Amma, Tell Me About Diwali!

Bhakti Mathur, private banker by day, mother to Shiv and

Veer (seven and five years old) and an avid delver in Indian

mythology at all other times is the creator of the ‘Amma Tell

Me’ books – a series of picture books about Indian festivals

and mythology for children in the three to nine year age

group. She wrote and self-published her first book, “Amma

Tell Me About Holi!” in 2011 and over the next 3 years, the

series has grown with books on the festival of Diwali, the

Hindu epic Ramayana and stories about the Hindu gods,

Krishna, Ganesha and Hanuman.

“The real motivation for writing the ‘Amma Tell Me’ series was

to share with my sons the fascinating stories from Indian

mythology that I had grown up with,” says Bhakti. “But, I

found that there were no resources that were simple to

understand and that captured the rich imagery of

mythological India that is such an integral part of these

stories for me. So I went ahead and started writing the stories

in a style that I think kids find fun and non-preachy and

collaborated on the illustrations to bring out the imagery

that I want my stories to convey.”

Bhakti grew-up in Delhi. She studied at Modern School Vasant

Vihar. She obtained her graduate degree in Economics and her

post graduate degree in Finance from Delhi University. She is

a CFA charter holder. She currently works for a major Swiss

Bank and lives in Hong Kong with her husband, their two sons

and their beloved golden Labrador.

Bhakti is a committed writer ambassador for Room to Read, a

global non-profit which offers holistic literacy and girls’

education programs.

An avid reader, a long-distance runner and a yoga enthusiast,

when not working or running after her boys, she is happiest

curled up with a book and a hot cup of tea.