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The Cobra's Song
Ten-year-old Geetanjali doesn’t mind singing, but she knows she’ll never be as good as her mother, Aai, or grandmother, Aaji, famous classical singers from India whose celebrity has followed the family all the way to their small town of Deadwood, Michigan, where Geetanjali lives with her aai, and father, Baba.
After freezing on stage during a concert performance, Geetanjali adds “fear of singing” to her list of fears, a list that seems to be multiplying daily. Aai tries to stress the importance of using one’s voice and continuing to sing; Geetanjali hopes that when her Aaji, comes to visit this summer, she’ll be able to help her.
But when they pick Aaji up at the airport, she’s not alone. Lata, an auntie Geetanjali has never met before is with Aaji and their neighbor, Heena Auntie, who is acting strange and mean, and not like the warm auntie she normally is. Lata Auntie has heard all about Geetanjali’s family, growing up in India. She knows Aai and Aaji are the only ones who can sing raag Naagshakti. Aai plays it off, but Geetanjali thinks back to the raag in the binder that started with an N that had been torn out. She has never heard of Raag Naagshakti, which sounds like it is about the power of cobras.
Geetanjali is determined not to let her imagination get the best of her and add aunties to her list of fears, but she can’t help but wonder about the connection between the missing raag, Heena Auntie’s cold behavior, and their interesting summer visitor.
After freezing on stage during a concert performance, Geetanjali adds “fear of singing” to her list of fears, a list that seems to be multiplying daily. Aai tries to stress the importance of using one’s voice and continuing to sing; Geetanjali hopes that when her Aaji, comes to visit this summer, she’ll be able to help her.
But when they pick Aaji up at the airport, she’s not alone. Lata, an auntie Geetanjali has never met before is with Aaji and their neighbor, Heena Auntie, who is acting strange and mean, and not like the warm auntie she normally is. Lata Auntie has heard all about Geetanjali’s family, growing up in India. She knows Aai and Aaji are the only ones who can sing raag Naagshakti. Aai plays it off, but Geetanjali thinks back to the raag in the binder that started with an N that had been torn out. She has never heard of Raag Naagshakti, which sounds like it is about the power of cobras.
Geetanjali is determined not to let her imagination get the best of her and add aunties to her list of fears, but she can’t help but wonder about the connection between the missing raag, Heena Auntie’s cold behavior, and their interesting summer visitor.
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First published May 16, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 19, 2023
Loved the intrigue and mystery woven through the story! Students will love learning about another culture while trying to solve the mystery with Geetu and her friends. E-Arc via Netgalley.
September 17, 2023
Though her maternal family have long been famed Hindustani classical singers in India, rising sixth grader Geetanjali struggles to vocalize publicly. Can she find her voice when a cobra-person from Hindu lore is living next door and wants to turn everyone in her Michigan town into a snake?
March 10, 2025
It's really 3 1/2 stars, but Goodreads doesn't let you do half stars so there you go.
August 3, 2023
What it's about: Rising sixth grader Geetanjali's mother and grandmother are both professional singers, but Geetanjali worries she'll never be as good as they are. Actually, Geetanjali worries about lots of things: whether her father and her neighbor were laughing at her during her recent singing performance, whether her best friend will get any better before their upcoming performance at the local park, why she didn't stand up for another girl who was getting bullied, how she'll react if she gets bullied, whether she or her friends could get injured on the climbing wall at the park...
But when Geetanjali's grandmother arrives from India for a visit, Geetanjali is overjoyed. She doesn't get enough time to be with her beloved grandmother. Accompanying her grandmother on her flight are Geetanjali's neighbor-auntie, and a new woman Geetanjali has never seen before.
Geetanjali finds herself concerned when her normally friendly neighbor-auntie starts acting very strange on her return from India. And she's wondering why the new woman keeps asking her mother and grandmother to sing an old Indian raag - one that Geetanjali's mother has ripped out of her collection of raags.
As summer progresses, Geetanjali finds herself having to challenge her own worries in order to help protect her family and her friends. She'll need to find her voice if she wants to prevent a growing danger from harming everyone she loves.
