TheVery, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids

Anand Neelakantan says he is often mistaken for an asura, for he too has curly hair! Anand had enough of the pranks of little asuras who irritated him in his sleep! And so, he decided to give it back to them in this book! When not disturbed by the naughty little devils, he writes many a bestseller, such as: The Rise of Sivagami (Baahubali: Before the Beginning Book 1); Asura: Tale of the Vanquished; Ajaya: Roll of the Dice; Ajaya: Rise of Kali; Vanara: The Legend of Baali, Sugreeva and Tara; and, most recently, Chaturanga (Baahubali: Before the Beginning Book 2).

Anand also devotes his time penning down screenplays for television, such as Siya Ke Ram, Ashoka, Mahabali Hanuman, and columns for The Hindu, Indian Express, the Washington Post and the Sunday Express Magazine. In his free time, Anand, along with his wife, Aparna, kids, Ananya and Abhinav, and trusty sidekick, Jackie the Blackie, battles clumsy and naughty asuras who are always ready with their next mischievous prank!

To know more about little asuras and their pranks, you can connect with Anand on his website: www.anandneelakantan.com, on Instagram: @itsanandneel, Twitter: @itsanandneel, and Facebook: Anand Neelakantan.

Aren't we chubby, aren't we cute?
Aren't we lovely, as sweet as fruit?
Give us a bear hug, give us a kiss
Regret not later for giving it a miss.

Don't go by these sweet words-for all little asura kids are naughty and troublesome and always up to something! Little will you know when you land in a muddy puddle or your long hair gets chopped off into a bob. They will prod, pull and tug you till you yell-just like the gods in the heavens, especially Vishnu and Shiva who are simply fed up!

Indulge in some very, extremely, most funny naughty tales of asura twins Kundakka and Mandakka, who hate going to school; clumsy Bhasma and pet pig Nakura, who create trouble in the village; brothers Atapi and Vatapi, who like to eat ninety-six cartfuls of fruits as dessert; the great Bana who claps with his thousand hands and so many more!

Neelakantan's witty, conversational and self-deprecating humour . . . makes it a pleasurable read.
In this book, Neelakantan's asuras are a powerhouse of talent-they are gifted musicians and warriors, and are also intelligent superhumans, born with magical and shapeshifting powers.
. . . Be it the tale of the clumsy Bhasmasura, who threatens to destroy Lord Shiva after the latter gifts him the power to turn anything into ashes, or the asura brothers Shumba and Nishumba, who thought women were weaker than men, these short stories offer a light-hearted take on the asuras. Neelakantan's witty, conversational and self-deprecating humour-he tells his reader that he is "often mistaken for an asura, for he too has curly hair"-makes it a pleasurable read.

This book makes mythology cool and fascinating and is a must-read for all children. It is an absolutely, certainly, definitely, surely great way to get children interested in Indian mythology.

The hilarious stories about the asuras and their shenanigans are sure to have children in splits. The book includes stories about Bhasmasura, Shumba - Nishumba, Banasura, and Atapi-Vatapi to name a few.
. . . The stories are peppered with amusing songs and poems and will be a great read-aloud to younger children as well. The book also connects the stories to our lifestyle and current times, thus making it easier for the current generation to relate to them.