Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from June, 2014

Sunday's Surprise

Thursday...Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Three days more! Sharada was thrilled as she ticked marked the days on the calendar. She had labeled Sunday as Sunday's Surprise, because the much-awaited holiday was spent differently every week. Sharada and her parents went to malls, parks, ice-cream parlour or sights around the city. The best part was their day was foot-loose! So, this Sunday when her Dad asked Sharada what she would like to do, she chirped, 'Let's go on a drive.' In the afternoon, they set off in their car, humming songs along with the FM radio. Sharada's Dad drove to the outskirts, where there was less of mad honking, and the air was cooler. Seated in the back, Sharada saw houses painted in bright oranges and yellows, sparrows queuing up on the electric wires and green meadows, pass by in a blur. She wondered if Dad would stop the car and they would settle under a tree and eat a picnic snack. But, he kept on driving. Soon, the drive turned bumpy, beca

A tale for the old and the young

Reviewed this book for the Sunday pages. Funny, wise fable! Name: Junglezen Sheru By: Samarpan Published by: Pan Macmillan India Price: Rs 150 In a jungle, its king, the lion, is no more and so the animals look towards his cub to lead them. But, Sheru the cub, doesn't know that he is meant to rule. Instead he takes pride in being the royal carrier of Kapi, the monkey, who takes over the reins of the forest. Sheru, after the death of his parents, is adopted by Muktak, the wise old elephant . But like any restless child, he hates Muktak's sermons and constant goading to 'behave like a lion!' Sheru ignores the wise creatures and their teachings and falls in line with the scheming and the coward, who don't want the cub to rise to his core strength or individuality. It's a funny, wise animal fable, by Samarpan a monk, but scratch the surface and you will find the similarities in the human world, our leaders, the social and political hierarchy and the '