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Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
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My stories in print!!!!!

I first started writing stories when I was in school. Of course, then, I never dreamt of being an author – it was just something I did when I was in the mood. All I was interested in at the time was physics, and all my dreams were of publishing some wonderful scientific articles in the leading journals. All those dreams came to an end when I decided to dump my Ph.D, but then my old pastimes came to my aid and I started writing again – both, travelogues as well as stories. But now the dream raised its head again – of being published, not just on the net, but in print! One part of this dream came true when my travelogue was published in the Sunday Herald (you can see the article here). But the larger dream came true this week when a collection of my stories were published in a book!


I was approached a few months back by an organisation named JK Yog. They had read some of my stories for children, and wanted me to re-tell some stories from Indian mythology and folk tales for their book aimed at the children of their NRI devotees. I hadn’t even heard of the organisation then, but liked the idea they put forth, and began writing. I anticipated writing between 10 – 15 stories for them, but by the time we had finished, I had contributed more than 30 stories! All stories were those I knew well, but I liked the way they wanted them presented – teaching a particular value relevant to today’s way of life, and in excellent English! I enjoyed re-telling these stories in my own style, and it helped me remember a lot more stories to tell Samhith!


At last, the books arrived at my doorstep this week – two volumes among the four in the complete set. Volume 3 has 21 stories, of which 14 are mine, and Volume 4 has 19, of which 17 are mine. The books have turned out be far better than what I expected… the illustrations are superb, especially the ones in Volume 4!


We have spent the last week showing my family members the books, and finally I have time to put up some pics of the books here!


It feels so wonderful to see my name in print!!!!



A few illustrations from the books to give you a glimpse......





The books have been published for free distribution among the devotees of the organisation during the Satsangs of their Guru. However, the books are available on their online store too, but as of now, this facility is available only in the US. You can check them out here. If anyone in India wants to buy the books, please send me a mail and I will send you the contact details of the person through whom you can buy the books.

This is the complete list of books available. I have contributed to Volumes 3 and 4 and the festival collection.


Meanwhile, about the stories themselves, I don’t have permission to put up the illustrations, but I am posting the stories on my other blog. Take a look here. I have already posted a few stories, and shall post all of them one by one, so please keep coming back…… and please leave your comments to let me know what you think of them!


Finally, here is the list of stories you can read on my blog - Stories for children!



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Comments

  1. UnknownJune 11, 2010 at 5:58 PM

    Congratulations! This is such a wonderful success! Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  2. FlowergirlJune 11, 2010 at 5:58 PM

    That's so lovely and wonderful a news. Congrats. I am happy for you Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lavanya SriramJune 11, 2010 at 6:24 PM

    Woooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww!
    What a wonderful moment ! Congratulations, Anu :)
    I hope you write lots and lots more and get all published :)
    All the very best !!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. A journey called LifeJune 11, 2010 at 6:44 PM

    Im very very proud of u Anu! very well done! here is to more such milestones..
    Samhith must be one proud kid!

    ReplyDelete
  5. jayasreeJune 11, 2010 at 6:54 PM

    Congrats Anu... That's a great achievement indeed. So happy for you. May this be just a beginning.

    ReplyDelete
  6. IndraniJune 11, 2010 at 7:13 PM

    Congratulations Anu!
    What an achievement! Be Proud. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. ShilpaJune 11, 2010 at 7:54 PM

    Hey.. was this news you had put up sometime back on your blog :)
    Gr8 .. Awesome ... Three Cheers for you!!! This is really good news and I am very very happy for you :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. NishaJune 11, 2010 at 8:13 PM

    That's a wonderful news, Anu.
    I am very happy for you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. chitraJune 11, 2010 at 9:30 PM

    Kudos to you. Contribute more and more. Feel so happy for you. God bless you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Shyam Govind - International SEO expertJune 11, 2010 at 9:44 PM

    Awesome stuff... Congrats!! :)

    May god give you many many more such reason to smile...

    ReplyDelete
  11. MridulaJune 11, 2010 at 11:39 PM

    Many congratulations Anu. Wonderful news. I can see though your words how happy you are and I am for you.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ChatterboxJune 12, 2010 at 3:09 AM

    Congratulations :)
    A wonderful achievement :)

    Best wishes for the future :D

    ReplyDelete
  13. AswathiBabuJune 12, 2010 at 11:37 AM

    hai anu
    hearty congrats......

    ReplyDelete
  14. muthuJune 13, 2010 at 7:59 AM

    Hearty wishes...

    but nothing can beat a story that is told verbally....

    Conveyed along with the soul & the passion of the story teller himself... :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rajesh. CTRJune 13, 2010 at 8:37 PM

    congrats and wish u great success in print medium also

    ReplyDelete
  16. UshaJune 13, 2010 at 11:06 PM

    Congrats once more! The books look lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anuradha ShankarJune 14, 2010 at 10:03 AM

    Thanks so much to every single one of you!! Your encouragements are what help me keep going.. thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Neena SharmaJune 15, 2010 at 5:03 PM

    Hi Anu, although I'm new to your blog I can't tell u how happy I am, coz I know it's dream come true. Btw, I have a manuscript of my novel ready, but I know it's an uphill task getting it published. Congrats! May you write many many more books.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Momo's MaJune 16, 2010 at 10:12 AM

    hi. new here. nice blog you have here and a big congrats on getting the stories in print. what an achievement. keep going.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anuradha ShankarJune 16, 2010 at 1:28 PM

    @Neena Sharma & @ Momo's Ma: Welcome to my blogspace and thanks so much!!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. UnknownJune 16, 2010 at 5:40 PM

    Fantastic achievement Anu. Congratulations...Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  22. Aarti BadamikarJune 16, 2010 at 9:58 PM

    That's Awesome!!
    Congratulations!!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. SoulSpaceJune 16, 2010 at 10:49 PM

    congrats Anu...it is always a great feeling to see your stories in print.
    Heres to many many many more

    ReplyDelete
  24. HaddockJune 17, 2010 at 11:13 PM

    Wow this is great.
    Is it available in the book stores like Landmark/ crossword?
    After reading this I feel the urge to go back and read these types of books.

    ReplyDelete
  25. LakshmiJune 18, 2010 at 3:17 PM

    Congrats..am sure you are going places..you are already an author now :) as a child i used to love stories..even now, I am drawn towards them

    ReplyDelete
  26. RajYJune 6, 2018 at 12:00 PM

    Respected Anuji, can you please suggest me a way to buy the books in India. You asked to send email. But could not locate your email. I'm writing from Swami Vivekananda Gurukul, Vikarabad, near Hyderabad, India. My email yagna.gurukul@gmail.com. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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