What I thought: Although this story was not for me, I can see younger readers enjoying it. The MC is going into 6th grade, which is an audience a bit younger than I usually read. The genre was tough to pin down - the story seems like straight up realistic fiction with very low stakes conflicts, but VERY slowly works in a fantasy/mythology angle with extremely high stakes (and snakes). The first 2/3 of the book were challenging for me to stick with.
Why my chosen shelves:
CWs: anxiety: Geetanajali is very anxious throughout much of the story; dark, death: Geetanjali's neighbor has died, and there are some darker elements to the conflict in the latter portions of the story; family issues: Geetanjali finds herself at odds with her mother and father, and feeling somewhat overlooked in light of the attention her new little brother gets; racism: There is a straight-up moment of racism pointed at the kids;
Characters: Indian: Geetanjali, her family, much of her community, and one of her friends is Indian; diverse: The community in which Geetanjali lives has several characters coded as non-white
Genres: realistic fiction: The story starts out seeming to be pretty much straight middle grades realistic fiction with relatively low stakes; fantasy, scary, weird: The story slowly incorporates a fantasy element that is rather scary
Topics: entertainment, performing arts: Geetanjali and her family are involved in performing arts - singing, specifically; feminist: Geetanjali is working on overcoming some stereotypes, including those related to being a "little girl"; friendship: Geetanjali has to examine how she's behaving as a friend, which helps her become a better friend; magic, supernatural: There is a supernatural component to the latter half of the story -
Why I rated it like I did: 3.5 ,There were some very good lessons, both for younger readers and older, about standing up for yourself and speaking up when things aren't right - whether that's because of bullying or because someone is mispronouncing your name. I didn't want to put the book down in the final quarter or so as the fantasy elements all started to come to the fore.
But when Geetanjali's grandmother arrives from India for a visit, Geetanjali is overjoyed. She doesn't get enough time to be with her beloved grandmother. Accompanying her grandmother on her flight are Geetanjali's neighbor-auntie, and a new woman Geetanjali has never seen before.
Geetanjali finds herself concerned when her normally friendly neighbor-auntie starts acting very strange on her return from India. And she's wondering why the new woman keeps asking her mother and grandmother to sing an old Indian raag - one that Geetanjali's mother has ripped out of her collection of raags.
As summer progresses, Geetanjali finds herself having to challenge her own worries in order to help protect her family and her friends. She'll need to find her voice if she wants to prevent a growing danger from harming everyone she loves.
What I thought: Although this story was not for me, I can see younger readers enjoying it. The MC is going into 6th grade, which is an audience a bit younger than I usually read. The genre was tough to pin down - the story seems like straight up realistic fiction with very low stakes conflicts, but VERY slowly works in a fantasy/mythology angle with extremely high stakes (and snakes). The first 2/3 of the book were challenging for me to stick with.
Why my chosen shelves:
CWs: anxiety: Geetanajali is very anxious throughout much of the story; dark, death: Geetanjali's neighbor has died, and there are some darker elements to the conflict in the latter portions of the story; family issues: Geetanjali finds herself at odds with her mother and father, and feeling somewhat overlooked in light of the attention her new little brother gets; racism: There is a straight-up moment of racism pointed at the kids;
Characters: Indian: Geetanjali, her family, much of her community, and one of her friends is Indian; diverse: The community in which Geetanjali lives has several characters coded as non-white
Genres: realistic fiction: The story starts out seeming to be pretty much straight middle grades realistic fiction with relatively low stakes; fantasy, scary, weird: The story slowly incorporates a fantasy element that is rather scary
Topics: entertainment, performing arts: Geetanjali and her family are involved in performing arts - singing, specifically; feminist: Geetanjali is working on overcoming some stereotypes, including those related to being a "little girl"; friendship: Geetanjali has to examine how she's behaving as a friend, which helps her become a better friend; magic, supernatural: There is a supernatural component to the latter half of the story -
Why I rated it like I did: 3.5 ,There were some very good lessons, both for younger readers and older, about standing up for yourself and speaking up when things aren't right - whether that's because of bullying or because someone is mispronouncing your name. I didn't want to put the book down in the final quarter or so as the fantasy elements all started to come to the fore.
