Read enchanting tales from Uttarakhand by award-winning writer, Priyanka Pradhan

~ The manuscript of the book, ‘Tales from the Himalayas’ was handpicked by renowned author Ruskin Bond for the ‘Promising Writer Award’ 2019 ~

Journalist and travel writer, Priyanka Pradhan launches her first children book – ‘Tales from the Himalayas’, an illustrated collection of seventeen stories from Uttarakhand, the Himalayan state of northern India. Published by Rupa publications, the book invites young readers to discover the mountains through its stories.

The book cover was unveiled by the famed actress Freida Pinto who was seen reading a pre-release version of the book on her iPad.

The manuscript bagged the ‘Ruskin Bond Promising Writer Award’ at the Dehradun Literature Festival 2019 (October), where it was handpicked by Mr. Ruskin Bond, from amongst hundreds of entries by Indians from across the world.

His quote on the cover reads, “Enchanting tales, straight from the heart of the mountains. Vivid storytelling and striking themes make it a delightful read.”

Commenting on her first book launch, Priyanka Pradhan said, “This book is really close to my heart as it is inspired by my grandmother, who would narrate incredible tales about her childhood in Kumaon, Uttarakhand.

After my daughter was born, I felt strongly about passing on a part of my Himalayan legacy to her and this is what gave me the impetus to finally write the book.

For me, writing these stories came very naturally because I’ve lived them throughout my childhood. It’s part of who I am, as an individual.”

Designed by Mugdha Sadhwani, art and design director of Rupa Publications, the cover depicts a snow clad mountain range with a monk chanting his verses with a Tibetan yak in the background. 

The scene is from one of the stories in the book, about a real-life hero from Uttarakhand, who is known for his Himalayan explorations and surveyed the Tibetan landscape under the disguise of a monk.

Sadhwani believes that a cover should evoke a special sensation when one’s eyes move rhythmically across the design. The book is illustrated by Mohit Suneja.

The book is available at all leading bookstores along with Amazon and Flipkart. The eBook version is available on Amazon Kindle.

Priyanka is working on two upcoming books simultaneously- one is a young adult novel about a travel-inspired story of a strained mother-daughter relationship and the other is Tales from the Himalayas 2!