A quick quiz for you – to which sentence do you personally relate to better?
“It was a warm, sunny afternoon and Peter Rabbit was eager to go exploring.”
OR
“The warm breezes of approaching summer had sent everyone, including the gardener, into the house.”
If your answer is the second sentence, then guess what, you are a true blue Indian. How many Indian children do you know are eager to go out to explore in the hot sunny afternoon? Haven’t we been told since childhood to stay indoors during the hot afternoons?
Why is there so much of a mismatch between what our children read in the books and what is happening around them? According to a 2020 survey, 70% of children’s books in India are imported from the West. One of the reasons for this may be that we as parents have grown up reading books written by European or American authors and are not aware of good Indian authors who write for children.
Indian children need Indian stories to relate to their surroundings, culture, and identity. The second quote given above is from The Banyan Tree by Ruskin Bond. It reflects the Indian environment and evokes familiar settings like rural villages, banyan trees, and the quiet life of small-town India.
So let us look at some Indian characters that will give our children the right cultural cues
1. Relatable Characters
Does your child imagine how great it would be to eat and sleep all day long? Junior Kumbhakarna by Arundhati Venkatesh is just what the doctor ordered. It is a perfect go-to bedtime story for your child to get some sweet dreams.
2. Traditional Values
The “Vikram and Betal” stories of King Vikramaditya's clever solutions to Betal the ghost’s puzzles showcase quick thinking and an emphasis on knowledge to solve problems. These stories often emphasize important moral values like honesty, wisdom, compassion, and justice for children.
3. Cultural Diversity
Timmi in Tangles is a girl who is fun, bold and often misunderstood. Just the person whom your child can relate to when she’s accused of eating all the ladoos in the house
4. Indian Beauty
Does anyone in India have rosy cheeks & blue eyes? Western standards of beauty can make your child feel confused or alienated. Reading the book Brown like Dosas, Samosas, and Sticky Chikki (by Rebecca Manari) can will help your child building positive self-esteem by showing them that thoughts and actions define you and not your skin color.
As we strive to nurture the minds of India’s future generations, it’s imperative that we provide them with stories that resonate with their surroundings, culture, and identity. Indian stories, written by Indian authors, are must-reads for children, to help them connect with their heritage and develop a deeper understanding of the world around them.