February 20, 2023
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
The women in Geetanjali's family are reknowned classical singers, and she is looking forward to her grandmother, Aaji, visiting for the summer. Aaji is getting older, and might not be able to make the trip from India for much longer, so Geetanjali hopes to sing with her. Unfortunately, when she and her mother, Aai, sang at the Marathi Hindu new year, Gudhi Padwa, celebration, the song didn't go well. Now, Aai is busy with new baby Alaap, and isn't too worried about Geetanjali's singing. A neighbor, Heena Mavshi, had been visiting in India and helped Aaji get to the US, but is dealing with the death of her husband Jatin Kaka, which occurred when they were on their way to visit relatives. Heena Maavshi has met an old school mate, Naaglata, on the plane, and invited her to stay with her as she adjusts to her husband being gone. Geetanjali is a little worried about Lata Auntie, as she asks to be called, and finds something unsettling about her. Of course, there are other things going on over the summer. Geetanjali and her best friend, Penn, are working on a song for another celebration in their small town, but since Geetanjali is worried about her voice, she has pulled back. Penn is spending a lot more time with Deepak, with whom Geetanjali doesn't always get along. Aaji is getting frailer, and hiding things about the family's songs from Geetanjali. When snakes start being a problem in the neighborhood, and Heena Maavshi starts acting strangely, it is up to Geetanjali and her friends to figure out what is going on and save the day.
Strengths: This took a LOT of twists and turns that I did not expect, and I don't want to ruin them by saying too much. This is definitely a fantay horror book, and the cover, even with the cobra, doesn't necessarily reflect how dark this gets. If you like mice, be aware that a lot of them show up dead, with fang marks in them! This isn't too scary for elementary students, unless they have a deep seated fear of snakes. I did like all of the family stories, and the fact that Geetanjali got to connect with her grandmother, and younger readers will enjoy the friendship difficulties with Penn and Deepak.
Weaknesses: I knew right away who the villain was because of the etymology of the name, and thoughtful Harry Potter readers might pick up on this as well!
What I really think: This is very different from Kelkar's historical Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame or Ahimsa, or the modern day As American as Paneer Pie in that it is definitely a fantasy horror book. I'm not sure why I was so surprised by this! There's still lots of cultural references and strong families ties, but again, don't read this if you have a fear of snakes!
The women in Geetanjali's family are reknowned classical singers, and she is looking forward to her grandmother, Aaji, visiting for the summer. Aaji is getting older, and might not be able to make the trip from India for much longer, so Geetanjali hopes to sing with her. Unfortunately, when she and her mother, Aai, sang at the Marathi Hindu new year, Gudhi Padwa, celebration, the song didn't go well. Now, Aai is busy with new baby Alaap, and isn't too worried about Geetanjali's singing. A neighbor, Heena Mavshi, had been visiting in India and helped Aaji get to the US, but is dealing with the death of her husband Jatin Kaka, which occurred when they were on their way to visit relatives. Heena Maavshi has met an old school mate, Naaglata, on the plane, and invited her to stay with her as she adjusts to her husband being gone. Geetanjali is a little worried about Lata Auntie, as she asks to be called, and finds something unsettling about her. Of course, there are other things going on over the summer. Geetanjali and her best friend, Penn, are working on a song for another celebration in their small town, but since Geetanjali is worried about her voice, she has pulled back. Penn is spending a lot more time with Deepak, with whom Geetanjali doesn't always get along. Aaji is getting frailer, and hiding things about the family's songs from Geetanjali. When snakes start being a problem in the neighborhood, and Heena Maavshi starts acting strangely, it is up to Geetanjali and her friends to figure out what is going on and save the day.
