About Little Katha & our stories
Little Katha is a home for illustrated Indian mythology, made for curious children and the grown-ups who read with them. Explore Ganesha and Hanuman’s adventures together, one story at a time.
Meet Hanuman. Hanuman is a Hindu deity loved for strength, learning and devoted service to Rama. He is the son of Anjana and Kesari, blessed by Vayu, the wind god. The Ramayana’s vanaras are extraordinary monkey-like beings. Rama is revered as an incarnation of Vishnu, and Sita as a goddess. Our Hanuman series follows four connected episodes; it is not the entire Ramayana.
Ganesha is the elephant-headed Hindu deity associated with wisdom, auspicious beginnings and removing obstacles. Shiva and Parvati are his parents; Kartikeya is his brother.
These are original adaptations of traditional tales, with newly created illustrations and dialogue. Each story has four pages of six panels, around 1,400 words, and optional conversation pauses: roughly 15–20 minutes together, depending on your pace. You can stop after any page; your place is saved.
Indian families and communities tell these stories in many different ways. Our dialogue, descriptive scenes, family conversations and bedtime reflections are original dramatizations, not quotations from scripture or published books. The stories include difficult events plainly, with no graphic depictions.
How Ganesha Came to Be follows the familiar Parvati-created child tradition. It includes the confrontation, Shiva killing the boy by cutting off his head, Parvati’s grief and fierce anger, the killing of an elephant to obtain its head, and Ganesha’s divine restoration. The violent acts remain off-panel. Details differ among accounts, including who obtains the head and how restoration occurs.
The Little Journey follows the Tamil fruit-of-wisdom and Palani tradition: three circuits, Ganesha’s interpretation, and Kartikeya/Murugan’s disappointment, departure and life at Palani. The family conversations are imagined. This is one version of the contest, not the only one.
A Feast of Kindness includes the emptied feast and pantry, Ganesha’s anger over Kubera’s promise, and the humble rice offering. Some versions specify puffed rice. It is a divine tale about pride and generosity, not a judgment about people’s bodies or appetites.
The Patient Scribe uses the version in which Ganesha’s writing tool breaks and he breaks off a tusk to continue recording Vyasa’s Mahabharata. Other traditions explain his tusk differently. The scribe story is a traditional account associated with the epic; its manuscript history is more complex. The reflection connects perseverance to asking for help and practical solutions in everyday life.
The Child Who Reached for the Sun combines the familiar childhood sun-leap account with later traditions of the sages’ curse and Surya’s teaching. It includes Indra’s blow, Hanuman’s unconsciousness, and the world’s loss of air. Accounts vary in the blessings, chronology and details of his education.
A Friend for Rama follows Hanuman’s meeting with Rama and the alliance with Sugriva, compressing the larger Kishkindha narrative. It includes Rama’s concealed shot at Vali, Vali’s questions, his death and his family’s grief. These episodes have many interpretations; we leave room for questions rather than treating every action as a simple lesson.
The Leap to Lanka follows the main Sundara Kanda journey, including Sita’s captivity and threatened death, her decision not to fly back with Hanuman, the deaths in the garden battle, Hanuman’s capture, the burning of Lanka and his concern that anger may have endangered Sita. Violence is not shown graphically.
The Mountain of Hope follows Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda 101, in which Ravana wounds Lakshmana and the physician Sushena sends Hanuman for medicinal herbs. Familiar later tellings often name Indrajit/Meghnad, Dronagiri, a sunrise deadline and additional adventures. We do not combine those versions here. The plants and healing are part of the legend; the illustrations are not botanical or medical guidance. This episode ends with Lakshmana’s recovery, while the wider war remains unresolved.
The accessible illustrated storytelling of Amar Chitra Katha is an inspiration. This independent app is not an ACK publication or a reproduction of its books.
Your bookmark and finished stories stay on this device. No child profile is needed.