Debroy, Dipavali Debroy

Namaste.
I am Anvita and I would like to share with you some information about the Puranas, one of the sacred texts of Hinduism. Before I start, I would like to give you a general idea of a Purana. A Purana is one of the sacred texts of Hinduism. The Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Puranas are together known as Itihasa, something that happened in the past. As we all know, the Ramayana was written by Sage Valmiki and the Mahabharata was composed by Krishna Dvaipayana. The Puranas were also written by the same person, Krishna Dvaipayana. This great sage was the offspring of Satyavati and Rishi Parashara. He was originally named Krishna Dvaipayana, as he his complection was dark (Krishna) and he was born on an island (Dvaipayana). Later on, he was titled Vedavyasa or Vyasadeva as he divided one of the most sacred texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. Hence, he was known as the one who divided the Vedas (Vyasa = dividing). There are eighteen Puranas that are given more importance, because of five characteristics they contain. The Puranas are as follows:

1. Brahma Purana
2. Padma Purana
3. Vishnu Purana
4. Shiva Purana
5. Bhagvata Purana
6. Narada Purana
7. Markandeya Purana
8. Agni Purana
9. Bhavishya Purana
10. Brahmavaivarta Purana
11. Linga Purana
12. Varaha Purana
13. Skanda Purana
14. Vamana Purana
15. Kurma Purana
16. Matsya Purana
17. Garuda Purana
18. Brahmanda Purana

The characteristics are listed below,
1. The original creation of the universe (sarga).
2. The periodical destruction and recreation of the universe (pratisarga)
3. The different eras (manvantara)
4. The history of the solar dynasty (suryavamsha) and the luna dynasty (chandravamsha)
5. The royal genealogies (vamshanucharita)

The Padma Purana is the second longest purana with fifty-five thousand couplets. The Padma purana is divided into sections – Srishti kanda, bhumi khanda, svarga khanda, patala khanda and Uttara khanda. The Padma Purana is a Sattvika Purana, as it glorifies Lord Vishnu. The Padma Purana has many stories and less facts, which makes it extremely interesting. Bibek Debroy starts the purana with the bhumi kanda. He usually starts the puranas with Lomaharshana narrating the Purana to a group of sages.

There are many stories, most of them, which I enjoyed, but the best stories to me, are two of them.

These stories come when you have finished about half of the whole book. They come during the story of Sage Chyavana. Sage Chyavana decides to go on a pilgrimage to visit all the tirthas, as he believed, if he visited them, he would attain true knowledge. On his journey, he stopped to rest under a banyan tree. The Banyan tree was the house to a family of parrots. The male and female parrot had four sons. Every day they would go to different places in search of food. Their names were Ujjvala, Samujjvala, Vijjvala and Kapinjala, respectively. On this particular day, they happened to visit places where strange sights met them. They would narrate their story, and ask their father Kunjala to explain the strange sights they saw. I enjoyed the stories of Samujjvala and Kapinjala.
Samujjvala’s story: He went to the Himalayas to search for food, in one particular valley that was frequently visited by sages and apsaras. There was a lake called the Manasa sarovara. He waited there and several swans arrived. Some were black and the others were white. They were followed by fierce looking, ugly women. The black swans went to bathe. The women stood outside and laughed. A large white swan came out of the water followed by three swans. They took off, followed by the other white swans. Meanwhile a hunter arrived at the spot and sat down, followed by his wife. The wife didn’t recognize the husband, as he was better looking than before. The husband explained to her that he had bathed in the Narmada sangam, the meeting point of the rivers Narmada and Reva. He guided his wife there, and the swans with the women followed. The swans bathed, and the black swans became snow – white. The women when did so died.

