Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Tale from India

by Lila Mehta, Youshan Tang (Illustrator), Meredith Babeaux Brucker (Adapter)

When the Prince comes to visit the village during the annual Navaratri Festival, Godfather Snake makes it possible for Cinduri to go.

Genres: Picture Books, Cinderella, India, Fairy Tales, Fairy Tale Retellings, Childrens, Folk Tales

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Julian Vena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book on Epic. Since I am not very knowledgeable about Indian culture, I can’t analyze the book's authenticity regarding character and plot depictions. In this story, Cinduri, an Indian woman lives with her stepmother and stepsister. After her parents die, she is left to be a servant for these two cruel women who force her to do all of the work. A snake ends up adopting her as his Goddaughter. He magically changes her into a beautiful princess on the night of the town’s festival where the prince falls in love with her. When Cinduri is forced to flee before midnight, the prince is heartbroken. After finding Cinduri’s anklet, the prince looks all over town for her until finally she is found. They wed and the stepmother and stepsister live in misery. I mostly enjoyed this adaptation. The addition of the snake as the magical character was especially effective based on what I know about the way snakes are respected in certain parts of Asia. Moreover, I couldn’t help but cringe during the part of the story where the prince encounters Cinduri for this first time, the night of the festival, all dressed up like a princess. When he sees her, he makes her dance for him. I was like, “um, for real, just like that? dance for me?”. Just as I felt with another adaptation of Cinderella, it’s almost uncomfortable to read the machismo in some of these stories. I understand some is cultural and or “how it was in the past”, but for a reader in our day and age, these sorts of plot components stand out. It was neat to predict what was going to happen based on my prior knowledge of this traditional title. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking about how the stepmother and sister would be miserable at the end. That in a way, makes the cruelty of their actions more bearable knowing that justice will be served. Again, all and all, I have to say I enjoyed reading this title and the idea of having traditional literature adapted to various cultures is kind of a cool experience to enjoy. Consequently, I would have students compare and contrast this title with the original Cinderella, having them draw their attention to a specific plot, setting, character, etc, differences between the two titles.

[Dhaara S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anklet for a Princess is a multicultural version of the classic story, Cinderella from India. In this version, Cinderella is called Cinduri. Cinduri is forced to be a maid for her stepmother and stepsister but she longs for something more. She gets her wish from a snake, which she calls her godfather. The symbolism of a snake is very auspicious in the Indian culture. This magical snake grants Cinduri her wish of attending the Navrati festival. This festival is held every fall for seven days. There she meets her Prince and dances the night away with him. At midnight on the last day, instead of a glass slipper, an anklet is left behind. The Prince searches the kingdom for Cinduri and at last finds the owner of the anklet. They get married and Godfather snake moves into the palace grounds with them. I really liked how they incorporated the Indian culture into this story versus just placing Cinderella in India. I would use this book in an elementary classroom while learning about fairytales. I would compare and contrast different versions of Cinderella. One could also use it in a history lesson to teach a little about the Indian Culture. The illustrations in the book were colorful and really opened a window into the beautiful culture. I read this book as an ebook on Epic.

[Etty Krieger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot/main story is copied from Cinderella: a poor orphan girl who needs to work home for her stepmother and stepsister, the “fairy” who is going to turn a dream into reality, a Prince in a party, the midnight`s requirement to leave the party, the jewelry/accessory left by the Princess, the marriage in the end, also the Princess` freedom. But the traditions and customs of India are specially detailed in this beautiful story. Traditional indian names, as “Cinduri”, “Lata”, “Navaratri”, as well as the beautiful jewelry (including the “third eye”), the make-up and rags used by the women in the story are peculiar features of India culture. The food, as any other culture, is an important part of the roots and culture of India: almond rice, lentils, flat-bread, curries, sweet milk delights and exotic aromas are essential in the East India. In the first half of the book, the author mentions the epidemic of cholera that killed both Cinduri`s parents (this reflects the poor areas of India and their lack of basic sanitation).
One of the meaningful aspects since the ancient India is to contemplate animals. Indian religions as Buddhism and Hinduism have animals as part of their spiritual existence. Also, some animals are sacrificed in God`s name as proof of loyalty and spiritual growth. The History of ancient India is rich in details about animals and their symbols. The book has, as one of the main characters, the serpent "Godfather", named by Cinduri. That benign snake helps Cinduri to escape from that oppressive life to a better destiny with her future husband, the Prince of Sunayagar. All the love story beggins in a night of Cinderella, in the Navaratri Festival. The Godfather Snake gives to Cinduri the opportunity to enjoy the luxurious night with nice clothes, jewelry and the snake forehead`s jewelry. The girl had the best apparel and jewelry of that night, including an anklet with diamonds and tiny bells, that she later lost, at midnight. The movements of snake were used by Cinduri to dance, and all that enchantment got the Prince of Sunayagar`s heart immediately. The story ends when the Prince and Cinduri, as a Princess, get married and got to live in a beautiful palace built by the Prince`s father for them to live. Also, the Godfather snake was taken to a lake closer to their palace, in honor to its wisdom and care for Cinduri.

