A Handful of Marbles: Stories Celebrating Childhood [paperback] Patanjali Patnaik

A Handful of Marbles' is a collection of twelve stories that takes readers down the nostalgia lane to what childhood used to be, much before the whole world and its kids went digital. The stories revolve around Pushkar, a nine-year-old precocious boy with a mind of his own. The readers get a ringside view of his life sprinkled with happiness, tears, conflicts, collaborations, love, bonhomie, fears, fantasies, aspirations, arrogance, anger, and more. Be it fighting his guilt conscience after unfairly winning a marble match, his ambition to be a manjha ninja, his encounter with ghouls, his confrontation with the Sarkar gang, obsession with Bruce Lee, his dilemma choosing between Lord Krishna and Jesus, his comic book adventure, his unusual acting debut in a film or infatuation for Twinkle Miss, the stories tend to be endearing, humourous and sometimes, plain baffling. Whatever the outcome, they will leave the readers smiling, thinking, and rooting for Pushkar.