Strengths: This took a LOT of twists and turns that I did not expect, and I don't want to ruin them by saying too much. This is definitely a fantay horror book, and the cover, even with the cobra, doesn't necessarily reflect how dark this gets. If you like mice, be aware that a lot of them show up dead, with fang marks in them! This isn't too scary for elementary students, unless they have a deep seated fear of snakes. I did like all of the family stories, and the fact that Geetanjali got to connect with her grandmother, and younger readers will enjoy the friendship difficulties with Penn and Deepak.
Weaknesses: I knew right away who the villain was because of the etymology of the name, and thoughtful Harry Potter readers might pick up on this as well!
What I really think: This is very different from Kelkar's historical Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame or Ahimsa, or the modern day As American as Paneer Pie in that it is definitely a fantasy horror book. I'm not sure why I was so surprised by this! There's still lots of cultural references and strong families ties, but again, don't read this if you have a fear of snakes!
July 13, 2024
It's the summer before sixth grade and Geetanjali's family is about to grow by one more with the birth of her baby brother, Alaap. Geentajali's Aaji is also coming to town for her annual summer visit from India. Geetanjali's comes from a line of famous singers in India and she has long enjoyed singing at various community events. After suffering a fall that injured her hip, Geetanjali's Aaji cannot make the trip by herself so Heena Mavshi and her husband, Jatin Kaka, Geetanjali's neighbors travel to India to escort Aaji back to Michigan. Unfortunately, during a layover in France, Jatin Kaka suffers a fatal heart attach. On the flight from India, Heena Mavshi and Aaji meet fellow traveler Lata Auntie who was going to visit relatives in Michigan but instead moves in with Heena Mavshi to help her through her grief.
Lata Auntie is eager to hear Geetanjali and her relatives sing and she repeatedly asks for the same song - Raag Naagshakti (The Cobra's Song). Indian legend has it that this particular song attracts cobras and the last time Geetanjali's Aaji and Aai sang it, they were almost attacked by a cobra. Other stories from their native land tell of ichchhadhari naagin, evil cobras who disguise themselves as humans and can turn others into snakes. When Heena Mavshi stops acting like herself, Geetanjali suspects she is not grieving but has in fact become an ichchhadhari naagin, especially when she begins painting nothing but cobras in her art studio. Sadly, the adults around her do not believe Geetanjali and only she and her friends, Peen and Deepak, can save their community from a snake invader.
This book took me a week to read which feels outrageous. Something about the way it's written just makes it feel obnoxiously long. I appreciate that this book is bursting with representations of Indian culture, from the food to the clothing to the folklore, but I will admit it is difficult to read for anyone not familiar with the language and pronunciation - I wish there had been a pronunciation guide in the back or somewhere. My biggest gripe is the neighbor and the grandmother met a stranger on their flight(s) from India and, boom!, besties enough for the stranger to move in. This person had convinced them she had gone to school with the neighbor and lived only a few streets away from them in their hometown in India. I would think you'd need a little bit more proof and a bit more time before trusting someone to move into your home. Gee, how could anything possibly go wrong?
Lata Auntie is eager to hear Geetanjali and her relatives sing and she repeatedly asks for the same song - Raag Naagshakti (The Cobra's Song). Indian legend has it that this particular song attracts cobras and the last time Geetanjali's Aaji and Aai sang it, they were almost attacked by a cobra. Other stories from their native land tell of ichchhadhari naagin, evil cobras who disguise themselves as humans and can turn others into snakes. When Heena Mavshi stops acting like herself, Geetanjali suspects she is not grieving but has in fact become an ichchhadhari naagin, especially when she begins painting nothing but cobras in her art studio. Sadly, the adults around her do not believe Geetanjali and only she and her friends, Peen and Deepak, can save their community from a snake invader.
This book took me a week to read which feels outrageous. Something about the way it's written just makes it feel obnoxiously long. I appreciate that this book is bursting with representations of Indian culture, from the food to the clothing to the folklore, but I will admit it is difficult to read for anyone not familiar with the language and pronunciation - I wish there had been a pronunciation guide in the back or somewhere. My biggest gripe is the neighbor and the grandmother met a stranger on their flight(s) from India and, boom!, besties enough for the stranger to move in. This person had convinced them she had gone to school with the neighbor and lived only a few streets away from them in their hometown in India. I would think you'd need a little bit more proof and a bit more time before trusting someone to move into your home. Gee, how could anything possibly go wrong?
