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Book Review: Pashu by Devdutt Pattanaik.


Book: Pashu

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik

Pages: 184

Read On: Paperback

How Long it Took Me To Read: 1 day

Plot Summary: A unique feature of Hindu mythology is the key role played by animals, or pashu. The Puranas, ancient Hindu story chronicles, reveal that Brahma, the creator, had a son called Kashyapa, whose many wives gave birth to different types of pashu:
  • Timi gave birth to animals who swim
  • Vinata gave birth to animals who fly
  • Kadru gave birth to animals who crawl
  • Surabhi gave birth to animals with hooves
  • Sarama gave birth to animals with paws
  • Surasa gave birth to animals who defy classification
This book retells their stories. With over 75 gorgeously illustrated anecdotes, Devdutt Pattanaik reveals how our ancestors imagined the animal kingdom and the key role animals played in human lives.

General Thoughts: I have read a few books by this author and I've found each of these books very interesting and incredibly educative. This book sounded like fun too and I had to give it a read, even though it's meant for kids!

Things I Liked: 

1. The writing as usual was nice and succint and the stories easy to follow.

2. The illustrations are darling. Simple but spectacular.

3. The stories are from all sorts of place and not just the famous epics. The range of them is pretty good too.

4. I learned quite a bit from this book and learning is always a good thing.

5. Some of the stories were known to me, mostly I had heard them from my grandma, but even though they were known tales, I didn't mind re-reading them. They reminded me of long afternoons with my grandmother and all the magical stories she told me.

 6. The new (to me) stories were facsinating and so interesting.

7. This book is a great way to introduce mythology to kids. If you don't have a grandma handy, this book can introduce your kid to mythology.

8. You don't have to be Indian or Hindu to enjoy these stories. These stories can be enjoyed by anyone.

9. Also, these stories work for adults too. I sure as hell enjoyed it.

10. A total added bonus...I think I am going to colour in the illustrations. I mean why not?

Rating: 4/5

Buy it Here: Amazon

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