The explanation for this: Narada visited Indra in heaven. Indra questioned Narada about which of all the tirthas was the best. Narada was confused and couldn’t answer it so Indra summoned all the tirthas to his court. He posed a question to the tirthas that which one could purify the worst of sins. The tirthas suggested Prayaga, Varanasi, Pushkara and Arghyatirtha. There is a story connected to this. One day, a kshatriya named Vidura killed a brahmana in a fit of anger. This was a great sin, so he visited many tirthas, but his sin wasn’t forgiven. On his journey, he met a man named Chandrasharma. He had killed his teacher, and he too had visited many tirthas but his sin had not been forgiven. They decided to travel together. They met two more men, Vedasharma and Vanjula. One had married someone he should not have and the other was a drunkard. They journeyed together and a sage advised them to visit Prayaga, Arghyatirtha, Varanasi and Pushkara. They visited the tirthas and their sins were so bad that the tirthas became contaminated and followed the sinners in the form of black swans. The tirthas that were not contaminated followed the sinners in the form of white swans. The whole retinue went to the Manasa sarovara. This tirtha also took the form of a black swan and eventually made their way to the confluence of the rivers Narmada and Reva. When they bathed in this tirtha, they all were cleansed. The four women were the personifications of the four sins of the four women. When the sinners were pardoned, the sins died. The most sacred tirtha of all is the tirtha present at the confluence of the rivers Reva and Narmada, known as the Kubjatirtha.

Kapinjala’s story: He went to Mount Kailasa in search of food. Near one particular pond, he saw a woman seated on a boulder crying. From her tears sprouted lotuses. A sage picked those lotuses and offered them to Lord Shiva. After doing this, he danced and then sat and cried.

Explanation for this: There was an asura named Vihunda. He wanted to take revenge for his father’s death. He started doing a terrible tapasya. The gods were terrified and prayed to Vishnu. To help the gods, Vishnu took the form of a beautiful woman and distracted Vihunda. He fell hopelessly in love and asked Vishnu if he could marry her. Vishnu agreed and told Vihunda that first he would have to worship Shiva with seven crore Kamoda flowers, make a garland of them and give it to her. He agreed. He searched for Kamoda flowers but could not find them. His guru Sukracharya told him that Kamoda flowers didn’t grow on trees. They sprouted when a woman named Kamoda laughed, but when she cries, the flowers that emerge should not be touched. He told him where Kamoda could be found. The gods had no intention of allowing Vihunda to get the flowers. They told her that Vishnu was going to leave heaven and come down to Earth. The thought of Vishnu leaving heaven was so depressing that she started crying. Vihunda, not realizing that these were the flowers had sprouted from Kamoda’s crying, collected the flowers and worshipped Shiva. This act angered Parvati that she killed him.

The rest of the Padma Purana has stories of how punya can be obtained by simply cleaning Vishnu’s idol or removing darkness from it. A person who hears just the recitation of one shloka of the Padma Purana is forgiven of all his sins he may commit in the space of a single day. A lot of punya is also obtained if one donates a thousand cows to a brahmana or if he hears the recitation of one chapter of the purana. In the Kali yuga, punya can be obtained by listening to the whole Padma Purana being recited, giving alms or doing tapasya.


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Review of Shiva Purana



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© 2017, Anvita Agarwal. All rights reserved.

Shiva Purana, by Bibek Debroy

Shiva Purana (Great Epics of India: Puranas Book 4)

Translated by Bibek Debroy, Dipavali Debro

A Purana - it does seem to ring a bell. A Purana is one of the sacred texts of Hindus. There are 18 of them. In order, they are:

1. Brahma Purana
2. Padma Purana
3. Vishnu Purana
4. Shiva Purana
5. Bhagavata Purana
6. Narada Purana
7. Markandeya Purana
8. Agni Purana
9. Bhavishya Purana
10. Brahmavaivarta Purana
11. Linga Purana
12. Varaha Purana
13. Skanda Purana
14. Vamana Purana
15. Kurma Purana
16. Matsya Purana
17. Garuda Purana
18. Brahmanda Purana

These Puranas are known as the Mahapuranas. They were written by Vedvyasa Krishna Dvaipayana (Vedvyasa is just a title holder, not a single person. There have been twenty-eight Veda Vyasa. Krishna Dvaipayana was the twenty-eighth.) It hasn’t completely been written by Krishna Dvaipayana. Other sages and learned people also collaborated and together it was written. A Mahapurana specifically should contain five subjects or lakshanas. They are:

• The creation of the universe (sarga).
• The periodical destruction and recreation (pratisarga).
• The 14 different eras (manvantaras).
• The histories of the Lunar dynasty (Chandra vamsha) and the Solar dynasty (Surya vamsha).
• The royal genealogies (vamshanucharita).

