Comments on the book? Post them here...

Any comments you might care to leave can be posted here...
You may not use the words "luv" "lol" "pneet" and "fathom", but all other words most welcome.

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Op ven øster Bøkernase Frütsaläde

Püt om topp søck!
Ungdom fur alles!
Ja wir haben tøk
Und glemt me my talles!

Click here for Bokklubben for the schlubben!

New Punjabi nonsense from Khushwant Singh

Many thanks to Khushwant Singh for his two (!) columns--and especially for giving us more nonsense. The following is from his Hindustan Times column:

Children of my generation knew a lot of nonsense verse by heart. It faded out of memory with the onset of years and we rubbed out what remained as too childish to be remembered. I tried to recall what I once knew by rote. The most popular one was as follows:

Akkar dukkar bhumbai bhau
Assee, nubbey, poorey sau
Sau mein laaga dhaaga
Chor nikal kar bhaaga.
Akkar, dukkar, bhumbai bhau.
Translated:
Eighty, ninety, to a full hundred.
String the hundred by a thread
The thief ran out and fled.
Eighty, ninety, to a full hundred.

Some nonsense verse had educational aims. So we learnt the English alphabet:
ABC Too kitthey gaeo see
Edward mar gayaa
Pittan gayee see
Translated:
ABC Where did you go
Edward died, and so
I went to beat my breast.)

For some reason when we had to cram multiplication tables when it came to nine into nine is 81, we put in verse:
Nau nai ikkasee
Booko teyree masee
Translated
Nine into nine makes 81
Your mother’s sister is a monkey.

Another entirely meaningless favourite was a meaningless jingle you could add to as you please:
Chal, chal, Chameli bagh mein / mewa khil aoonga;
Mewey kee daalee tootgayee / chadar bichhaoonga;
Chaddar ka phattaa konaa / Darzi Bulaoonga
Darzee kee tootee sooee / Loohar bulaoonga
Lohar Ka toota hathaura / ghora dauraoonga.

I can’t bother to transalate this one; none of these are in the book. It has many better examples taken from all our languages.

Hamecdotal Edifence-- blogs, frogs, clogs...

I was delighted to find Catmeister's blog. She seems to have found some inspiration in nonsense!

Here's another blog with a tip of the noggin to nonsense:
Indiadrant's blog. Check out Sun., 18 Feb.

By way of Khushwant Singh, another thoughtful bloggish konkimplation about the book:
Eggstreamly Eggcentric's Blog . Check out Sun., 26 Feb.

Misquotes from Williams aside, here's another blogger who wants us: Nandan Newlander's Blog

From our dear Thinkopotamus: Click here

How to buy this book!

The Tenth Rasa, now that it is being distributed through Penguin Global, is available anywhere Penguin distributes!

Click on these links to order in the US:

Amazon.com (Paper and now on Kindle!)
Barnes and Noble.com

The book is also available at various online booksellers around the world.

Reviews aplenty!

Here is a list of links to all the reviews I've been able to find. If you know of others, please do let me know.

International Research Society for Children's Literature journal review, 2008.


Indian Express, 17 Feb 2007, by Mitali Saran


Tehelka, by Manohar Shetty, 17 Feb 2007

Recess radio show does a brief piece on the book.

India New England piece on Michael Heyman and the book. The first US press...
Also, Here

A review in Dawn, 10 June 2007


Express India, 3 Jan 2007
This one wins the award for most damaging factual error, namely that I was the one to invent the tenth rasa. It was Sukumar Ray!! Not I! Sheesh.


The Hindu, Buisnessline, 8 Jan 2007


Telegraph review


The Hindu, Metroplus Chennai, 10 Jan 2007


New Kerala.com review
This one wins the award for the most hilariously bad English and outrageous misquotes.


The Tribune, 3 Feb 2007 (also appears in The Telegraph)
Thanks to Khushwant Singh, who wrote this and other column (below) praising the book!


Hindustan Times, 16 Feb 2007


Business World, by Henry James Foy

The Sunday Tribune, 13 May, 2007

The Tenth Rasa is born!

Hear ye! Fear ye! The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense is born!

As is this, the Official ("official" because, well, I was the head hippo) Blog of it and all things nonsensical.