This is my first review of any Sudha Murty book. I had previously gifted couple of books to my niece but I myself never had read any of her books. If you are even casually aware of the Indian literary scene, then you would know that Sudha Murty is one of the leading writers of Indian English literature, particular of children’s books. I had watched couple of her interviews on YouTube and was impressed by her simplicity and charm. So I decided to give her a try and check for myself her style and the content of her books.

The Bird with Golden Wings: Stories of Wit and Magic by Sudha Murty is a collection of short stories aimed at children aged 7 – 12 years old. The book cover is attractive enough and paper quality is excellent. Font size is good so that you would not have to strain your eyes while reading the text. There are no typographical errors. There are illustration in cartoon style scattered all over the book — all of them in black and white. So much for the positive points of the book.

Now comes the content. It was here that I was disappointed. Nearly all the stories follow the same template and have the same underlying message — greed. At one place there is a golden fish which bestows boons, at another there is an earthen jar which fulfills wishes. And in one story it is the wife and in another it is the neighbour who gets jealous and greedy. And their tricks boomerang with disastrous consequences. There is no novelty in these stories — you must have already read hundreds if not thousands of such stories since your childhood. Even different stories of this same book do not differ much from each other. One would say that this book is meant for children and it is inappropriate for me to judge this book as an adult. It is not so. I spend considerable time among children telling them stories of their interest, of course, written by other writers. All these stories are from contemporary and classic writers of different languages and cultures. It is interesting to know how well these writers understand the psyche of today’s children and what fascinates them. Here, Sudha Murty seems to be out of touch with children of present times. The stories she tells might have fascinated children about 40 – 50 years ago. However, the children of the present smartphone-using and technology-aware generation are mentally much ahead of their physical and biological age. They have witnessed Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan and are preparing for Aditya and Gaganyaan. They watch NGC and BBC Earth. They are competitive, dreamers, and willing to take risks. And above all, they can yarn their own fantasy stories. So the last thing any writer should do is to treat them as childish. You may buy this book as a gift, but not for your own child!

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Title: The Bird With Golden Wings: Stories Of Wit And Magic
Author: Sudha Murty
Publisher: Penguin Books Limited
Publication Date: 27 January 2016
Print Length: 164 pages
Suitable for Age: 7 – 12 years
Price (Kindle): ₹ 125
Price (Paperback): ₹ 159
My Rating:
What Does It Mean?