Books

Let Amma take your young ones on a journey through three picture books to witness the wonderful sights, sounds and history of India’s popular places of worship. With Amma, Take Me to The Dargah of Salim Chishti, behold the dargah of Salim Chishti that shines like a white pearl in an oasis of red sandstone. While Amma, Take Me to Tirupati will help your child know all about the world-famous temple of Tirupati Balaji, Amma, Take Me to The Golden Templewill teach them Guru Nanak’s eternal message of equality, love and service.

Told through interesting stories with captivating illustrations, this series introduces readers to the history of different faiths and their associated monuments. Product description
Review
Mathur has a fine eye for detail and strikes a perfect balance between history, folklore, information and anecdote. Priyankar Gupta’s illustrations, rich in texture and imagination, make the narrative sparkle and makes us eager for the rest of the series.

Amma Knows Best
Meant for older children, it will look at different religions and their places of worship through the conversations of a mother and her sons, Shiv and Veer, as they travel to each destination.
While trying to explain the festival of Holi to her two-year-old son, Hong Kong-based Bhakti Mathur was struck by the lack of choice in books on culture for the very young. The resourceful Mathur set up her own publishing house, Anjana Publishing, in 2010, and self-published a series of 11 picture books on Indian festivals, epics and deities for pre-schoolers.
The Amma Tell Me series met with great success, so much so that the 44-year-old has now been signed up by Puffin India for a three-part series, Amma Take Me. Meant for older children, it will look at different religions and their places of worship through the conversations of a mother and her sons, Shiv and Veer, as they travel to each destination.
The first book in the series, that explains the centrality of the Harmandir Sahib complex in Amritsar in Sikhism, is a treat of a read. Mathur has a fine eye for detail and strikes a perfect balance between history, folklore, information and anecdote. Priyankar Gupta’s illustrations, rich in texture and imagination, make the narrative sparkle and makes us eager for the rest of the series.

— Paromita Chakrabarti ― Indian Express Published On: 2017-09-07

Bhakti Mathur has taken young readers on a trip to the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Venkateshwara Temple at Tirupati and now she is on a journey of discovery to Fatehpur Sikri and the dargah of Sheikh Salim Chishti. At a time when children are often confused by the battles over religion it is good to find a writer presenting the positive side of faith and speaking with reason, compassion and empathy.
Sadly the subject has become so absurdly toxic that a genuinely well meaning writer like Mathur has been forced to add a declaimer in the beginning. In the screeching world of social media you can be sure there will be some thin-skinned bigots ready to claim that their religious feelings have been hurt by this gentle and generous book. This is the world we live in.
The narrative voice is of a nameless Amma and her two young sons who are on a trip to Fatehpur Sikri. So the story is livened up by the questions and comments of the two boys who are not exactly enthused by a long car ride and the prospect of a day spent looking at a lot of old buildings. So Amma has to try hard to capture and hold their attention and that means research and Mathur has done her homework very well. To digress a little, in her bibliography I discovered my book on Fatehpur Sikri and smiled for a long time.
Mathur tells the story of Akbar’s religious tolerance and of Salim Chishti and the Sufis with a light touch. Amma says, ‘That is why I love dargahs. They unite people across religions and I love everything that unites humanity.’ Recently I have noticed many children’s writers gently writing about religion that contradicts the official, political narrative. They are doing it with scholarship and civility and it will be understood by young readers as it is done without what kids call ‘giving gyan’, that is the default voice of our academics.
This book is as much about Salim Chishti as of Akbar. Mathur gives many examples of a tolerant, open, generous time, like the quotation from Jesus Christ that is carved on the Buland Darwaza and about Akbar’s Ibadat Khana where even atheists were invited. I really liked her sensitive explanation of why people tie threads on the jali at the dargah, ‘…the real hero lies within us, that we already have everything within us to turn our dreams into reality. The act of tying the thread is a way of seeking the saint’s blessings to give us strength to work hard and for our endeavours to bear fruit. So no one else can make your dreams come true, only you can!’ It was an excellent way to strip the act of superstition while still looking kindly at faith.
A thoughtful book like this needed an artist who could capture the spirit of the place and Priyankar Gupta’s sensitive colour illustrations are a perfect companion to the text. I looked at them very carefully for historical accuracy and particularly liked the way he had captured the jali corridor with the sunlight pouring in and the dappled reflection on the floor and also the image of the quawwali singers. One must also thank Puffin for publishing a fully illustrated, all colour book; Indian publishers are often reluctant to do so.

— Subhadra Sen Gupta ― The Book Review Literary Trust

Bhakti’s stories reach out to kids everywhere & help them understand the wonderful diversity in our culture & religion. Over & above, through the story, words& graphics the qualities of love & tolerance come through beautifully in a seamless manner – that is the power of her storytelling. — Namrata Sadhvani ― Momspresso Published On: 2020-01-04

A Saint of stature and an Emperor mighty meet. As time passes by, the bonds between them grow giving birth to a city new and monuments that to this day baffle the human mind. People come; seek peace and blessings at the Dargah of the Saint. Yet many may not know/ remember the history of the Fort of Fatehpur Sikri and the mausoleum the Emperor built.

Eye- catching illustrations and a simple yet engrossing narrative are the highlights of ‘Amma Take Me to The Dargah of Salim Chishti.’ Part of a travelogue series that aims at introducing young minds to the history of different faiths and their associated monuments, this book introduces us not only to the great Sufi Saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, but also to his relationship with the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great. As one ‘enters’ the ‘Buland Darwaza’ along-with Amma and her boys, one can’t help but marvel at the architecture that awaits us, as well as appreciate the sentiment that’s associated with the ritual of tying threads on the jali screens while making a wish. One also gets an insight into the strong yet humble side of the Sufi Saint and the power he wielded over one of the mightiest Emperors of all time i.e. Emperor Akbar.

The language is simple, yet has the power to conjure up a vivid imagery of the tour and the place. While the illustrations do justice to the narrative, the simplistic manner in which the great monument is introduced, leaves no room for doubt about the effectiveness of the narrative and the research that’s gone into the story.

‘Amma Take Me to the Dargah of Salim Chishti’ is by all means a fine example of history made easy, interesting and engaging. A great asset, this one ought to find a place in each and every Children’s’ Library across the country.

— Geeta Nair ― Fabric of Life Book Review Blog Published On: 2018-12-12

Bhakti Mathur, the author of the book Amma, Take me to Tirupati, cleverly strikes the right balance between the two. I’m happy I picked this book to introduce Tirupati virtually to my son.

Seeing the volume of the book, I was dubious if my son would be patient enough to read the entire book for his age. But I should confess, he was intrigued. It was nostalgic for me too. The author depicts the city from various perspectives. Some of the stories were unknown even to me. With minimal Illustrations she walks us through all places of importance. The author’s attention to detail is stunning.

— Gomathi Kannan ― Toka Box
About the Author
Bhakti Mathur took to writing in 2010 when she created the popular Amma, Tell Me series of children’s picture books about Indian festivals and mythology. After a long stint as a banker, she now juggles her time between her writing, her passion for yoga and long-distance running, and her family. She lives in Hong Kong with her husband, their two children and two dogs. She holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Hong Kong and freelances as a journalist. When not writing or running after her young boys, Bhakti is happiest curled up with a book in one hand
and a hot cup of chai in the other. To know more, visit her at www.bhaktimathur.com.