Monday, January 11, 2021

Celebrating the Country of India


 "A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” Mahatma Gandhi

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 Mrs. Howard Kingscote and Paṇḍit Naṭêsá Sástrî, 1890 – Twenty-six chapters filled with eclectic folktales.
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 MoonChildren 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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