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Tales of Karadi the Bear

1996 "The Crows and the Serpent." A Panchatantra classic. Featuring Naseeruddin Shah as Karadi the Bear. Script & Direction by Shobha Viswanath. Illustrations by Mandar Kanvinde. Music by Narayan Parasuram. Mumbai: Inland Printers Ltd. Chennai: Sky Music (India). Product of India. $1 from Indian Accents, New Haven, CT, through Ebay, Nov., '99.

Music, poetry, storytelling, and lively color come together to make each of these book/cassette sets attractive. Here is the first of three formats that the series will use, packaging two booklets with one audio cassette in a cardboard package. Here unfortunately, two copies of "The Crows and the Serpent" were inserted, instead of one copy with a copy of "The Monkey and the Crocodile." Each tape starts with a song in which Karadi introduces himself as a teller of stories. This story runs true to the tradition as I know it, with this addition: the crows do not understand how the jackal's plan works. The two crows also travel together to steal the necklace. The snake here is wonderfully sibilant! Unfortunately, the audio quality is not as good here as on later cassettes. The books and audio cassette come together in a cardboard package. Though I will list each set under both books and audio cassettes, I will keep them together in their packages under "books."

1996 "The Four Friends" and "The Musical Donkey." Panchatantra classics. Featuring Saeed Jaffrey as Karadi the Bear. Script, Lyrics & Direction by Shobha Viswanath. Illustrations by A.S. Krishnaswamy and Ramesh Babu. Music by Sriram Parasuram and Anuradha. Mumbai: Inland Printers Ltd. Chennai: Sky Music (India). Product of India. $1 from Indian Accents, New Haven, CT, through Ebay, Nov., '99.

Music, poetry, storytelling, and lively color come together to make each of these book/cassette sets attractive. Each tape starts with a song in which Karadi introduces himself as a teller of stories. Karadi's nephew cubs are arguing and fighting as he arrives on Sunday, story-telling day. Their squabbling evokes this good story of friendship. The story is told in traditional fashion, except that a mole replaces the usual rat. The tortoise wears spectacles. The visual of the hunter running from the scene includes a ghost that is only suggested in the text as a fear of that "some strange spirit would follow him." Dondu is the donkey star of the second story. He likes to sing. He once grew fat on his favorite cucumbers. Contentment with his cucumbers led him one evening to sing out. The villagers came and beat him. This simple Panchatantra story is new to me. The books and audio cassette come together in a cardboard package. Though I will list each set under both books and audio cassettes, I will keep them together in their packages under "books."

1997 "The Monkey King." A Jataka classic. Featuring Saeed Jaffrey as Karadi the Bear. Script, Lyrics & Direction by Shobha Viswanath. Illustrations by Chetan Sharma and Sameer Tendulkar. Music by Anu-Sriram. Mumbai: Inland Printers Ltd. Chennai: Sky Music (India). Product of India. $1 from Indian Accents, New Haven, CT, through Ebay, Nov., '99.

Music, poetry, storytelling, and lively color come together to make each of these book/cassette pairs attractive. Each tape starts with a song in which Karadi introduces himself as a teller of stories. Here Kapi, the good king of the monkeys, has warned them not to let any mangoes float downriver towards Benares. Korung, a bad monkey, lets one float down, and soon enough the king has sent boats upriver to find this wonderful fruit. When the king and his hunters arrive, Kapi understands that he must form part of a bridge to freedom for his threatened people. He does this, and the king in admiration stops his men from firing arrows at Kapi. Korung, the last across, dashes Kapi down, but he revives. When the king assures Kapi that his people can return, he forgives Korung and welcomes him back. The book and audio cassette come together in a cellophane package. Though I will list each pair under both books and audio cassettes, I will keep them together in their packages under "books."

1998 "The Foolish Crow." A Jataka classic. Featuring Saeed Jaffrey as Karadi the Bear. Script by Sheila Gandhi. Illustrations by Srividya Natrajan. Sky Music (India). Chennai: Multivista Global Ltd. Product of India. $1 from Indian Accents, New Haven, CT, through Ebay, Nov., '99.

Music, poetry, storytelling, and lively color come together to make each of these book/cassette pairs attractive. Each tape starts with a song in which Karadi introduces himself as a teller of stories. In this story, the crow Kauaa steals roti, and then steals some again after the fox Lomdi gets the first portion away from her. Both animals are dressed. The tapes use good character voices. The book and audio cassette come together in a plastic package. Though I will list each pair under both books and audio cassettes, I will keep them together in their packages under "books."

1998 "Fish Friends Three." A Panchatantra classic. Featuring Saeed Jaffrey as Karadi the Bear. Script by Sheila Gandhi. Illustrations by Mani Menon. Sky Music (India). Chennai: Multivista Global Ltd. Product of India. $1 from Indian Accents, New Haven, CT, through Ebay, Nov., '99.

Music, poetry, storytelling, and lively color come together to make each of these book/cassette pairs attractive. Each tape starts with a song in which Karadi introduces himself as a teller of stories. This version of the story of the three fishes is true to the tradition as I know it, except that it provides a happy ending. The wisest of the fishes is an exemplary girl, neat and clean and tidy, who finishes all her work well ahead of time. The tapes use good character voices. The book and audio cassette come together in a plastic package. Though I will list each pair under both books and audio cassettes, I will keep them together in their packages under "books."

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