Vikramaditya's Throne: Tales of Wit and Wisdom

by Poile Sengupta

An ancient throne reveals forgotten tales of the bravest and noblest of kings—Vikramaditya When Upa’s father gets kidnapped from the tiny village where he was working, Upa and her mother move to her great-grandmother’s house in a small town, to recover from the shock. There the dejected and worried mother and daughter are befriended by an odd-looking stranger who insists on telling them stories of King Vikramaditya and his long-lost throne. Centuries after Vikramaditya’s death, King Bhoja unearthed his magnificent throne and decided to make it his own. But each time he set foot on it, a statue carved on its side came alive and told him a story of Vikramaditya’s kindness. The statues warned Bhoja that he should sit on the throne only if he could match Vikramaditya in his deeds, and each time Bhoja came away humbled. For whether he was diving to the bottom of the seas to discover fantastic jewels, or deflecting the planet Saturn from its path in order to save his kingdom, or simply trying to help a miserable cow fallen into a ditch, there was never one to match Vikramaditya in courage and generosity. As Upa and her mother listen to these magical stories they begin to see the goodness in the people around them and recognize the relevance of the tales of King Vikramaditya in their lives today. Thought-provoking and always entertaining, Poile Sengupta’s retelling of these ancient stories makes them come alive like never before.

Genres: Childrens

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

POILE SENGUPTA



I am a novelist, poet, playwright and short fiction writer, for both children and adults.

I began writing for children when I was in college. In 1968, I began “A Letter to You”, a humour column for the children’s magazine, Children’s World, which ran for nearly three decades. I have regularly written for the children's magazine Target and columns for children in Deccan Herald, Bangalore, The Times of India, Bangalore, and Midday, Mumbai. My recent fiction for children includes "Role Call" and "Role Call Again", 2003, by Rupa and Co., "Vikram and Vetal", 2005, and "Vikramaditya’s Throne", 2007, from Puffin. My stories have also been included in several anthologies, among them the iconic "The Puffin Treasury of Modern Indian Stories". "Role Call" has been translated and published in Bhasa Indonesia and "Vikram and Vetal" in French.

I also have a book of six plays published by Routledge – "Women Centre Stage", 2010. My first play Mangalam won a special award at The Hindu-Madras Players playscripts competition in 1993. Keats was a Tuber was shortlisted and received a special mention at the 1996 British Council International New Playwriting Competition. Samara’s Song was one of three plays in the final shortlist of The Hindu Metroplus Playscripts Competition, 2008. In 1999-2000, I received a Senior Fellowship for Literature of the Department of Culture, Government of India, to write plays for children. A set of seven one Act plays for children – "Good Heavens!" – was published by Puffin in 2006.

My short story Ammulu was shortlisted for the 2012 Commonwealth short story prize. It has now been published in "The Best Asian Short Stories" by Kitaab.

My first novel for adults Inga was published in October 2014 and has received critical acclaim. The DNA Mumbai called it “Booker worthy”!

My picture book "Four" was published by Tulika Publishers in 2018.

I have been on the Governing Body of the National School of Drama, India, and several times on the jury of the Trinity College international playwriting competition for children. I have acted in several plays and in the award winning films "The Outhouse" and "Shaitan".

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the folk tale aspects of the book, but the storyline tying them together was not as clever as it felt like it should've been. Weak ending.

[Amishi · Rating 4 out of 5]

allover a nice book.

[Varun Hegde · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Upa's father is kidnapped from the tiny village he was working. She and her mother moved to her great grandmother's house in a small town to recover from the shock. There the dejected and worried mother and daughter befriended a odd-looking stranger who insists on telling them stories of King Vikramaditya and his long-lost throne. As Upa and her mother listen to these fables they begin to see the goodness in the people around them and recognize the relevance of the tales of King Vikramaditya in their lives today. Funny yet though-provoking. Poile Sengupta's retelling of these ancient stories brings them alive like never before. The book was fast paced and with amazing storytelling

[Vinayak Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Aarini]

very good book
knowledgable

[Geeta Rani]

I want read

[Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book from Poile, which has magical realism, mythology, history, modern day crime all thrown together, an absolutely brilliant work.

[Angad · Rating 5 out of 5]

good