What was more wonderful than lying on beloved Grandma’s lap and listen to her voice narrate tales of adventure, romance, horror and many, many more mesmerizing themes? One day, we will be old and feeble. One day, we too will become the fondest memories of our successors by narrating the stories of our time.
Indian stories have an unforgettable charm of their own. They are full of irony, humor and morals. Here are some collections of stories from India, (in no particular order) that every child in search of new fantasies and every adult in search of old memories should read.
1. Stories from the Ramayana
There once was a dacoit, Valiya Bheel. He would kill and destroy without remorse. Once, Rishi Narada approached him and asked “Friend, for whomever you are committing these sins, will they bear the burden of your crimes?” Bheel replied with confidence that his family members, for whom he was looting and murdering, would bear the weight of his crimes.
Narada demanded that he go and ask them. Valiya Bheel went to his family members and asked whether they would bear the weight of his sins. They replied in the negative. Then Narada told him that since none of your family members want to share the consequences of your crimes, then you decide, you have to bear the fruits of your ill deeds. This reformed the dacoit and turned him into Maharishi Valmiki, the writer of this glorious epic. If the story of its writer itself is so interesting, then imagine the uncountable memorable stories nestled inside it.
You can buy Devdutt Pattanaik’s “Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana”, here or Amar Chitra Katha’s Stories of Rama, here
2. Stories from the Mahabharat
India’s greatest epic is a storehouse of unforgettable stories and is the perfect blend of Hindu mythology and philosophy. Mahabharat’s philosophical stories are considered to be for adults only. We disagree. Its varied stories and many characters have an appeal for the kids too. In fact, it is a treasure trove for young fantasy and medieval history lovers. It’s legendary characters like Arjun, the insecure archer, Dronacharya, the partial guru, Dhritarashtra, the father quite literally blind to his villainous son’s Duryadhona’s flaws and god on earth, Lord Krishna. Like all Hindu texts, Mahabharat offers valuable lessons in ethics and morality.
Devdutt Pattanaik’s “Jaya” is available here
3. Stories from the Puranas
The Puranas are, in a way, the backbone of the Hindu religion. The Puranas were like the Reddit of ancient India, they are encyclopaedic and cover topics like gods, goddesses, heroes, medicine and many, many pore.So many people have contributed in their creation that it is impossible to select just one author as their creator. The Puranas also have hundreds of stories in them. Folk tales, love stories and humorous ones as well. Of course, reading the entire collection is near impossible but there are lots of collections of stories from the Purana available online for your pleasure.
Here’s an available collection.
4. Stories from the Jataka Tales
If you like happy conclusions, then you will love Jataka Tales. Lord Buddha appears in these Buddhist tales as a king, an outcast, a god, an elephant and manages to solve the problems of a vast cast of characters. These stories are still loved even after thousands of years of being written as they offer valuable moral lessons through witty means.
You can buy the entire collection here
5. Stories from the Panchatantra
Animals showing human virtues and vices offering moral advice sound as delightful as they actually are. Classics such as “The Ant and the Grasshopper”, “The Fox and the Grapes” and other humorous but enlightening stories hail from this ancient collection. Panchatantra has almost a never-ending supply of humorous tales perfect for bedtime storytelling.
The entire collection is available here
6. Stories from the Gita
Arjun, the greatest archer of all time, sat on his knees, heartbroken. The enemy was his family, his teachers and the people he grew up with. Lord Krishna pacified him. How, you ask? He spoke of the human soul, dharma, philosophy and ethics. His words became the Bhagavad Gita, Hinduism’s holiest scripture. The Bhagavath Geeta has countless stories filled with the deeds of heroes and lessons derived from them.
Here’s a 5 in 1 collection.
7. Stories from Thakumar Jhuli
There is not a single Bengali child who has not heard a tale from Thakumar Jhuli or Grandma’s Bag. Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder combined tales and fairy tales from all over Bengal and published them as “Thakumar Jhuli”. Some characters from these tales such as Bangoma-Bangomi, Shakchunni and Jolashur have acquired legendary status in Bengal. An English translation by Rina Pritish Nandy has made this household favorite available to everyone.
You can buy the translation here
8. Stories from Burhi Aair Sadhu
This compilation of which literally translates to Grandma’s tales (Gandmas sure know a lot of stories) is a collection of Assamese folktales written by Laxminath Bezbaruah.
It is one of the greatest and most loved pieces of Assamese literature and has tonnes of funny stories with the famous, ironic Assamese humor.
The author collected these stories from the common people of Assam and then prepared this book. The names he mentioned in the preface of the book who contributed the folklores (but without explicitly mentioning who contributed which one) were Bhramarendra Saikia, Mahi Chandra Bora, Sitanath Sharma, Sarveshwar Sharma Kotoky, Rudrakanta Goswami, Wajed Ali, Naranath Sharma, Rusheswar Sharma, Padmadhar Chaliha, Ratnakanta Sharma, Haladhar Bhuyan, Guluk Chandra Sharma, Meghnath Deka, Roop Chandra Barua, Dinanath Medhi, Lokonath Das, Gobinda Chandra Choudhuri, and Dineswar Dutta.
English translation, here
9/ Stories from Baital Pachisi
The legendary king Vikramaditya, promises a sorcerer that he will capture a vetala, the Indian equivalent of a vampire. But there is a catch, Each time Vikramaditya tries to capture the vetala, it tells a story that ends with a riddle. If King Vikramaditya answers the question correctly, the vampire would escape and return to his tree if Vikramaditya chooses not to answer, then his head would explode into a thousand pieces. These stories offer horror, morals, philosophy and riddles. What more can we ask for?
You can buy the entire collection here
10. Special Mention: Amar Chitra Katha
Founded in 1967 by Anant Pai, Amar Chitra Katha is a household name in India. It is perhaps the greatest contributor to preserving India’s myths, tales and stories. It’s comics of beautifully illustrated epics, biographies, fables and stories have delighted it’s audience from decades. Amar Chitra Katha is a treasure trove for story lovers.
Here is it’s Great Indian collection
These are only a drop in the ocean of stories, epics and poems that India has to offer. AK Ramanujan’s “Folktales from India” will be a delightful read if you are a fan of rustic stories. Every single state of India has its own collection of lores, legends and tales, if you are a true lover of stories, ask every old grandma for her favourite stories, you will come across many lesser known treasures which must not be forgotten.
