कौन बनेगा निंगथउ? (Who Will Be Ningthou?)

by Indira Mukherjee and illustrated by A.V.Ilango

“कौन बनेगा निंगथउ?” (Who Will Be Ningthou?) by Indira Mukherjee and illustrated by A.V.Ilango. Published by Tulika. A charming folk tale from Manipur about living in harmony with nature and gender equality.

The story is set in the kingdom of Kangleipak. The king (Ningthou) and queen (Leima) are adored by the people. They are kind and rule the prosperous kingdom wisely. The people live in peace and harmony. There is only one wish that everyone has. For the king and queen to have a child who can be their future king. The next few years saw the birth of not one but four children in the royal household. Three boys Sanajaoba, Sanayaima and Sanatomba, followed by a girl Sanatombi.

As the king grew older, the question of who would succeed him on the throne arose. The king did not want to follow the older tradition of choosing the eldest prince as his successor. He wanted the most eligible and deserving of his children to become the next ruler. A horse riding contest was announced and the winner would be the successor to the king. What happened next? Who won the contest?Who amongst the children proved worthy to be the next ruler? Read the engrossing tale to find out.

I enjoyed reading this book with my eight year old. This was his first book set in Manipur. He appreciated living in harmony with nature and the gender equality which are the main themes of the story. The illustrations by A.V.Ilango who is a well known painter are done using just three colours - Red, Black and White. They try to bring the landscape and culture of Manipur alive in front of the reader’s eyes. The Tamil translation of the book won the award for excellence in publishing from the federation of Indian publishers in 2000. We got the Hindi version of the book as the English one has been out of stock for quite some time now.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 6+.

Reasons to Read

For getting a glimpse into the folklore of Manipur.

Where to buy from?

The publishers Tulika here.