Remember the Vikram and Betal stories from back when you were a kid? If you grew up in India, the chances are you’ve heard time at some point or the other. I first heard them from my grandparents, but my most enduring memory of these stories is Sunday-afternoon TV series Vikram aur Betal. I was nine years old and can clearly remember watching the stories keenly, waiting for the Betal’s question at the end. They were all tricky, moral problems, but King Vikram always had the answer, which meant the Betal was free to fly back to his tree, screeching in glee.
Thus, it was with some interest that I approached Natasha Sharma’s Vikram and the Vampire, a new, humorous retelling of the stories for under-10s. The book is accompanied by some hilarious illustrations by Priya Kuriyan. My full review is at Goodreads.in.
~PD