"A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”
 |
| Shakuntala and her friends Raja Favi Varma, 1870 |
A few years ago, I decided to organize all the cultures I have been researching for the National Storytelling Magazine since 2002. I began with the country of Turkey and then life got in the way. I am revisiting my initial goal and will do my best to stay on track this time around. The good news is that since I dropped the ball, I have amassed many more stories from countless cultures.
My hope is that this will make it easier for you to find new and unique tales
to add to your repertoire, resources for your curriculum, books to complement an
educational unit, crafts to sprinkle in the fun, and in the process, we will
learn more about our global neighbors. I am aware that India has
28 states, each with different cultures. I encourage you to conduct further research
on the specific state and/or culture behind the stories.
I would be most grateful if you would
leave a comment to let me know if you find this useful. Let’s continue our
journey with the country of India.
STORY
COLLECTIONS
A Flowering Tree and
Other Oral Tales from India
The entire book by A. K. Ramanujan
is online for generations to read, relish and enjoy.
https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99wt&brand=ucpress
Dimdima Kids
An online children’s magazine from India with tales of
Hodja, Ramen, Birbel, Jataka, Zen and mythological stories. This is one story
time you won’t want to end!
http://www.dimdima.com/khazana/storytime.asp
Indian Fairytales by
Joseph Jacobs
This complete work from 1912 is now available on line. It
offers twenty-nine tales from Eastern India and gorgeous illustrations to
complement each story.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ift/index.htm
Panchatantra Tales
A legendary collection of short stories from India
composed in the 2nd century B.C. “The purpose behind the composition was to
implant moral values and governing skills in the young sons of the king.”
http://tinyurl.com/23hpacy
Pitara for Kids
Many fables from the Panchatantra
and Aesop, Jataka stories and tales from India's tribal peoples.
http://www.pitara.com/
The Mahabharata
and the Ramayana are the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. Both are
now found online, and the links are found below. This link is an abridged verse
translation of the two longest epic poems in world literature.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/dutt/index.htm
Stories from Indian
Mythology
This site is rich with information and stories on Indian
Mythology, offering Jataka Tales, stories from the Panchatantra, Krishna, Shiva
and more. Further links share information on Indian terminology, a picture
gallery with exquisite portraits of the Gods and a mythology quiz to test your
knowledge.
http://members.tripod.com/~srinivasp/mythology/stories.htm
Tales of the Punjab:
Told by the People
"Would you like to know how these stories are told?
Come with me, and you shall see. There! take my hand and do not be afraid, for
Prince Hassan's carpet is beneath your feet. So now! –'Hey presto! And so, it
begins...a wonderful collection of Eastern Indian tales with notes to the
stories.
https://archive.org/details/talesofpunjabtol00stee
Tales of the Sun or Folktales from Southern India by and http://tinyurl.com/m9wtowz
The Talking Thrush and Other Tales
of India collected by W. Crooke and retold by W.H.
Drouse, 1922. The jackal, tortoise, goat, and monkey are just a few of the
animals you will meet in these 43 tales from India.
http://tinyurl.com/jkakm5l
INDIVIDUAL STORIES FROM INDIA
And Elephants Did Fly
http://tinyurl.com/ns7s8bl
The Bearded Fool
http://tinyurl.com/pa6qlgh
The Birds and the Shivering Monkeys
http://tinyurl.com/j6u9w83
The Blind Man and the Elephant
https://www.peacecorps.gov/educators/resources/story-blind-men-and-elephant/
The Dog and the Pig
http://tinyurl.com/3y9z8pk
The Elephants Nose
http://tinyurl.com/p6y62ly
The Farmer’s Present
https://tinyurl.com/y9cy3m5b
The Farmer and the
Money Lender
https://tinyurl.com/yc9szm7v
The Farmer and the Serpent
https://tinyurl.com/yam5lka7
Fearing the Wind
http://spiritoftrees.org/fearing-the-wind
The Gifts of the Grasscutter http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/018.html The Golden Fish http://tinyurl.com/kyrfbee
Good Will Grow Out of
Good
http://tinyurl.com/m9wtowz
Great Joy the Ox
https://tinyurl.com/y57uzj9y
Grinding Stone to the
Rescue
https://kathakids.com/folktales/grinding-stone-to-the-rescue/
The King and the Drum
https://tinyurl.com/y42obndc
Learning to Act
http://tinyurl.com/jmzo8nl
The Lion and the
Crane
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ift/ift02.htm
The Lion’s Share
http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/online.asp?story=91
The Lion’s Wedding
http://tinyurl.com/yba5v5kt
The King of Compassion
https://tinyurl.com/y4brjlv8
The Miserly Old
Woman
https://www.longlongtimeago.com/once-upon-a-time/folktales/the-miserly-old-woman/
The Monkey with the
Tom –Tom
https://tinyurl.com/unja9l6
The Rat’s Wedding
https://tinyurl.com/uocn2j8
Tenali Rama and the Brinjal
http://tinyurl.com/6jo2g4p
The Priest, the Tiger
and the Jackal
http://tinyurl.com/ye6qugj
The Son of Seven
Queens
http://tinyurl.com/lmhvao9
The Tale of Two Sons
https://www.pitara.com/fiction-for-kids/folktales/a-tale-of-two-sons/
Why the Fish Laughed
http://tinyurl.com/lnfp7jo
BOOKS
Best Children’s Book About India
https://www.rebekahgienapp.com/childrens-books-about-india/
CRAFTS
Activity Village – Animals, bangles, coloring pages
and much more.
https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/india-crafts
The Crafty Moon – “Children can make their own beautiful oil pastel
creations, Indian textiles, Lotus flower sand paintings, Taj Mahal watercolor and
more” with suggestions to add to your classroom unit.
https://thecraftyclassroom.com/crafts/india-crafts-for-kids/
CURRICULUM
40 Fun and Interesting Facts About India that Might
Surprise You
https://www.globotreks.com/destinations/india/fun-interesting-facts-india/
Interesting Facts About India
https://knowindia.gov.in/my-india-my-pride/interesting-facts-about-india.php
PBS.org – The Story of India: Six units on the country of India.
The lessons are designed for high school students but can be adapted for lower
grades as well.
https://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/teachers/lessons/
ADDITIONAL CULTURAL RESOURCES
Celebrating the
Country of Turkey
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2017/11/celebrating-country-of-turkey.html
Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links. At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.
Karen Chace 2021 ©
This blog post
was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is
granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without
my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of
course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter,
Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your
support and personal integrity.
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