There has been a change in the narrative when it comes to Children’s Literature in India and around the world. Be it publishing houses like Tara Books that make it a point to challenge dominant narratives, a re-imagination of popular films like The Godfather or beautiful works that feature the differently abled. More and more people have gauged the importance of children’s books when it comes to the moulding of young minds. Through all of this, though, there is still a gap when it comes to the stories and heroes/heroines we read about – all our role models come from Western history and fiction despite the dearth of homegrown legends, cultures and stories that have been left unexplored.
In the same vein as ever-popular Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Rajvinder Kaur Khaira, lawyer and founder of The Pink Ladoo Project in the UK, has put together 50 beautifully illustrated biographical stories of exceptional South Asian women to inspire the next generation in Stories For South Asian Super Girls. Hailing from countries like Nepal, India, Afghantistan, pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the colourful lives of these women and their experiences remain unknown to most people. Their stories are radically different from each other yet are similar in the brave-heartedness of their protagonists to go against the grain.
From Sikh Suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh to Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and the Indian spy princess that gave the Gestapo hell, Stories For South Asian Super Girls made it to the bestseller list in its category on Amazon within 24 hours of its release. They’re taking pre-orders on the platform ahead of its release on February 22 next year as well as on the publisher Kashi House’s website. The author is also donating 100% of her share’s proceeds of the sales to charity.
Image courtesy of Kashi House | The Pink Ladoo.
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