“Sirish knows exactly how (a gift so rare!) to make pages tell a story in their turning.” — John Berger

Photo: Caleigh Meyer

Books & Writing

My books reflect my varied interests. Put simply, they are either about nature or culture. Every book I have written is a way to understand a glimmering piece of the world that I have felt compelled to explore. I have written books on street art and visual culture in India, collaborated with a range of artists on children’s picture books, and created a series of contemporary retellings of ancient Greek plays for the J. Paul Getty Museum. My books have been translated into twenty languages around the world, and have received a number of international awards.

Nothing gives me more pleasure than to know my books are read and enjoyed by students. My children’s books are in school libraries around the world. My books on visual culture are recommended reading for students at Yale University’s Centre for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion, and required reading for a Postgraduate Studies course on the Politics of Imagining South Asia at SOAS, among others.

  • An Ideal Boy

    Dewi Lewis Publishing. Out of Print (rarely available) Buy

  • Antigone

    J. Paul Getty Museum. Outstanding Book of the Year, IPPY Awards 2002. Buy

  • Oedipus the King

    J. Paul Getty Museum. First Prize, American Alliance of Museums Publications Design Competition 2004. Buy

  • That's How I See Things

    Tara Books. Sunday Times Best Children’s Books of the Year. Buy

  • One, Two, Tree!

    Tara Books. Book of the Month, German Academy for Youth Literature. Buy

  • In the Land of Punctuation

    Tara Books. Buy

  • The Old Animals Forest Band

    Tara Books

  • The 9 Emotions of Indian Cinema Hoardings

    Tara Books. Buy

  • In the Dark

    Tara Books. White Raven’s Catalogue of World’s Best Children’s Books.

  • The Legend of the Fish

    Tara Books. Honorable Mention, IPPY Awards 2003.

  • The Circle of Fate

    Tara Books. Buy

  • Hippolytos

    J. Paul Getty Museum. Buy

  • The Bacchae

    J. Paul Getty Museum. Buy

  • Baby!

    An enjoyable compendium of vintage baby posters from India. Dewi Lewis Publishing. Buy

  • The Flight of the Mermaid

    Tara Books. Out of Print and rare.

  • Leaf Life

    Tara Books. Out of Print

  • Tree Girl

    Tara Books. Out of Print

  • Ponni the Flower Seller

    Tara Books

  • Babu the Waiter

    Tara Books. Out of Print

Newspapers, Magazines, Anthologies

  • Adelphiana Literary Magazine (Italy)

    Featuring the writing of Czesław Miłosz, Derek Walcott, Wislawa Szymborska, Gottfried Benn, Oliver Sacks, Paolo Zellini, William Langewiesche, Priya Sarukkai-Chabria, A.K. Ramanujan, Sirish Rao, Charles Simic, Natasha Radojcic, Tim Judah, Matteo Codignola. More

  • Simple Divine: The Guardian (UK)

    In India, babies are sacred, revered almost as gods. During the 1960s and 1970s, vibrant baby posters and calendars flourished as an artform that signalled both the nation's cultural ambitions and its ever-changing identity. Sirish Rao salutes the spirit of the timeless tot... Read

  • Nature/Culture: Globe and Mail (Canada)

    A reflection on the complex and necessary interweaving of nature and culture by Sirish Rao, writer, curator and community leader. Part of a series of articles commissioned by the Globe and Mail inviting thought leaders influencing debate in Western Canada. Read