For generations the tiny mouse that lives in a dark burrow under your house has been the subject of much talk for all the wrong reasons. A house without a mouse is not so complete (read controversial) a dwelling place. Witty, daring and wise, the mouse has the last laugh — never the cat and you! Such a mouse is the hero in the latest series of audio books from Karadi Tales.
The familiar story of the The Lion and the Mouse is one of the four titles in which the mouse wins the lion's compassion by singing “sa ne da pa ma ga ree”, crystal clear and on pitch. Finally when the lion gets trapped in the hunter's net, the mouse chews to perfection becoming the lion's favourite to play king for a day.
In Kutti and the Mouse he gets naughty, but runs for dear life when Kutti mistakes him for a kozhakattai and almost swallows him up. Shobha Viswanath has adapted this story from a Tamil folktale making it a must-hear for the simply beautiful way in which the word “Amma” is sung in the story.
Kaka the crow has not given up her search for water. She is thrilled on seeing a pot, in the hope of finding water inside. But what she finds is our little mouse struggling to get out. Kaka needs to only drop pieces of something into the pot for the water level to rise so that the mouse can come out and she could drink the water. The proven strategy works this time again to the joy of Kaka and the Mouse .
Elephants need not necessarily be bullies, but Bablu is. He walks into a sugarcane field, eats heartily and does not care much about his actions that disturb a tiny mouse. The powerful Bablu is forced to surrender to the mouse when the little creature decides to climb up into his trunk.
Theatre company Evam deserves appreciation for its professionalism in picking the right voices for the stories. Karthik Kumar, narrator, has done a commendable job, conscious of the young minds for whom the work has been conceived.
Music casts a spell on the listener, who experiences the mood, setting and characters brought to life by Anil Srinivasan's customary magic on the senses, while the bright and beautiful illustrations by Malavika P.C. draws upon one's attention to participate in the art of reading. Writers Shobha Viswanath, Lavanya R.N. and Pankaja Srinivasan have done their part to add a twist to each tale. Quite an entertaining work from Karadi yet again.
THE MOUSE STORIES, FOUR BOOKS WITH AUDIO CD, Rs. 145 each, Karadi Tales Company Pvt. Ltd.
