Much of my childhood was spent surrounded by Enid Blytons and Roald Dahls, Dick King-Smiths and Allen Frewin Joneses. But Tinkle stayed a favourite. I never got drawn to Chandamama or even Amar Chitra Katha mythology the way I was drawn to Tinkle. My grandfather subscribed to the magazine, and every so often, he would find a sheet of white card paper and bind several issues together to make a nice fat Tinkle volume, which we treasured.
The problem with returning to beloved childhood tales, however, is that so often, they’re nowhere near as lovely as you remember them to be. Enid Blyton is preachy. The Animal Ark books I loved so much have very little story. I haven’t gone back to Suppandi, Shikari Shambu, Tantri the Mantri or Naseeruddin Hodja because I am afraid I will find them silly. That’s the reason I postponed reading Little Shambu too. But I just did, and all the stories in this first volume are such fun!
Shikari Shambu stories have a delicious sense of serendipity. Shambu does silly things, but the outcomes are always excellent. The same humorous twists can be found in Little Shambu’s stories too. Whether it’s organising an exhibition at home or hunting for a cat, things never go to plan, yet the results of these misadventures are far better than Little Shambu could ever have imagined.
Humour, simple fun and impossible situations come together in this delightful set of stories featuring Little Shambu before he becomes Shikari Shambu. Like the original stories in Tinkle, all these tales feature animals, which makes me love them all the more. I’m waiting to devour volume 2, and I shall, very soon!
| Title | Strangus Derangus and Other Adventures of Little Shambu |
| Author | Reena I. Puri |
| Tags | Shikari Shambu, Little Shambu, Tinkle, Short Stories, Animal Stories |
| Rating (out of 5) | 5 |
| Age-group | 7+ |
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