The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1)(69)
The wisecracking bird Tuntuni is another favorite, and recurrent, character of Bengali children’s folktales. The father of Sukumar Ray, Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (also known as Upendrakishore Ray), collected a number of these stories starring the clever tailor bird Tuntuni in a 1910 book called Tuntunir Boi (“The Tailor Bird’s Book”).
Panchatantra
The thirsty crow is a story that appears in many cultural traditions. The Indian version appears in the Panchatantra, an ancient collection of interrelated animal tales thought to have first appeared around the third century BCE.
Astronomy
There are a number of references to astronomy in this book, most notably to black holes and the life cycle of a star. This is because, like in every culture, traditional Indian stories are often infused with stories about the stars and planets. Like ancient peoples in Egypt or Greece, long ago Indians wondered what controlled the sun, moon, and stars, and made up many stories and myths to explain their behavior. When writing The Serpent’s Secret, I was inspired by scientific writing about dark matter, dark energy, string theory, Einstein’s ring, and the star cycle, but much of what comes in between in this story is entirely fanciful and fictional! Please don’t take anything in this book as scientific fact, but rather use the story to inspire some more research about astronomy and, of course, His Brilliance, the Guru-ji Albert Einstein!
Other Random References
There are a lot of other Indian references in the story. Moon Moon Sen is a well-known actress. Kati rolls are a popular Kolkata street food snack, while luchi, sandesh, and rasagolla are all very classic Bengali foods. The absurd signs in Demon Land and Maya Pahar were inspired by the often hilarious, usually misspelled Indian signs on roadsides, highways, and even the back of trucks. The idea that there is a universal soul, and our bodies are but temporary vessels that on our death return our essence to that universal stream, is a central—if simplified—idea of Hindu philosophy. The German nursery rhyme the star-babies sing in Dr. Einstein’s class is a real German song, with slightly altered lyrics thrown in.
And I have no doubt that almost every daughter of Indian immigrants, like me, was forced to dress up like a “real Indian princess.” Every. Single. Halloween!
If you’d like to read more Bengali folk stories, here are some books in English:
The Demon Slayers and Other Stories: Bengali Folktales by Sayantani DasGupta (that’s me) and Shamita Das Dasgupta (that’s my mom). New York, NY: Interlink, 1995.
The Ghost Catcher by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss. Atlanta, GA: August House, 2008.
The Buri and the Marrow by Henriette Barkow. London, UK: Mantra Lingua, 2000.
Tuntuni, the Tailor Bird by Betsy Bang. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1978.
Kiranmala would never have been successful on her quest without the help of her friends and family, and the same goes for the publication of this book. First and foremost, I must heartily thank my agent, Brent Taylor, who championed this story with clear-eyed enthusiasm, stalwart belief, and mad skill. And to his colleague Uwe Stender—vielen vielen Dank für Alles! I’d like to humbly thank Abigail McAden and Patrice Caldwell—the best editorial demon slayers around, who not only helped me write better and dream bigger but also made every moment of this process a delight.
Thank you to Vivienne To and the entire art department at Scholastic, particularly the visionary Elizabeth Parisi, for this beautiful cover and art, and Abby Dening for her clever interior design. To Rachel Gluckstern, my production editor; Rebekah Wallin, my copyeditor; Talia Seidenfeld, my eleventh-hour proofreader; and the rest of Team Kiranmala including intergalactic marketing and publicity heroes Rachel Feld, Lizette Serrano, Tracy van Straaten, and Jennifer Abbots—thank you again and again for helping me share these beloved stories from Bengal with a global audience of readers.
Thank you to the best critique group around—Sheela Chari, Veera Hiranandani, and Heather Tomlinson—who believed in my stories even when I forgot how and continue to help me grow as a writer and reader. Eternal love and gratitude to my writing sister, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, who plies me with wisdom, inspiration, and gluten-free treats, and to my oldest sister-friend, Kari Scott, who shared my love of stories in childhood and does still. (I wouldn’t be writing stories now if not for all those summer afternoons reading them, watching them, and acting them out with you.) I’m also indebted to my sis and dance partner Mallika Chopra and her brother Gautam for their invaluable support and advice on this project and so many others.
Endless gratitude to the entire We Need Diverse Books, Kidlit Writers of Color, and Desi Writers families. I am proud to be a part of such a visionary group of artists who are writing a more just future into reality every day. Thank you to my local creative moms posse, Kerri, Viv, Liv, Laura, Meg, Jill, and the real Jovi—who is nothing like the mean girl named after her—for reminding me all the time that parenting and art go hand in hand. Lots of love too to my Bengali community from childhood and now for helping me celebrate the rich, funny, wacky, and powerful reality of being a Bengali immigrant daughter in New Jersey.
Thank you to my narrative medicine/health humanities colleagues at Columbia and around the country, who taught me that stories are the best medicine. Lots of gratitude as well to my former pediatric patients and my current undergraduate and graduate students, who teach me, inspire me, and fill me with hope for the future of this planet.