 Book cover | |
| Author | Monideepa Sahu |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Pooja Pottenkulam |
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel, Children's novel |
| Publisher | Zubaan |
Publication date | 2010 |
Published in English | 9 October 2010 |
| Media type | Print Paperback |
| Pages | 164 |
| ISBN | 978-8189884802 |
Riddle of the Seventh Stone is a 2010 novel by Monideepa Sahu. This fantasy novel for children is set in Bangalore, India. The book was longlisted for the Vodafone Crossword Book Award for 2011. [1] [2]
Set in a herb shop on a bustling road in Bangalore, this book is about a spider and rat magically turning into human children. As children with help from their vermin friends the duo gang up with the grandchildren of the herb shop owner to save it from a land shark. In the course of their adventures they come across an ancient riddle, solving which leads them to the treasure of Kempegowda, an ancient king who founded Bangalore. The vermin's transformation to humans in nature and thinking, and their improving in the face of adversity is an underlying theme of the book.
Many places described in the book are in the old parts of Bangalore [3] dating back to the times of the city's founding. The City Market, Avenue Road, Bangalore Fort and Kote Venkataramana Temple are real places.
Monideepa Sahu got the idea of writing this book after meeting the owner of a shop selling rare herbs while doing research for an article for the newspaper Deccan Herald . A big spider weaving a web in a corner of the shop and a rat scurrying about the shop were the inspiration behind the main characters of the book, Rishab and Shashee. [4] In the course of the author's conversations with long-term residents of Old Bangalore, she learnt about local life, and discovered old temples, churches and mosques. Hearing tales of local life, temple chariot festivals, the early morning flower market etc., related by people from diverse communities, inspired the characters and plot of her book. [5] Although the book was written in 2003 it was rejected by a number of publishers for failing to follow established stereotypes, before being selected by Zubaan in 2008 as an anonymous pitch in the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. [6] The book was formally launched in Bangalore on 9 October 2010. [7]
A review in The Hindu noted the unusual storyline and praised the book for a realistic portrayal of children and language. [8] The reviewer praised Rishab as an adorable character and appreciated the book's humorous touches but found the decoding of the riddle weak. [8] The Deccan Herald appreciated the fact that this novel as a fantasy set in India unlike most children's books. [9] They noted the mix of adventure, fantasy, insects, vermin and a little bit of love made the novel fast-paced. [9] The Bangalore Mirror found the description of Bangalore's underworld populated with rodents and roaches and not crooks, as a world full of fantasy and adventure in the labyrinths of drains and nooks of the old Bangalore. [10]
Ranjana Kaul in the Book Review noted the "unlikely protagonists drawn from the world of vermin and insects, a world which humans generally tend to ignore or treat with disgust and repulsion. The book straddles these two antithetical yet interdependent worlds with ease through its unlikely heroes, the rat Rishabh and the bossy spider Shashee (spelt with a double 'e' for astrological reasons!) who find themselves catapulted unwillingly into the world of humans." [11]
It has been noted, apart from nuggets of history of Bangalore, the novel also deals with ecological concerns, coexistence and the discovery of self-reliance. However, the author has denied having put in a moral in the book. [3]
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents is a children's fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, published by Doubleday in 2001. It is the twenty-eighth novel in the Discworld series and the first written for children. The story is a new take on the German fairy tale about the Pied Piper of Hamelin and a parody of the folk tale genre.
Redwall is a series of children's fantasy novels by British writer Brian Jacques, published from 1986 to 2011. It is also the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, as well as the name of the abbey featured in the book, and is the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels, which first aired in 1999. The books are primarily aimed at adolescents. There have been 22 novels and two picture books published. The twenty-second, and final, novel, The Rogue Crew, was posthumously released on 3 May 2011, almost three months after Jacques' death on 5 February.
Sudha Murty is an Indian educator, author and philanthropist who is chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. She is married to the co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murthy. Murty was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for social work by the Government of India in 2006. Later in 2023, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India.
N. S. Madhavan is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his novel, Lanthan Batheriyile Luthiniyakal and a host of short stories such as Higuita, Thiruthu, Chulaimedile Shavangal and Vanmarangal Veezhumpol, Madhavan also writes football columns and travel articles. He is a distinguished fellow of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and a recipient of several major awards including Odakkuzhal Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel, Muttathu Varkey Award, Mathrubhumi Literary Award and Crossword Book Award. Kerala State Students Federation Sahithyolsav Award
Maniyambath Mukundan, commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mahé (Mayyazhi) which has earned him the moniker, Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran. He is known to be one of the pioneers of modernity in Malayalam literature and Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil, Daivathinte Vikrithikal, Kesavante Vilapangal and Pravasam are some of his notable works. He has received many honours including Vayalar Award, Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award. Crossword Book Award, JCB Prize and the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literacy honour of the Government of Kerala. He is also a recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of the Government of France.
High Rhulain is a children's fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 2005. It is the 18th book in the Redwall series.
Anita Nair is an Indian novelist who writes her books in English. She is best known for her novels A Better Man, Mistress, and Lessons in Forgetting. She has also written poetry, essays, short stories, crime fiction, historical fiction, romance, and children's literature, including Muezza and Baby Jaan: Stories from the Quran.
Shreekumar Varma is an Indian author, playwright, newspaper columnist and poet, known for the novels Lament of Mohini, Maria's Room and Kipling's Daughter, the children's books, Devil's Garden: Tales Of Pappudom, The Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu, Pazhassi Raja: The Royal Rebel, and his collected plays, Five & Other Plays and Midnight Hotel & Other Plays,.
Bangalore Fort began in 1537 as a mud fort. The builder was Kempe Gowda I, a vassal of the Vijaynagar Empire and the founder of Bangalore. Hyder Ali in 1761 replaced the mud fort with a stone fort and it was further improved by his son Tipu Sultan in the late 18th century. It was damaged during an Anglo-Mysore war in 1791. It still remains a good example of 18th-century military fortification. The army of the British East India Company, led by Lord Cornwallis on 21 March 1791 captured the fort in the siege of Bangalore during the Third Mysore War (1790–1792). At the time the fort was a stronghold for Tipu Sultan. Today, the fort's Delhi gate, on Krishnarajendra Road, and two bastions are the primary remains of the fort. A marble plaque commemorates the spot where the British breached fort's wall, leading to its capture. The old fort area also includes Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace, and his armoury. The fort has provided the setting for the treasure hunt in the book Riddle of the Seventh Stone.
Siddhartha Sarma is an Indian novelist and journalist from Assam who writes in English.
Anil Menon is an Indian writer of speculative fiction, as well as a computer scientist with a Ph.D. from Syracuse University, who has authored research papers and edited books on Evolutionary Algorithms. His research addressed the mathematical foundations of replicator systems, majorization, and reconstruction of probabilistic databases, in collaboration with professors Kishan Mehrotra, Chilukuri Mohan, and Sanjay Ranka. After working for several years as a computer scientist, he started to write fiction. His short stories and reviews have appeared in the anthology series Exotic Gothic, Strange Horizons, Interzone, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Chiaroscuro, Sybil's Garage, Apex Digest, and others.
Anees Salim is an Indian author known for his books like Vanity Bagh, The Blind Lady's Descendants and the Small Town Sea. He is from the town of Varkala, and now lives in Kochi, Kerala. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for The Blind Lady's Descendants in 2018, becoming only the fourth Malayalee in history to win the award for an English work. Some of his columns have appeared in newspaper The Indian Express.
The Ekkos Clan is a mystery novel written by Indian author Sudipto Das, based on historical research. It was published by Niyogi Books and released in India in July 2013 and officially launched at a function in Bangalore on 3 August 2013.
Manav Kaul is an Indian theatre director, playwright, author, actor and filmmaker. He was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the films Tumhari Sulu (2017) and Saina (2021).
Pulakeshi Nagara, commonly known as Fraser Town, is a suburb of Bangalore Cantonment, in Bangalore North-East, spread over 4 sq. km. It was established in 1906 and is named after Stuart Mitford Fraser (1864–1963), who was the tutor and guardian of Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, Maharaja of Mysore. Fraser Town was established to de-congest the growing Bangalore Civil and Military Station. The foundation of Fraser Town was laid in August 1910 by Mrs. F J Richards, with a commemorative plaque on the corner of Coles Road and Mosque Road. Fraser Town is a residential and commercial suburb, the prominent roads being Promenade Road, Netaji Road, Madhavraya Mudaliar Road, Haines Road, Spencer Road, Wheeler Road, Mosque Road, etc. The suburb is known for its communal harmony with Hindus, Muslims and Christians living side by side in peace. Before being known as Fraser Town, the suburb was called Mootocherry by the locals. In 1988, the BBMP renamed Fraser Town as Pulakeshinagar, after Pulakeshin II who ruled the Deccan in the 7th century. However, the name has not caught on and continues to be popularly known as Fraser Town.
The Mahabharata Secret is the debut novel by Indian author Christopher C. Doyle and was released on 21 October 2013 by Om Books. The story follows Vijay and his friends, as they try to decipher a series of clues which would lead them to a devastating Secret hidden by a brotherhood known as the Nine Men. Doyle had initially started writing a story for his daughter, which gradually expanded into the book. The author was primarily inspired by the Indian epic Mahabharata, believing its events to be based on scientific facts. The book was followed by Doyle's second novel, The Mahabharata Quest: The Alexander Secret, which is the first book in a planned trilogy of sequels.
This is a bibliography of Bangalore, books about the city, its history, culture, geography, and its people. Many books have been written on the city. Some of the most notable books are The Red Carpet (2005) by Lavanya Sankaran, Bangalored: The Expat Story (2006) by Eshwar Sundaresan, Multiple City: Writings on Bangalore (2008) by Aditi De etc. Other than the books written on Bangalore, there are fictions such as Riddle of the Seventh Stone (2010) by Monideepa Sahu, The Lilac House: A Novel (2012) by Anita Nair, The Lost Girl (2012) by Sangu Mandanna etc. which are set in the city.
The Aryabhata Clan (ISBN 978-9386906137) is the second novel by the Indian author Sudipto Das, published by Niyogi Books in December 2017. It was officially launched at the New Delhi World Book Fair, on 10 January 2018. Set against the backdrop of the Islamic State spreading its tentacles in India, it is a historical thriller and mystery novel where a 1,500-year-old verse composed by the Indian mathematician Aryabhata plays a crucial role in the deciphering of innumerable cryptic symbols, ancient signs, mysterious carpet motifs and a sinister plan to destabilize India.
Roopa Pai is children's author and journalist living in Bangalore, India. She has over 20 published books which include the India's first fantasy-adventure series for children Taranauts and the national best seller The Gita for Children which also won the 2016 Crossword Award for children's writing.
Anuja Chandramouli is an Indian author of fantasy and historical fiction.