Anklet for a Princess was adapted from the East Indian story "Nagami" (Jewel of the Snake), and is rich in traditions and culture of India, also with the values of Cinderella story. The illustrator, Youshan Tang, produced a beautiful watercolor description of Indian daily life and styles. I surely recommend this literature.

[Bisma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book on epic when I typed in Cinderella many different versions of the story came up! This book is about a girl named Cinduri. She has a evil step mom and step sister who are abusive towards her. She one day finds a magical snake who becomes her Godfather. He gives her anklets to wear to a festival where she meets a prince. Similar to the original Cinderella story she loses one of her anklets. Eventually the prince finds her and the rest is history. The pictures and details to this book were absolutely magical!! They seemed like they were painted with water colors but the pictures gave such beautiful details. It would be a great story to read to 3-5th grade. I think it would be a good book when they are talking about different cultures because it shows a lot of the Indian culture in the book. You could use it to compare and contrast the original Cinderella story.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this version of Cinderella, where Cinduri was blessed from the snake in the lake and became her godfather. It shows a bond between the snake and Cinduri as he helped her to achieve happiness. The part I like the most was when Cinduri wanted a large pond for her godfather to live with her and her husband, the prince. The artwork is magnificent!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really a very cute story very unique.

[Vilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three words: fairy god snake!

More books need one!

[Katie Merkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful!

[Dora · Rating 4 out of 5]

audience: intermediate grades (3-5), middle school, high school

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great version of Cinderella from India! Very familiar story, but with typical Indian dress and history. Well told version!

[Lyla · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book... Maybe I don't enjoy the story of Cinderella, but this book made me a little bit mad.

[Edward Creter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This take on Cinderella is actually from India and based on Indian storytelling traditions, so expect a special emphasis on the impoverished state of this wonderful country, particularly as that's how Cinderella starts out. A lowly maid is forced to slave for her mother and stepsister, but dreams of something more. Enter the fairy Godfather--a magical snake who shows Cindy how to move and groove, making me wonder if Indian Cindy almost invented belly dancing by way of the Serpent. She can go to the celebration at the palace of the Sabir, gorgeous dress and all, but by the first candle at midnight--well, you know the rest. She leaves behind her bad slipper, the Raja finds her, they are whisked off to Kashmir for their happily ever, the end. Sorry for the spoiler alert, but don't let this stop you from loving this retelling of the Cinderella legend. Won't cost you an arm and a leg--maybe a shoe!

[Kimberly Ehrlich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the Indian version of the Cinderella story which has its own unique elements of culture imbued into it. In this version the fairy godmother is a snake and Cinderella has a markedly different dress at the party. In this version it can be discussed as to why the dress looks so different, and research can be done by students to investigate the traditional dresses of India. In addition they can discuss why seeing a snake as a positive character has odd connotations to a western reader, and why in Indian culture the snake may be more of a positive character. Further questions include: what is an anklet? Why is the ball now a festival? What is the importance of a festival to this culture?

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Fairy tales, how many reviews can I write starting with those words? I find it so interesting that so many cultures from around the world have similar folktales. It always makes me wonder where exactly that tale originated from before it was passed from place to place by traders or refugees or dignitaries (or really anyone who traveled from one place to another).
I loved the illustrations in this book and also the songs embedded in the text. I so liked that the magical advisor wasn’t a fairy godmother but Godfather Cobra.

[Ashley Pohl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic Cinderella tale that takes place in and around the culture of India. While the theme, events, and problems, remains constant as in all Cinderella tales, the characters and setting are changed. This book provides both a culture dynamic and means for comparing/contrasting when read to children.

[Jean-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 8-yr-old said he liked this version of Cinderella better than the version we know. He especially enjoyed the fact that the fairy Godmother was replaced by a Godfather Cobra. :-) We read this story to complement our middle ages history lesson about India.

[Ebony Hargett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This retold, Indian Cinderella story uses songs in the text. I would use this story to compare the American version to the India version and how to incorporate and write songs into a story.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indian version of Cinderella; beautiful illustrations

themes: Cinderella, India, snakes

[Katie Logonauts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Indian Cinderella story is based on oral traditions dating back at least 1,000 years and features Godfather Snake as her magical adviser.

[Meltha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cinduri is ill-treated by her step-mother and step-sister, practically starving, until Godfather Snake rises from the lake and helps her. Seriously. A giant snake. Possibly a white cobra with a big ruby in its forehead. Cinduri takes this all in stride and is able to go to a festival for the goddess Durga and meet the prince, leaving behind her anklet. Take a wild guess what happens then. The young lady is very grateful and asks her new husband if her godfather can live with them, to which he answers yes. No word on just how much he freaks out when he finds out what he looks like.

[Sofia Seledkov]

Anklet For A Princess: A Cinderella Story From India by Meredith Babeaux Brucker, published in 2002.
Indian version of Cinderella. Great gateway to expose children to different cultures. #multiculturalism #diversity #cinderella #childrensbook