Page from the past: An illustration from the translation of Thakumar Jhuli

Eto boro swadeshi jinish ar ki achhey? Kintu hai,? ekhankar kaler bilater fairy tales amader chheleder ekmatro goti hoiya uthibar upokrom koriyachhey. Swadesher didima company ekebare deule...

Words penned by Rabindranath Tagore 98 years ago, bemoaning the Western leanings of young readers in his delighted introduction to Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar?s collection of fairy tales.

Since then, every Bengali child has grown up with his or her volume of Thakumar Jhuli, steeped in tales of valourous princes and talking parrots, enchanted castles and bewitching spells.

Yet, in this age of Harry Potter and made-in-Hollywood cartoons, the situation described by Tagore has staged a comeback.

Tales my Grandmother Told Me, by Rina Pritish Nandy, is an effort to present Thakumar Jhuli in a new-age format. The illustrations, by painter Sanjay Bhattacharya, bring the faraway world alive in colourful candour.

?I used to read out Thakumar Jhuli to my daughters Rangita and Ishita,? says the translator, who was spurred on to the job by her filmmaker-husband Pritish.

In her view, the book is as much for adults, especially mothers of third-generation NRIs. ?Even children being taught in the English medium are losing out on their roots,? feels Nandy, who shifted to Mumbai 23 years ago.

Publisher R.K. Mehra of Rupa & Co emphasises on the importance of ?protecting our own market?. ?Children are being pushed towards literature of other cultures. Globalisation has its pitfalls,? he says.

But Indian literature has the strength to fight the Potters on their homeground, Mehra feels. Hence, the translation of Thakumar Jhuli is the first of a series of children?s books that Rupa is bringing out and exporting.

?Why just local Indians and NRIs? We are targeting children of other countries as well,? he affirms.

Tagore had suggested that a school be opened for ?modern grandmothers? and Majumdar?s book taught, so that fairy tales make a comeback at children?s bedtime. It is time to make a similar wish to the fairy.