All of us know that India is a land of heroes. But can you remember who they were? Even if we can rattle off a few names, not many of us know why we hold them as the bravest of the brave.

Ponytale Books is here with an interesting collection of short stories. Kesariya Bana and Other Tales of Valour takes over from where your textbook tale of CQM Havildar Abdul Hamid leaves off.

The accounts are a good mix of stories from the recent past and from centuries ago and leave you proud to be a part of this heritage. There’s the legend of Kesariya Bana from the 14th century and the saga of Chandra Shekhar Azad from the struggle for India ’s independence.

And there are stories from different parts of India . Kulbir Thapa is a true Gorkha soldier, feisty to the finish and loyal to the last. From further North East comes the story of Lachit Barphukan, of whom not many may have heard even though he deserves to be known. They are built up well and the bravery leaves you a little goosebumpy. 

The stories come with a handy glossary of terms to explain any regional word you may not have understood and they come with a short historical note that neatly ties up history and its retelling. Some readers may have welcomed little notes to explain our scientific genius as well: if our soldiers used a telescope in 1303, was it the same instrument that the western world developed about 200 or more years later?

The book could have been made with some more care. Like, the second and third stories begin with a quote that makes the first dropped capital letter look awkward. Some of the terms like “severely reduced” could have been made simpler since the book is for those of you who are eight to thirteen years old. A few sentences may just take the breath of an eight-year-old away with their length. “Even as he sat on the boat, his mind was working feverishly, drawing up a plan of attack that would inflict maximum damage without endangering too many of his own small force.” Phew!

The price is a little high, something that the publishers ought to look at to make sure many, many children can get to know about the legends of our heroes, who are often forgotten.

But don’t let that put you off this book. The heroes more than make up for these small hiccups.

----Kesariya Bana and other tales of valour
Nimish Dubey,
Cover illustration: Abhijit Chatterjee, Illustrated by Vinod Gupta,
Polytale Books, 101 pages, Rs. 125