Changing India's Narrative: The Best Of Tara Books' Children's Stories

Redefining The Art Of Book Craft...
Our ancestors claim that storytelling was perhaps the primary reason man took to pictorial and graphic representation. The need to express and narrate one’s story was so high, that language came to being, as an efficient vehicle, to emphasise the magnanimity of an idea that a simple image could not do justice to. It’s this drive that man harbours, the one that requires him to imagine and express to which, we can attribute some of our earliest folklores. In fact, the very need to elaborate ideas and tales has led man to discover the contemporary practices of advertising too.
Because of the demographics that India enjoys, we are perhaps one of the very few countries to benefit from an incredibly diverse form of art, both visual and literary, spanning across styles, fonts and thematic representations. Taking this diversity into being, independent publishing house Tara Books, have started their own story book revolution, so to speak. Publishing books on some of our most favourite stories using ancient traditions of Indian art, they aim to provide regional artists across India a platform to bring their work to life within book formats, as it practices our traditional custom of passing down epics and folklores in a visually enriched format. In the process, they have intertwined the Indian traditions of illustration along with the knack of literature to revive the art of storytelling through the use of various art forms that are lying dormant in different regions across India.
These books reflect the richness, the sheer breadth and depth of India. And just to push the envelope that much further, each of the books is handcrafted meticulously. The images are silk screened onto handmade paper, then stitched and bound entirely by hand. The books span a range of genres – from children’s literature to titles for adults featuring popular culture and history. They enlighten you so much about culture, craft traditions and people. In fact, because these books are so visual, it is the best way to learn about art without the heavy handed pedagogy.
As it has undoubtedly become apparent that we’re completely smitten with the publishing house, we decided to introduce them to our readers in the best way we knew how. Here are some of our favourite picks under Tara Books’ umbrella...
[Note to readers: Though the publishing house is known for both its adult & children’s books, we chose only to focus on the latter in this edition. However, you can keep your eyes peeled for a full feature around their glorious, design-centric works as well soon enough.]

I. Gobble You Up! by Sunita and Gita Wolf

Gobble You Up! is an adaptation of an oral trickster tale from Rajasthan that subtly throws in the themes of greediness and the perils of being idle. It is a story of a wily jackal that is too lazy to hunt for his own food. He then tricks his fellow forest animals and gobbles them up all, starting with his friend the crane.
This book is a beautiful work of art; it is illustrated with finger painting by Sunita from Rajhastan’s Meena tribe. She adapts a traditional Meena art form called Mandana which is usually painted by women onto the walls and floors of their village homes.

II. The Enduring Ark by Joydeb Chitrakar and Gita Wolf

The Enduring Ark is the Indian version of the flood story from the Genesis, offering a universal perspective on this ancient biblical tale. This opening line of the book captures your attention right away and you know that you are in for a spectacular journey through the book – “You may have heard this story before, but great tales deserve to be repeated – and so let me tell it here again, in my way.”
The illustration is done in the West Bengal Patua style of scroll painting, which has historically been used to depict mythological stories.

III. I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tale – Illustrated by Ramsingh Urveti

I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tale is based on a 17th century british ‘trick’ poem.

I saw a peacock, with a fiery tale,

I saw a blazing comet, drop down hail,

I saw a cloud, with ivy circled round,

The illustrations in the book are typical of the Gond style tribal art form and the literal setting of the words are the key to subjective nature of the book.
The meaning of the lines varies depending on where the line breaks. This book takes advantage of this duality and through the use of die-cuts, intricate design and the clever layout, it gives the text a whole new dimension. Each page of the book is a awe-inspiring surprise.

IV. Following My Paint Brush by Dulari Devi and Gita Wolf

Following My Paint Brush is a real life autobiography of an artist, Dulari Devi, who was born in a very poor family and works as a domestic help to make ends meet. Then comes a turning point in her life when she starts working in an artist’s house and discovers her interest in painting. She perseveres and realizes her passion of creating art, adapting the conventional artistic rules to her expressions and goes on to become an artist in the Mithila style of folk painting. This book promises a healthy dose of optimism and delivers the importance of having a dream, holding on to it and working hard to make it a reality.

V. Pictures from Italy: A Whimsical Early Travelogue by Dickens

Charles Dickens has been one of the most important pre-contemporary writers of our times, whose work continues to influence the working of modern society. In 1812, he worked on a lesser known travelogue on one of his family trips to Italy and France, which Tara Books converted into an illustrated novel, with the help of Italian artist Livia Signorini who gives vision to the time that Dickens attributed his words to. Each story in the book is ably aided by a beautiful representation of the cityscape, which makes it a wonderful book for children, who are made to understand the creative perils that only travelling can provide.

VI. Do! By Gita Wolf:

The joy of teaching language to a young one is often masked by the exasperation brought about by the failure of explanation. How much can you possibly break down a word and how dramatic can you possibly be to put its meaning across? An answer to this problem is the illustrated book of verbs, Do! by Gita Wolf, founder of this publishing house, herself. Consisting explanations of the most basic verbs that must be taught to a child, Gita has used the ancient and much popular art of Warli design to ably explain to a child what a verb possibly means and an action it performs.

VII. Waterlife by Rambharos Jha:

A book that is a complete illustrative delight, Waterlife is an exquisite colleciton of a wonderful representation of the marine life by artist Rambharos Jha using the ancient art form of Mithila, which is a form of folk painting that comes from Bihar. The book represents visual brilliance in every way, with the vibrant colours that throw you back to the tether ends of marine life, with the shapes and colours coming together to help the visuals come to life. Counted as one of the best books to come out of the Tara house!