History is intriguing when a Non-Resident Indian explores it in association with an Indian due to conflicts in the perspectives given the two societies they live in. And when two youngsters explore the same with an open mind, it’s bound to throw up a new perspective.
This is precisely what a 70-minute audio book on “A Brief History of Indian Independence – from the Mughals to the Mahatma”, written and narrated by London-based Ayur Pulle and city-based Aarush Kumbhakern, is all about. The Class 12 students released their book recently marking the 75th Independence year of India.
Inspired by his mother Neelima Penumarthy, teenager Ayur started exploring history quite early. He teamed up with Aarush, a city student with similar interests in history, who was introduced by Babitha Srikumar, Neelima’s friend. After a series of conversations over Skype and exchange of notes, they finally recorded it in India. Ayur had already narrated an audio book on Ramayana along with his elder brother in 2019.
This audio book takes listeners through the Indian kingdoms from the mountainous Afghanistan to the serene backwaters of Kerala, and from bustling Mumbai in the west to Cambodia in the east. It traces the history of Islamic rulers conquering it and the establishment of Mughals. The entry of East India Company and Britishers ruling for over 200 years before finally Indians gained Independence through a peaceful struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi.
The engaging narration makes it an enjoyable listen and so is the effort to concise such vast history into a 70-minute audio book. “The idea is to communicate the Indian Independence and relive the story through young voices and not to make it controversial. So, they avoided some contributions,” Neelima explains.
The audio book has impressed foreigners also. Director of Editorial and Production, Calibre Audio – a British company, Emma Scott said her limited knowledge of this area of history have been enlightened. She learned about “The Sepoy Mutiny” and also increased her understanding about Gandhi. She has now agreed to distribute the audio book to people with muscular disease. The audio book is available on StoryHour UK Youtube Channel and also Audible UK and Audible USA.
