Children’s Books
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES OF INDIA SERIES
Qutb M nar
Head in the Clouds
Author Narayani Gupta
Artist Shashi Shetye
About UNESCO World Heritage Sites of India
Children, look around you. Our world is beautiful, with snowy mountain peaks and sparkling rivers, home to many peoples, animals, birds and trees. There are also mighty monuments built by our forefathers which have stood fast for centuries, enriching our lives and history.
These precious monuments and natural landscapes must be protected. That is why governments and institutions like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) work together to help keep them safe.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites are places around the world that are remarkable examples of natural or man-made landscapes and architecture. As of 2018, there are 37 such celebrated sites in India. We need to take care of these sites and protect them.
For the first time, Mapin Publishing is producing a series of children’s books about UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites in India. We hope that the books will make these places seem like old friends, waiting to meet you again. So, young reader, let us begin our exciting journey across India!
Eric Falt Director and UNESCO Representative UNESCO New Delhi
This book belongs to:
The Qutb Minar in South Delhi is 73m high, and has 5 storeys. It was built in stages over 300 years, between 1192 and 1503. Near it is a masjid open to the sky, and corridors built with pillars from temples which stood there earlier. Nearby are later buildings, with detailed ornamentation on sandstone. Some way off is the shrine of the Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, from whom the Minar gets its name. The Qutb Complex is near the historic village of Mehrauli. A lot has been written about the area. This book is only about the Minar.
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES OF INDIA SERIES
Children’s Books
Qutb M i nar
Head in the Clouds
Author Narayani Gupta
Artist Shashi Shetye
MAPIN PUBLISHING
Christmas Day 2018. A cool day in Delhi with a pleasant breeze. Not a day to stay at home; a day to go somewhere and have fun.
So Manya and Medhya, Krishna and Devansh, Aashna and Dishita were headed for the Qutb Minar, squashed in a car driven by Malvika, Manya and Medhya’s mother. Medhya had a private list of games to play with the others when they got there and she had brought her skipping–rope! Manya took out her newest treasure, a pocket–compass.
“We are going south,” she announced.
Krishna, not to be outdone, took out his (father’s) binoculars and gazed into the distance. He saw a bird on a tree but the car was moving and he could not focus. “How much longer?” he asked.
“We are at Yusuf Sarai. Another 20 minutes?”
“Who is Yusuf Sarai?” asked Aashna.
“A sarai is an inn, a place where we can get a meal.”
“Shall we get down?” asked Devansh. On holidays he felt hungry all the time.
“I am sorry, there used to be an inn here. Now there are only dozens of shops.”
Devansh shrugged his shoulders. He remembered that his mother had put a box of sandwiches in his backpack. Hopefully they wouldn’t starve to death.
Another signboard said “Hauz Khas.”
“They have spelt ‘House’ wrong!” said Medhya.
“No,” said Malvika. “Hauz means ‘tank’, so Hauz Khas is ‘The Special Tank.’ We’ll go see that on our next holiday.”
The next big board said “Qutb Complex.” Complex? That meant a whole lot of buildings and ruins around the Qutb Minar. And outside the Complex were crowds of visitors, cars, scooters… It looked like the Qutb was having a party and had invited everyone it knew! Actually, it was not only Christmas, it was also a birthday— Devansh turned eight years old that day! He wished he could have had his party there.
“Come on!” called Aashna.
The children did not have to buy tickets. They ran in, and were delighted by the green lawns all round.
“Come and see the Minar,” Malvika called out.
“No, we’re going to play!” they said. And they did! Up and down, up steep stairs, across blocks of stone.
“Stop it!” said the chowkidar . “Those are graves!
The ghosts will come out and haunt you!”
The children danced off, laughing (Dishita was a little afraid, but didn’t want to say so).
Suddenly, they saw a huge tower with broken edges. “Here is the Qutb Minar!” called Aashna. “Why does it look unfinished?”
“It is unfinished,” Krishna said, rather diffidently. “This is not the Qutb Minar. It is the Alai Minar.”
“What’s the difference?” asked Aashna.
“This was meant to be twice as big as the Qutb, but Sultan Alauddin, who began to build it, died before it could be finished, and so it remains incomplete.”
Today the Alai Minar is enclosed in a wire fence.
The children ran round the Alai Minar. They saw a small door leading inside, but unfortunately, the guard was keeping an eye on them, so they could not creep in.
“How will we learn anything,” asked Manya, “if they put railings and ropes around every building?”
Devansh peered from outside and noticed a pile of stone and mud inside the Minar. He tried to imagine how the Minar would have been built. You pile up earth and stones, stand on it, and build the wall around you. The wall was built from inside , not outside. When they wanted to make the outside pretty, they must have had such a hard time— smoothing pink sandstone and drawing designs on it, then carefully cutting out the edges with a sharp knife.
So many days of work!
But then the buildings remained unspoilt for centuries!
If I touch the carved stones, Devansh thought, I am putting my hand where a craftsman put his hand 800 years ago!
First published in India in 2018 by
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Text and Illustrations © Mapin Publishing
All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
The moral rights of the author and illustrator of this work are asserted.
