Description

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A vibrant collection of Indian myths and legends illustrated in beautiful watercolors and told by one of India's sparkling personalities, Madhur Jaffrey.

Seasons of Splendour is a richly illustrated treasury of stories about Indian gods and goddesses, kings and queens, princes and demons. Here are engaging and beautifully told tales of Krishna, Ram, and Sita, along with stories based on the Hindu epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata, as well as others of ancient origin with no known source. When Madhur Jaffrey was a young girl growing up in her grandfather’s house in Delhi, storytelling was an integral part of life. After dinner, she would huddle with her cousins and siblings around a seated aunt, grandmother, or mother and listen. This collection contains those enduring stories, each one introduced by a vivid childhood memory or humorous anecdote and arranged in the sequence in which they were told, in conjunction with religious festivals throughout the Hindu calendar year. From April to April, here is a year’s worth of tales, myths, and legends, a cycle of stories to read aloud, illustrated in full color with Michael Foreman’s sumptuous watercolor paintings. Also included is a “Who Is Who and What Is What” glossary and English pronunciation guide for curious young readers.

About the Author

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Madhur Jaffrey is an Indian actress and food writer. Born in Delhi, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. In 1965, she won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival for her performance in James Ivory’s Shakespeare Wallah. Jaffrey is best known for her dozens of cookbooks which helped to popularize Indian cuisine. She is also the author of Climbing the Mango Tree, a memoir about her youth in the final years of the British Raj. 

Michael Foreman has illustrated more than one hundred books, including those for stories by J.M. Barrie, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Dickens, and Oscar Wilde. His most recent work includes The Seeds of Friendship, which he wrote and illustrated, and the illustrations for Michael Morpurgo’s retellings of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf. He is the illustrator of Leon Garfield’s Shakespeare Stories, published by the NYR Children’s Collection.

Praise For…

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"Jaffrey is best known as a food writer and actress, but here she displays her talent for storytelling. . .These tales, based largely on the “Ramayana” and the “Mahabharata,” and set off by Jaffrey’s memories of hearing them as a child during Hindu holidays, feature gods and goddesses, royals, demons, pure-hearted peasants and stingy relatives. . . .elemental truths abound: the anguish of hunger, the blessings of generosity, the love of family." —Catherine Hong, The New York Times Book Review

“Stories of loving women, virtuous men, unpredictable kings and complicated prophecies. Ms. Jaffrey has organized these tales in the calendar order she might have heard them as a child, as connected with the cycle of religious festivals, and she has prefaced many of them with graceful remembrances of people and things past. For the read-aloud enthusiast, Seasons of Splendour offers tempting fare.” —Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal

"These Indian tales, myths and legends will open up new worlds for most American children, giving them a sense of the world beyond European fairy-tales. Jaffrey’s writing is warm and accessible, and each story is compact. . . .paired perfectly with Michael Foreman’s gorgeous watercolor illustrations." —Jessica Harrison, Cracking the Cover