Why I started this blog

I love stories and reading and mythology in all its various forms, Indian, Nordic, you-name-it, has always fascinated me. In its best form mythology is transferred down the generations seated at one’s grandmother’s knee listening to the stories in your native language. Unfortunately, I had only one grandmother and whatever else she did for me, storytelling was not one of her strong suits. But I did hear what she must have known through an unlikely source, my mother. Not during lazy afternoons spent with her (she is a bundle of energy and more likely was bowling to us) but during brief moments of respite, after a meal or in the car or perchance. And so the title of this blog. What she told me though, has stayed for a surprisingly long time in my memory and they are stories learned from HER grandmother, who was apparently an artful weaver of tales. I have heard small snippets to explain the daily workings of brahmin family life, to explain its eccentricities and make them palatable for the young. I have heard unusual tales to explain traditions ad superstitions. Most of these are associated tales from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana but are often lost to modern audiences because of our eagerness for the children to at least know the basic tale…we stick to the script. So here is my tiny endeavour to put down these “accessory” tales. In a bit of self agrandization I have “invented” some of my own tales that I tell my older daughter and will write those down too. I will try to classify them at some point after I have a quorum of tales, but for now each tale will be a post. I hope you find reading these fun and can read them out to your kids too.
So here’s from my mom to your children!!! Happy reading!