February 7, 2025

The Coward and the Sword by Jugal Hansraj

Jugal Hansraj’s book The Coward and the Sword is a beautiful story of a Prince who is in all means unfit to become the future king if one takes bravery, courage as the epitome of being a leader. Can an actor be a good writer? Jugal Hansraj, the Bollywood actor, surely scores high on this scale as a writer for children.

Actor-Author- Jugal Hansraj

The book firstly doesn’t feel like the typical Indian stories that you get to read by an Indian author. The reason it is all the more surprising is that you don’t really expect an actor to write a story imaginatively for children. However bursting many myths, Jugal’s book strikes a chord with the readers. Like a well-etched imaginative story, the story delves into the life of a young Prince –Kadis, the sixteen-year-old heir to the Kingdom. He is neither brave nor courageous and is timid and most importantly not at all skilled in war.

‘A Sword is useless in the hands of a Coward’

Life takes a new turn with two friends coming in his life as he is sent on a mission to stop an impending war and even cherish his virtues of being someone who embraces peace. But can he really overcome his fear, make his father proud who always felt the Prince required to shed his timid nature and accept bravery as his second skin? Can he bring peace when there could be a war with other kingdoms?

Photograph by Mums and Stories from the book The Coward and the Sword

The book published by HarperCollins Children’s books is a must-read for children above the age of ten. Also the beige coloured pages and artistically done illustrations add to the charm and taking the reader to a world of fairy tale imaginative world.

Mums and Stories gives the book 4.5 on 5 and is a must-read recommendation.

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