Hindi Stories for Language Learners (9780804853392)

Get to know more about Indian culture while improving your Hindi language skills!

Hindi Stories for Language Learners presents a wide variety of stories selected for language learners from the beginner to intermediate levels. The fascinating stories in this volume include:

• The Lion and the Clever Rabbit: A classic folktale telling how the lion's brute strength is overcome by a rabbit's quick wit and intelligence
• How Birbal Sold a Rope: Emperor Akbar poses a challenge to his ministers: to sell a worthless piece of rope for a hundred gold coins. Using psychology and trickery, chief advisor Birbal is able to accomplish it!
• The Festival Train: Aboard a festival train, Aanya experiences all the main festivals of India, including Diwali, Nowroz, Eid, and Christmas
• Chai, Curries and the Culture of Hospitality: Takes readers on a tour of Indian cuisine from chai and curry to street food and fusion pizza, exploring how hospitality is a hallmark of Indian culture
• From Bollywood, with Love: An introduction to the world's most prolific film industry and its sweeping influence on global music, fashion, and dance
• And many other fascinating stories about Indian culture and history!

Each story is accompanied by a vocabulary list, cultural notes, and comprehension and writing exercises to help language learners. The stories increase in length and complexity as the book progresses, and free audio recordings in both Hindi and English are available online.

Perfect for anyone who wants to learn about Indian culture while improving their Hindi language skills!


About the Author:
Dr. Sonia Sharma is a distinguished Hindi language educator, scholar, author and pioneer of Hindi language education in the United States. With over 20 years of university-level teaching experience, she has taught Hindi as a second and foreign language at Stanford, Columbia, UC Berkeley and the Defense Language Institute. Throughout her career, she has worked with diverse learners, including professionals interested in India and Indian-American students seeking to reconnect with their linguistic and cultural heritage. Through her Dr. Sonia Sharma Academy she continues to bridge cultural and linguistic divides, empowering learners and building meaningful connections.

Santosh Sharma has taught Hindi language courses for over 40 years in India and in New York City. A dedicated and passionate educator, she holds two Master's degrees, one in Education specializing in Bilingual Education, and one in Hindi literature. Deeply rooted in the richness of Hindi language and literary traditions, Sharma is exceptionally well read in classical and modern Hindi literature. Nominated for the Big Apple Award for Teacher Excellence in New York City, her years of teaching have inspired generations of students across cultures and continents.