Amma's Tales

Author: The Wag

  • Why the cuckoo doesn’t build a nest

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    by

    The Wag
    in

    Update:  This story is one of my most favourite ones! It was the first story we ever published as a picture book and gave us a sense of how Amma’s Tales would look! Illustrated by the supremely talented Archana Sreenivasan, this story has featured in workshops, discussions, in fan conversations and so much more! You…

  • Ganesha and the moon

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    by

    The Wag
    in ,

    It’s a tradition possibly now forgotten that one does not look at the moon on Ganesh Chathurthi. Amma says:Once Ganesha was returning home on Chathurthi night. After having feasted on all the offerings made by his devotees, Ganesha was quite full. Burping his way back home, he passed by the neighbourhood pond. Something inside the…

  • Clarifier

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    The Wag
    in

    My blog here is just what it says…a collection of stories. I claim no knowledge of vedanta/philosophy of any kind and know nothing more than what I was told and what I have read. So this is just my way of remembering things that are dear to me in story form. I am not expounding…

  • Onion and garlic, anyone?

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    by

    The Wag
    in ,

    My mother hails from a rather conservative Tamil Brahmin family. They were Iyers from Palakkad settled in Chennai. From all accounts, my great-grandmother must have been a terror to live with. Lots of rules, usually for women, and enough rituals to make people want to adopt Buddhism instead!!! Cooking was strictly regulated in the house,…

  • A match made in heaven

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    The Wag
    in

    This is a little tale I made up for my daughter D when I was trying to get her to eat (no small feat, let me tell you). As it happened she was eating thairu saadam (curd rice) and keerai kootu (spinach/dal mixture) a combination I was telling her was a match made in heaven…

  • Why I started this blog

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    by

    The Wag
    in

    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,…