This time, I’m going to talk about the Shiva Purana. In some cases, the Shiva Purana is said to be the fourth one, but in others the Vayu Purana is said to be the fourth one. The Shiva purana has 24,000 shlokas. The Shiva Purana is said to be recited by Romaharshana, Krishna Dvaipayana’s disciple. The first part of the Shiva Purana talks about the Trinity in Hindu gods, which consists of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. It then continues by telling stories. I would like to share with you two of my favourites.

Why do we not use the Champak flower to worship Lord Shiva: There was a Shiva temple in the land of Gokarna and Narada decided to visit it. As he was visiting it, he saw a Brahmana about to pluck a Champak flower. Seeing Narada, the Brahmana stopped himself from doing so. Casually, Narada asked the Brahmana what he was doing. The Brahmana replied that he was going to beg for alms. Narada then went and prayed in the temple. Meanwhile, the Brahmana quickly plucked the flowers and hid them in his basket, which was well covered. Narada emerged out of the temple and saw the Brahmana again. He again imposed the same question. The Brahmana lied a second time that he did not receive alms. Suspicious, Narada asked the Champak tree if flowers had been plucked from its tree. The champak tree denied it. Suspicious, Narada again entered the temple and found freshly picked Champak flowers. He asked a devotee inside who had put them. The devotee answered that an evil Brahmana had put them. Shiva would then bless him and the evil Brahmana had now brainwashed the king and had done many evil things. Narada questioned Shiva how he could have allowed the Brahmana to do this. Shiva said that he was helpless if anyone worshipped him with Champak flowers. He couldn’t resist them. Narada hereby cursed the Champak flower that it wouldn’t be used to worship Shiva as it had lied.

Parvati becomes Gauri: Two asuras, Shumbha and Nishumbha obtained a boon from Brahma that they may not be killed by a male. After seeking the boon, they started wreaking havoc in all three worlds. In despair, Brahma went to Shiva and asked him to invoke Parvati, so that a female would be born from Parvati who would kill the asuras. Shiva agreed to the idea. When Shiva met Parvati and playfully addressed her as ‘Kali’ meaning black or dark skinned. Hurt by the term used to address her, she decided to pray to Brahma for many years to become fair She meditated for many years. One day, a tiger saw her and thought her to be a good meal. It patiently waited for her. Parvati, thinking the tiger to be her devotee, entered the tiger’s soul. As soon as she did this, his soul was truly purified and became a devotee of Parvati. Meanwhile, Brahma arrived at the spot, wanting to know the reason Parvati was praying to him. She told him everything and he granted her the boon. All the dark cells (kosha) fell from her body. From them emerged a dark hued goddess, Koushiki, and Parvati was hence known as Gauri (fair one) as she did not have a single dark cell. Equipped with the right weapons, Koushiki killed Shumbha and Nishumbha.

The Shiva Purana also talks about the twelve Jyotirlingas. Their names are:

• Omkara
• Somnath
• Kedara
• Mahakala
• Mallikarjuna
• Bhimashankara
• Vishvanatha
• Vaidyanatha
• Nagesha
• Rameshvara
• Tryambaka
• Ghushnesha

Other than this, the Shiva Purana also mentions the different hells you go to for the different sins. It also talks about the punya or merit, you can obtain if you read the Shiva Purana. Bibek Debroy did a very good job in writing this Purana. It is easy to understand and is interesting, as it has many stories.

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© 2017, Anvita Agarwal.

Lanka's Princess, by Kavita Kane

Lanka's Princess, by Kavita Kanè

Whenever we think about the Ramayana, the only characters that come to our heads are Rama, Lakshman, Sita, Ravana and Kaikeyi. To think about it, one of the most misunderstood characters in this whole epic is Surpanakha. The evil sister of Ravana, who instigated Ravana to kidnap the innocent Sita, is the image portrayed if you read the Ramayana. Once, when I was reading the Ramayana, a question popped into my head. “Why hasn’t the history of Surpanakha been described? How was she like in her childhood? Was she evil from the start?” Was my question. Then I came across this book called ‘Lanka’s Princess’ by Kavita Kane. This book was the answer to my question. Lanka’s Princess, by Kavita Kane, talks about Surpanakha from the time of her birth till her death. It portrays her in a different manner, more in a sympathetic one. Before I tell you my views on the book, I’d like to tell give you a hint of the story.