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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
This book centres on an Australian boy, Kamal, whose father is from the northern Indian village of Amroha. The family go to Amroha on holidays and Kamal learns about a number of traditions and traditional tales. The family goes to a dargah (graveyard) to offer sweets and prayers. This particular dargah is infested with scorpions but they do not sting. Kamal tells his friends back home the tale of The Scorpion Garden which explains why this is so. Another story in the book, Moharram, describes a procession in which Kamal participated to commemorate the death of Mohammed's grandson Hussain in a battle long ago. Kamal was very happy to take part in the parade even if he was exhausted by the end of the day.
Notes
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Contains numerous photographs (black-and-white and colour), all of which were taken by Jane Naqvi.
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has an Asian setting.
Contents
* Contents derived from the
Clifton Hill,
Fitzroy - Collingwood area,
Melbourne - North,
Melbourne,
Victoria,:Hodja
, 1987 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
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Kamal,
single work
biography
children's
(p. 5-7)Kamal is a Hobart schoolboy. He discusses his life in Hobart, and his time spent living in India, where his father originally came from.
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Do You Know What a Scorpion Is?,
single work
biography
children's
(p. 12-16)Kamal explains how he held a scorpion but was not stung when at a dargah ('graveyard of saints') in Northern India.
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The Scorpion Garden,
single work
biography
children's
(p. 12-16)Kamal describes a period in Indian history when two holy men both wanted to be the only holy man in town. One put a curse on the other.
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Moharram,
single work
biography
children's
myth/legend
(p. 17-28)Kamal participates in a religious procession and festival called Moharram. To explain its significance, he tells the story of Husain, a grandson of the prophet Mohammed who lived in Mecca 1400 years earlier and was persecuted by a wicked king called Yezid.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Last amended 22 Feb 2012 15:52:54
Settings:
-
cIndia,cSouth Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
- Hobart, Southeast Tasmania, Tasmania,
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