About Jhuli

A jhuli is a simple cloth satchel, the kind once slung over a shoulder and carried from place to place, holding whatever was most precious for the journey. In Bengal, the best-loved book of folk tales is called Thakurmar Jhuli, "Grandmother's Satchel": the bag a grandmother reaches into, by lamplight, to draw out story after story.

That is what Jhuli is. Not the grandmother herself, but her satchel, a handpicked bundle of tales gathered from every corner of India and passed along, the way they always have been, from one generation to the next.

Inside you will find the Panchatantra and Jataka fables, the grandmother stories of Bengal and Punjab and the Deccan, the tales behind the festivals, and the gentle, rarely-told moments from the epics and the Upanishads. Every one is retold in fresh, original words, written to be read aloud: warm, simple, and unhurried, with a small thought to carry at the end.

For families raising children far from home, we hope Jhuli can be a small bridge across the miles, a screen-free bedtime that quietly ties a child to where they come from.

The stories are, and always will be, free to read. In time, the ones children love most will be gathered into beautiful illustrated paperbacks, the kind of book a grandparent far away would be proud to send.

We are just getting started, adding tales region by region. Thank you for reading along.