Vikramaditya's Throne  (English, Paperback, Sengupta Poile)

An ancient throne reveals forgotten tales of the bravest and noblest of kings—Vikramaditya

When Upa’s father gets kidnapped from the tiny village where he was working, she and her mother move to her great-grandmother’s house in a small town, to recover from the shock. There the dejected and worried mother and daughter are befriended by an odd-looking stranger who insists on telling them stories of King Vikramaditya and his long-lost throne.

Many centuries after King Vikramaditya’s death, King Bhoja unearthed his magnificent throne and decided to sit on it. But each time he set foot on it, a statue carved on its side came alive and told him a story of Vikramaditya’s kindness. The statues warned Bhoja that he should sit on the throne only if he could match Vikramaditya in his deeds, and each time Bhoja came away defeated. For whether he was diving to the bottom of the seas to discover fantastic jewels or deflecting the planet Saturn from its path in order to save his kingdom, or simply trying to help a miserable cow fallen into a ditch, there was never one to match Vikramaditya in courage and generosity.

As Upa and her mother listen to these magical stories they begin to see the goodness in the people around them and recognize the relevance of the tales of King Vikramaditya in their lives today. Funny yet thought-provoking, Poile Sengupta’s retelling of these ancient stories makes them come alive like never before.