Curse of the White Saari

I grew up listening to folk tales – especially scary ones – from my grandmother. As a child, I loved stories about khyas, gurumapa and kichkannis. I still do. However, I recently realized that the knowledge of and appreciation for these stories has slowly diminished over the years. I also discovered that children today have neither heard Nepali folk tales nor read them in books. If this trend continues, it won’t be too long before people forget them altogether. Through this project, I wanted to dive into the world of Nepali horror folklore and pick out a story to share with the young generations. The objective of my illustrated book is to not only be an exciting and enjoyable read but also make the younger generations more interested and appreciative of Nepali folk tales while they learn from it. The story I have chosen for my book is also a very important part of my project. The story is a legend about a well-known king, and his not-so-well-known sins. It is about the objectification and sexual violence faced by women in the past. Unfortunately, those things are still very prevalent today. I want this story to be discussed among children. I want them to know that predators can also be dressed as prince charming. And I wish that no child grows up to be one. I have chosen to work in the horror genre because horror folktales remain largely unexplored and underappreciated in Nepali illustrated books. Also, horror is about much more than just scaring and being scared. Ghosts and demons, viewed on the surface as simple agents of mythical evil and terror, are actually symbols and manifestations of the pain and suffering of real people