Scholastic India launches Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by the bestselling author of Ahimsa, Supriya Kelkar
New Delhi: Scholastic India, the country’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books has launched a must-read masterpiece and instant bestseller today from the author of the bestselling Ahimsa.
The book is set in 1857 AD, British India, with the narrative orbiting around a thirteen-year-old Meera, who is on the run, escaping a life and a death she has no say in, while Indian soldiers’ rebel against their British commanders in the freedom struggle. As she finds her strength and confidence, she must choose between helping the cause of the mutiny for the greater future of the country, and her plans for her own secure future. Will she be as strong and fierce as fire as she writes her own destiny?
Some themes covered in the book are modern Indian history, freedom struggle, fight against the practice of sati and patriarchal oppression, coming of age, and the meaning of independence.
“The injustice towards women, blatant sexism, and casteism of the 1850s is well-documented. Cut across to 2021, all of it still exists. We published this book so young readers across India — boys and girls, are inspired to take action and shatter these deleterious societal injustices and norms”, said Shantanu Duttagupta, Publisher, Scholastic India.
Action-packed and fast paced, Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame is perfect for readers of historical fiction and drama.
“I wrote Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame to challenge who is being centered and whose story is being erased in so-called classics and in what is being taught in history and social studies textbooks, where colonizers are often portrayed as brave men discovering new worlds. The truth is colonization is a brutal practice whose effects continue to be seen today in India, America, and all across the world. I hope this book encourages readers to question who is being centered in the stories they read as they decolonize their bookshelves and their minds.”, said Supriya Kelkar, the author of the book.
Born and raised in the Midwest, Supriya Kelkar learned Hindi as a child by watching three Bollywood films a week. Now she works in the film industry as a Bollywoodscreenwriter and has credits on one Hollywood film and several Hindi films. The award-winning book Ahimsa,inspired by her great-grandmother’s role in the Indian Freedom movement, was her debut middle grade novel.