Embark on a captivating journey through the vibrant tapestry of Indian festivals with the guidance of insightful books!

Children’s Books on Indian Festivals

It was early in my blogging days that I was introduced to Bhakti Mathur, an ex-banker living in Hong Kong since 2000. I was surprised by the “Amma Tell Me” series that she had published as an NRI.

Her story: It began as a passion project. She wanted her two boys to enjoy the rich mythology, culture and traditions of their native country. India, with its diversity and beauty, celebrates life 365 days. The vast repertoire couldn’t be unveiled, but Mathur did manage to give the children all that they needed to know about the major festivals such as Holi, Diwali, Durga Puja, Raksha Bandhan. Altogether, there are 14 books in the ‘Amma Tell Me’series. 

Written in a rhythmic format with colourful and vibrant illustrations, the books are apt for children aged 2-8 years. The books give the children an idea about the origins and the beauty of the festivals.

Bhakti’s love for Hindu mythology was inculcated by her gentle housekeeper, Bhagwan from Bihar. In 2010, Bhakti was looking for a picture book on Holi to educate her sons. Unable to find one, she researched and wrote one herself. Then, she set up Anjana Publishing (named after the mother of her favourite Hindu god, Hanuman) and self-published the book, even distributing it herself.  

She, later, expanded the channels of distribution to Amazon, also reaching bookshelves in Hong Kong and major Indian cities.  

After a successful 22-year career, she left finance and enrolled in MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Hong Kong. She is also an author with Puffin Books, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House India, for the spin-off series called “Amma Take Me” about historic places of worship. This series has four titles till date.

Bhakti hosts storytelling sessions, reading and writing workshops at schools, has been a speaker at Literary Festivals in Hong Kong, Singapore and India. She also freelances as a culture and health and fitness feature writer for the South China Morning Post and is a life coach.

Romance with Indian Festival in the backdrop

As I looked for more suggestions, Manali Desai, guided me to her book, Love & (Mellow) Drama: Love Trials II, which is available on Kindle Unlimited. The book was nominated for the ‘Popular Choice’ category for ‘AutHer Awards‘ by JK Paper and The Times of India. These awards celebrate women authors and their creative expression and the popular choice is through public voting.

This new age chick lit is a coming-of-age story. Young Gayatri Kulkarni is called a ‘drama queen’ by everyone who knows her. Full of life, she is crazy about dancing, Bollywood and songs. The story moves from melodrama to ‘mellow’ drama.

The book spins out like a Bollywood love story—full of songs, dance, drama, youthful optimism, hearty, feisty and lively to the core. As the 18-year-old enters college, following her brother’s footsteps, she falls for a handsome guy who is about to complete his MBA. Gayatri meets Varun during Ramanavami celebrations. He had broken off with his girlfriend during Holi. Gayatri and Varun come closer during the Navratri celebrations and then Diwali seals the deal for their crush to materialise into a relationship.

Desai’s book is all about Gen Z—the way they celebrate and view life, the things they like, the world they want to create for themselves. She talks about the festivals from a youthful perspective, about dressing up, making new friends, enjoying the celebrations. They take enthinicity to a new level by blending tradition with modernity.

She goes into details about how normal families celebrate the pujas, the traditions, the clothes they wear, the outings they have, the pandals they visit and the food they eat. It’s a very modern world, where the tradition is like breathing, in automated mode. There are no pressures and rigours in the effortlessly beautiful festivities.

The festivals are not only ‘romantic interlude’ milestones, they represent the passage of time as well. Holi comes in March and Diwali is in November, so that gives the reader an idea of the time span also.

Even the weddings in India are a festival unto themselves. The extravagance, the multiple ceremonies and the accompanying pujas are a grand celebration of two families uniting for a lifetime. There are many occasions to have a happy time in Desai’s book.

The other themes explored in the book are adulting, career challenges, relationship issues, parenting, modern take on life, sibling love and friendship. The book does have tropes, but it also makes room for women power, living life king-size despite the ups and downs. It ends on a suprising note.

Book Recommendations on my #TBRList

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley
The Blue Bar by Damyanti Biswas
Devi by Prasun Roy
Nine Nights of the Goddess: The Navaratri Festival in South Asia (SUNY Series in Hindu Studies) by Caleb Simmons (editor), Moumita Sen (Editor), Hillary Peter Rodrigues (Editor)
A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘BookishCafeBloghop2024’ hosted by Rakhi Jayashankar and Samata Dey Bose (Prompt: A book at the backdrop of an Indian Festival)