As a child, I was always hungry for stories. I would hop from one willing adult to another to get them to tell tales. Some, like my grandfather, told it in rhyme; some like my grandmother whispered into my ear at night; and others like aunts would tell tall tales while they oiled my hair.
Most of these stories had mythology at the centre of them. It was either an anecdote from the time when Ganesha was little or when baby Hanuman was up to no good. As I grew, the stories stayed with me. The tellers faded, the stories sometimes got adapted in to serious adult conversations deeming them as our history, but the warmth and the chuckles that those evening of hushed stories brought with them always comforted me.
Anand Neelakantan’s The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales brought back the chuckles, the evenings of stories being told, and a wide-eyed girl sitting there with a smile plastered on her face. The introduction sets the tone for the tales to come, with little asuras Kundakka and Mandakka being dragged by the ear to the Gurukul. Just like any other child, they didn’t want to be educated. Despite putting up a battle of sorts however, they end up in a school where thankfully the guru promises to not teach them anything that is remotely academic. The stories of asuras and asuris that he tells the two imps over the next year make the rest of the book.
The six tales are of mythological characters that we all have grown up with—Bhasmasur, Banasur, Atapi and Vatapi among others. I loved the treatment of the stories - they are playful, funny, sensitive and non-preachy. Bhasmasur’s pig Nakura would make you smile and Vasuki’s dispassionate observations while being coiled around Shiva’s neck are sure to get a laugh or two out of you. From shapeshifting rakshashas to arrogant kings, the tales bring together a variety of characters that make it difficult to put the book down. The fantastic illustrations by Subhadeep Roy and Shiladitya Bose— the cute asura babies, the intricate full page illustration of Banasura’s orchestra and Shiva dancing, Vatapi, the billy goat and more- are sure to bring the reader back to the book to re-read.
The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales is perfect for early readers looking for an introduction to mythology. Each story has beautiful illustrations, songs that are sure to get them singing and a different page colour for each story making the book design even more attractive to the little reader. Anand, or shall I say Mr Mahabali—your friendly Big(ish) Asura, effortlessly picks the ageless figures from the legends that have been passed down from generation to generation, and puts them in a fresh context that would surely be enjoyed by children today. And if you are an adult like my grandparents who were cornered in to telling tales, you will enjoy snuggling up beside the little one and leafing through a perfect bedtime read that would set the stage for dreams filled with asuras, their pet pigs, mountains of food and songs that go ‘Boo hooo hoo hua hua hooo hoo hua’!