June 17, 2023
4.6 stars! A beautiful story of a Marathi family in Michigan filled with Hindustani music, mythical creatures, and lots of puns. I think the main character Geetanjali is very well developed. She goes through challenges that any reader can connect with and South Asian readers may particularly relate to. I appreciated the nuanced roles of her family, friends, and society in vacilating between restricting and enabling her growth and bravery.
My only real qualm is that the beginning of the book felt a bit slow for me. However, once the story reached more of the twists and action/mystery/horror elements, I think it was well-paced.
I concurrently listened to the audiobook while reading the text which helped me better catch any new vocabulary.
My only real qualm is that the beginning of the book felt a bit slow for me. However, once the story reached more of the twists and action/mystery/horror elements, I think it was well-paced.
I concurrently listened to the audiobook while reading the text which helped me better catch any new vocabulary.
November 16, 2023
Reading ahead of ALAN conference. Mythology, family, a little horror (age appropriate horror), and a lot of growing up. There are many overlapping elements of Geetanjali’s story that students will relate to including not being heard, being afraid of being singled out, and being alone. I really enjoyed this middle grade story and the richness of the setting including the food and music.
There was a stretch where I wanted it to be a little shorter, but it passed. The last third really moved along.
February 27, 2025
Supriya Kelkar just rocks. The mystery sucked me in! The story was very original, Geetanjali is a lovable and relatable protagonist, and there's so much to take away from the other characters as well, especially the adults. The ending did wrap up rather quickly and there were a lot of sudden changes of heart, which was a little too convenient to be satisfying, but still a really great read for mythology lovers. Nothing will ever beat American as Paneer Pie (or Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame for that matter), but I'll keep reading whatever Kelkar puts out!
May 22, 2023
What a great middle grade novel!
Somewhat of a genre blender that I was here for throughout! Fiction with a bit of magical realism and a small dash of what I may call middle grade horror.
Ten-year-old Geetanjali, was such a great MC. She dealt with her fears, difficulties friendships can have and family standards! Full of Indian culture which I devoured and made me curious for more. I think this one will be a hit amongst kids but for those that fear snakes tread lightly.
Somewhat of a genre blender that I was here for throughout! Fiction with a bit of magical realism and a small dash of what I may call middle grade horror.
Ten-year-old Geetanjali, was such a great MC. She dealt with her fears, difficulties friendships can have and family standards! Full of Indian culture which I devoured and made me curious for more. I think this one will be a hit amongst kids but for those that fear snakes tread lightly.
September 10, 2023
I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway and was SO excited to be able to add it to my 5th grade classroom. I have been working hard over the last couple of years to create a classroom library that reflects the students in my classroom. This book added a much needed perspective and has been such a fun read for my students!
May 30, 2023
Magic,fiction, thriller!!!! Loved this. My granddaughter read this and loved it. She gives it 4.5 stars... Loved learning about a different culture also. Thank you for this ARC copy. Loved it, and so did my Granddaughter.
May 18, 2023
Kids Gr. 4+ will enjoy this realistic-fiction-turned-horror story! Set in the US, with many references to Indian culture, classical singers and fantasy.
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July 19, 2023Riveting . . . culturally informative
March 20, 2024
Another enjoyable story from Supriya Kelkar! Great for upper elementary and middle school.
June 3, 2023
Fantastic realistic Indian fantasy/folktale. Loved the relatable characters, their need to solve a mystery, and how they work together.
August 5, 2023
THE COBRA’S SONG by @supriya.kelkar has it all. Realistic middle grade struggles - friendship woes, family pressure - but it is also a mystery, full of Indian folklore, and a little bit of horror. Like all of Kelkar’s books, there is heart and a beautiful message of finding your voice, facing your fears, and building confidence. This is sure to be a hit this school year, especially with all the Michigan connections! 🐍🎶🧡
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews