5 reasons why your child should read Brown Like Dosas Samosa and Sticky Chikki

Mentioned it earlier, saying it again – one Indian publishing house that keeps on bettering itself with every new release is FunOkPlease. Not to follow the rut, this team has surely managed to create its own niche in children's book industry. And I get surprised at their choice of story lines - distinct and pertinent always! Be it Toto the Auto or Alphabet Dress-Up or Brown Like Dosas Samosa and Sticky Chikki, each one is truly a gem in itself.  I got this book few weeks back and the gorgeous cover design actually brought a smile on my face. In a world that's obsessed with 'fair & lovely', it was good to see the main character of the story 'brown & bold'.  Many, I mean really many reasons why I loved this book but here are top 5 on why your child should definitely read it:

• It's very relevant to Indian culture where we have varied skin tones but somehow the epitome of beauty has always been attributed to the fair ones. This obsession for fairness is so deeply ingrained in our society that at times I get shocked to observe it in younger girls too. In a world biased towards the lighter tone, here comes Samaira who is happy and content with her brown skin tone and would not exchange it with whiter shade for anything. So proud of you Samaira, may the youngsters understand the deep message that you're trying to communicate!
• Like all other FunOkPlease books, its visually very rich but must say that this has additional charm as compared to the earlier ones. Maybe it's the fairy land or those yum food, the illustrations in this books are sure to grab attention of your little ones.
• Presentation is excellent, I mean what better way to communicate the beauty of brown skin to kids than associating it with chocolate or milkshake :)? Such an important message but presented in such a fun way.
• Its dreamy yet different, no stereotyping of fairies coming to save your lives, rather Samaira fighting it out, expressing her views in her own unique way.
• Simple and easy to understand. Whether you read it out to younger kids or let the elder ones read on your own, the language is very kid friendly and engaging.

Still need more reasons? Ok, so here goes the most important one - it's from the house of FunOkPlease, an Indian publishing house that's trying to come out with quality content for Indian kids. Lets support them by reading their books and spreading the word if you like their content. I as a mother surely love their books. My 3 year old now knows the story of it page by page :). In fact, last weekend during one of my story telling sessions in a neighburhood library, I actually narrated this book to kids. Later, two moms came to me and asked who is the author and where can they buy this book? One of them mentioned that her daughter doesn't like to go out and play basket ball as she thinks it will "tan" her skin. And that girl is not more than 10 years old, yes just 10 :(.

More power to Samaira and her likes, may they remain as beautiful and unique always!

Reading out Brown Like Dosa in a story telling event in my neighborhood library

                                                              

The book is available for online purchase at amazon and flipkart

Have you watched this?

Just chanced upon this video by Horlicks and within few minutes I ended up watching it multiple times. That’s the power of great content I think, more on that on my marketing blog soon. But coming back to my love for this video – it was actually relatable, totally relatable to me and full of nostalgia. It reminded me of those childhood days, full of hardships, struggles, adversities, yet full of optimism, dreams and aspirations to look forward to. Thanks to our pillar of strength – my mom who was always there like a shining star guiding us to move ahead even if it was pitch dark many a times.

Moms are magical. Isn’t it? Not that I don’t have my share of fights with her on many whats and whys and whatevers but still I think a supportive mom is all you need to make it in life. As my close acquaintances tell me – I was always ambitious, a girl from a very small town but with very big dreams, used to put in honest & sincere effort in everything I did with a hope that someday I will make it big. Many in my family used to scold my mom to not support a daughter’s wish so much, to not let me have a thinking horizon of my own, but she did. Even if she didn’t know how to support, she never stopped me from dreaming big.  Now if I think of it, she actually didn’t have any resource to support me, nor had she got the knowledge or background to provide right guidance to me. Yet she was always there, pillaring whatever I wanted to do with just two lines – “you can do it” and “don’t worry, I am there”. Just two lines – one for faith and one for reassurance were sufficient for me to keep moving ahead. At times I wonder if any money or luxuries in life can ever be as precious as those simple childhood days? I still smile when I think of those days, sometimes a pleasant smile and sometimes a teary-eyed smile :).

In case you haven’t seen this video yet, do check it out:

BTW, which one was your favorite moment out of it? Mine – the scene where the mom is dropping the bulb for her daughter’s studies. I still remember the way mom used to save candles & kerosene for lamps so that I could finish my studies at night. Oh yes, electricity was a rarity at that place and at that time :)

**Nope, this is not at all a plugged post by Horlicks guys, I was genuinely moved by this #LoveYouMaa video so much that I decided to write a post on it. Power of great content, you see!