ISBN: 978-93-85360-50-3
Series ISBN: 978-93-85360-47-3
Series Editor: Narayani Gupta
Copyediting: Mithila Rangarajan / Mapin
Editorial
Design and Production:
Gopal Limbad, Darshit Mori / Mapin Design Studio
Printed in India
The creation of this book was supported by Parag, an initiative of TATA Trusts.
Editorial Board:
Krishna Kumar
Girish Joshi
Swaha Sahoo
Sopan Joshi
Narayani Gupta
Author: Narayani Gupta has happy memories of childhood picnics at the lovely monuments in Delhi– in particular, she recalls climbing up to the top of the Qutb and gazing down across a landscape sparkling in the clear air. Her students and she often discuss how old buildings and landscapes can help us understand the past. She was part of a group that organised heritage walks and acted as chowkidars to protect historic buildings. She would like people to ‘pocket’ their mobile phones, otherwise they miss so much– like the beauty of sunlight on old brick or the sight of a distant dome.
Artist: As a child, Shashi Shetye used to draw huge crabs and sharks on the canvas of the Goa beach to impress his fishermen friends. This passion for art led him to illustrate several children’s books for more than twenty years. His hero is Mario Miranda, a Goan illustrator and cartoonist. Shashi loves conducting workshops to encourage children’s creativity, and his favourite pastime is to sketch a temple or church, surrounded by enthusiastic kids.
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manipur assam meghalaya sikkim west bengal
chhattisgarh
maharashtra
Children s Books
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES OF INDIA SERIES
Series Editor: Narayani Gupta
Mahabalipuram
e Ganga Comes to Tamil Nadu
Story by Nanditha Krishna • Illustrations by Y. Venkatesh
e children in the story explore the Descent of the Ganges, with its carvings of animals, humans and celestial beings. Temples, tigers and tsunamis all feature in this tale of the Mahabalipuram complex by the sea, lost and then miraculously found again.
Nanditha Krishna is a historian and conservationist from Chennai who has authored several books about art, religion and the environment. Y. Venkatesh is an artist who has illustrated several activity books for children about nature, art and culture. illustrated several activity books for children about nature, art and culture.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Travelling through Time
Story by Subuhi Jiwani • Illustrations by Kishan Dev
Bandu is the devoted clock-keeper at CSM Terminus in Mumbai, or VT as some people still call it. One busy day, Bandu and two friends tumble through time to the past and future, accompanied by a talking gri n, freedom ghters and ying cars.
Subuhi Jiwani is an independent researcher, writer and lmmaker based in Mumbai. Kishan Dev is an artist who has worked in print publishing and Bollywood.
ALL TITLES IN THIS SERIES ARE:
195 | $9.50 | £5.99 Fall 2018 | supported by
32 pages with illustrations, 11.69 x 8.26" (297 x 210 mm) Landscape, pb
e Roshni World Heritage Sites of India series aims to introduce India’s young readers to the richness of our natural and cultural heritage through UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites. Produced in association with Tata Trusts and with the blessings of UNESCO, these books o er children ve exciting stories, authored by renowned historians and conservationists and beautifully illustrated by accomplished artists.
Qutb Minar
Head in the Clouds
Story by Narayani Gupta • Illustrations by Shashi Shetye
On Christmas Day, a group of six children visit the Qutb Minar in Delhi. What follows is a process of discovery as the children stumble upon an un nished Minar and a carved cupola and marvel at the skill of the craftsmen who built the Qutb.
Narayani Gupta is a historian and writer who has taught history at Indraprastha College for Women; she joined Jamia Millia Islamia University in 1986. Shashi Shetye has illustrated books for children for over two decades.
Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary
e Kingdom of Birds
Story by Dr. Erach Bharucha • Illustrations by Maya Ramaswamy
A large group of school children join Dr. Erach “Doc” Bharucha at the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur. Amid lush vegetation and a lively orchestra of birds, the natural landscape of the sanctuary comes alive for these young, intrepid explorers.
Available in English and Tamil in October 2018. Additional regional languages to follow in 2019.
Dr. Erach Bharucha is a surgeon based in Pune and has been active in ecological conservation for several decades. Maya Ramaswamy is an illustrator who has worked on several children’s books about wildlife and conservation.
Sanchi
Where Tigers Fly and Lions Have Horns Story by Sohail Hashmi • Illustrations by Pervez Rajan
One morning as the city of Bhopal sleeps, a group of children join Sohail Hashmi to visit the stupas of Sanchi. Spellbound by the carvings on the gateways and pillars, they learn about the ancient history of Buddhism in India.
Sohail Hashmi is a writer, historian and lmmaker, who loves travelling to little-known places across India. Pervez Rajan is an artist who hopes to use his art to communicate with a wide range of people.
“The gentle, smooth colour palette, and the use of detailing make [the pictures] interesting to look at. The framework...is very natural and believable... little touches tap into the feeling of excitement and wonder that being at a historical site can evoke.”
—Goodbooks.in
“The production values are high. The author has a connect with children and he brings out his observations gently. That he is good with words and enjoys what he is doing is apparent.”
—Teacher Plus Magazine, on Sanchi: Where Tigers Fly and Lions have Horns
“.. groundbreaking...”
—
Eric Falt, Director General, UNESCO New Delhi
“.. beautifully written... Launching this series is a good attempt at making information about historical sites accessible to children.”
Jaya Bhattacharji Rose
ISBN 978-93-85360-50-3 www.mapinpub.com