India, Oct. 5 -- In hand is a book with a difference and actually it should be my granddaughter who should be reading it. But it draws attention of this old woman for its beautiful art and fine imagination as it tells stories of gods and their steeds or vehicles they ride as they negotiate heaven and earth in great solidarity of the human and the animal world. The glossy cover and paintings entice me to open it. There one is face to face with a little girl named Nandi telling her story. Yes her name is Nandi and don't think I am mixing up things for you are thinking of Nandi the bull that Lord Shiva would ride in glory. Hold on for a while this little girl Nandi has an interesting story to tell, believe it or not? Clad in a feisty pale yellow top with a print of orange blossoms coupled by green lowers and sporting a fringe cut of her jet black hair she holds a bouquet of flowers and holds forth with a smile: "I am Nandi: My father, a sage called Silada, prayed for long years to Lord Shiva to be blessed with a child. Lord Shiva blessed him and I was born." She goes on to reveal that she loved Shiva and all that she wanted was to be by his side always. He listened to her prayers and turned her into a sweet little bull and his companion forever. She then advises her young friends that when they visit a Shiva temple they will find her sitting there to convey their wishes to the sweet lord to make them come true. Following Nandi is Suka who just flies around and gets joy watching people in love. It could be a mother cuddling her little child, an old man taking his grandchildren for a walk or for that it could be a young flying with the clouds with little red hearts accompanying them. Suka goes on to say: "You see, Lord Brahma decided one day that the world needed more love. So he made my friend Kamadeva the god of love! Kamadeva's job is to spread joy by making people fall in love. The joy of this tale-telling in beautiful art and innocent words is such that one finds oneself charmed even though the claim is to be a skeptic The picture book is written by Chitwan Mittal and illustrated by Kalyani Ganapathy and printed by Adi Dev Press, Kolkata, the book covers the gap between myth and reality with a message of togetherness rather than conflict. . A fine endeavour indeed for the young ones in the seasons of celebration. Since the mood is one of searching the heavens and earth with the gods, one turns from this mint-fresh book to one of my old favourites that has remained untouched for decades on my dusty book-shelf. It is titled 'Photos of the Gods' which traces The Printed Image and Political Struggle and penned by Christopher Pinney. Published first way back in 2004 by Oxford University Press the book holds that the current predicament of Pinney India cannot be understood without combining the study of its cultural, political and visual history. Pinney, an anthropologist and art historian honoured with the Padma Shri in 2013, is renowned for his studies on the visual and culture of South Asia, especially India. Looking back at the cultural history of colonial India, the two painters played a major role in returning their gods to the Indians and also their dreams. The lithographs of Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) which combined western painting and printing techniques in featuring the Indian subjects including the myriad gods and Abnindranath Tagore (1871-1951) who gave to the freedom struggle the image of Bharat Mata. The latter became one of the emblems of faith in an India free of British colonial rule. There is also a cultural history that followed post independence linking the past and present which has been of great interest to historians, visual artists and different political movements. Lest the looking before and after get too ponderous for the light-hearted mood of the cultural festivities, let's return to our favourites in the seasons of the gods, talking about the two sisters who have ever remained close to the Indian thought and worship and lets see the 'vahanas' they ride. Of course Raja Ravi Varma painted them both aesthetically in their own special glory. As the myth goes the two are ever-warring sisters representing the never-ending conflict between wealth and knowledge. Her hands hold a Veena, a stringed musical instrument and the animals associated with her are the swan and the peacock. Her origin dates back to the vedic times when she was worshipped as a river goddess of knowledge and arts. On the other hand Goddess Lakshmi is depicted sailing over a lotus in full bloom and four hands holding flowers. The myth says that they cannot live in the same place but changing times seem to be turning the myth and creating a confusion on who and what is wealthy!...