A. V. Ilango is a Mathematics graduate and a self-taught artist who opted for a career in art. His early work used a colourful palette, recalling verdant and vibrant scenes, inspired by a childhood spent in south India's hinterland. He now lives in Chennai. Over the years, the urban milieu and the city's folks have found their way onto his canvas and in the last ten years, his compositions have turned minimalist with black and white dominating. Ilango has held several exhibitions in India and abroad. His artwork in Tulika's Who will be Ningthou? and Under the Neem Tree melds folk art and strong, abstract lines and shapes that are visually striking.
Who should get more rotis — Ookamma or Ookaiah? A folktale about a quarrelling old couple is woven into another story about the lives of children in a village, growing up, playing, going to a government school, watching adults squabble, feeling hunger, understanding friendship and, most importantly, sitting under a neem tree and listening to stories from...
The Ningthou and Leima, king and queen of Manipur, rule well over their meeyam, their people. As the years roll by, it is time to decide who will succeed to the throne. The Ningthou and Leima desire that the throne go, not to the eldest son, but to the wisest, most able child. And so they hold a competition. Who wins the bout? This folktale from Manipur...
