Himalayan Tales

FROM THE HIMALAYAS TO BLACKPOOL

Blackpool based author, Rashid Naeem, works in Mr Basrai's World Cuisines on Cookson Street. In his spare time, he writes stories for children. He has brought some delightful tales from his homeland in the Himalayas. These were stories he was told as a child. They have been passed from generation to generation and have never been written down before.

Rashid comes from a mountainous region called Gilgit-Baltistan, bordered by China, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Pakistan. The area is intensely beautiful and contains K2, the second highest mountain in the world as well as the famous Karakoram Highway, often called the eighth wonder of the world.

Rashid says, 'My parents told me lots of marvellous stories when I was a child. They are exciting and heart warming stories with talking birds and animals and the odd witch. They all end on a happy and uplifting note.'

Rashid has translated the stories from his home language and persuaded some friends to illustrate them.

Three stories have been published so far. They are:-

Sparrow -- in which a beautiful bird drops her walnut into a fire and seeks help to get it back. She finally turns to the wind (Miss Windy).

Zoro and the Witch -- where a mischievous boy is trapped by a witch, then uses his fine voice and some magic to escape.

The Proud Hen -- where Joti, the hen, has to take some painful lessons before she learns to stop being so proud.

There are many stories yet to come.
Rashid has got a website: www.himalayanstories.co.uk and a Facebook page: Himalayan Tales