A Pair of Twins
by Kavitha Mandana and illustrated by Nayantara Surendranath
“A Pair of Twins” by Kavitha Mandana and illustrated by Nayantara Surendranath. Published by Karadi Tales. A story of an unusual pair of twins with an unusual connection set in the royal city of Mysore.
Lakshmi and Sundari were born just a few minutes apart. While Sundari was a three and a half kilo baby girl, Lakshmi was a 100 kilo elephant calf. Muniyappa, Sundari’s father, was the chief mahout of the elephant stables at Mysore Palace. Drona, Lakshmi’s father, was the majestic bull elephant who had led the Dasara procession for the past decade and the star of the stables. The two of them grew up together and shared a delightful bond of friendship.
While Sundari aspired to be Lakshmi’s mahout and lead her on many processions and adventures, her father had other plans. He wanted his son Vikram to be a mahout like him as it was a man’s job according to him. He wanted Sundari to join the palace dancers. Vikram however did not like to be in the stables nor was he comfortable being around the elephants. He wanted to be the lead drummer in the royal band to get the best uniform.
When Drona suddenly fell ill a few months before Dussehra, everyone was frantic with worry. Finding a replacement for him to carry the majestic howdah for the procession was very difficult as none of the other bulls were as majestic. When Sundari suggested that Lakshmi was quite capable of taking Drona’s place, none of the mahouts agreed to this.
What happened next? Did Sundari manage to convince everyone that Lakshmi was capable of taking Drona’s place? What did the royal family do when they came to know of the unexpected situation? Did Muniyappa understand that his children can’t be forced to do things that they aren’t interested in?
We have become accustomed to associating a particular job or a role with a specific gender. This needn’t be the case, and many jobs and roles can be carried out equally well by other genders, is the message conveyed in this beautiful story. It is the passion and dedication that matters more. There is no greater joy than being able to follow one’s passion is shown so well.
This is one of our favourite stories and a must read for all children aged 5+. My (then) six year old loved the story. The Mysore connection also struck a chord with us since I was born and raised up there.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Karadi Tales here.
An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.