Nanha Rajkumar: The Little Prince gets an Indian heart

The Little Prince, was originally written in 1943 by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

At the New Delhi World Book Fair, a beloved French classic found new life as the Indian adaptation of The Little Prince (titled Nanha Rajkumar in Hindi) into a picture book was launched on Saturday in English, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi and Hindi at Hall 05 of Bharat Mandapam.

The Little Prince, was originally written in 1943 by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and it remains one of the most translated books in the world. The author’s experiences as a pilot, his sense of wonder, and his isolation gave birth to the book.

The tale has been translated into over 600 languages and dialects worldwide over the years, including 20 Indian languages like Assamese, Bengali, and Gujarati. The universal appeal of Exupéry’s story about a young prince from a tiny asteroid imparting valuable lessons about love, grief, and what matters in life is reflected in its reach.

This new picture book edition, published by Pratham Books, represents something special. As Grégor Trumel, the director of the French Institute in India, said, “This version is more Indian and colorful and joyful while staying true to the soul of the original.” Adapted by Anushka Ravishankar and illustrated by Kuriyan Kuriyan, the book reflects values both cultures share – multilingualism, accessibility, and the belief that every child should have access to good books in their own language. The director emphasized that “innovation for us is not only about technology, it’s also about culture transformation and new ways of sharing stories.”

Bollywood icon Rishi Kapoor’s costume from the film Karz inspired the imagery.

The creative process behind both the book was challenging and thoughtful. Kuriyan faced an important question, when tasked with illustrating such a famous book : how do you reinvent an iconic character? Initially, the team considered keeping the little prince similar to Saint-Exupéry’s original drawings – blonde hair and fair skin.

But as Kuriyan explained, “We wanted to create a character that an Indian child could finally relate to.” The result is a brown-skinned prince with dark hair, wearing a costume inspired by Indian royalties and their angrakhas and, surprisingly, Bollywood icon Rishi Kapoor’s costume from the film Karz, with “a little heart placed on his chest.”

Ravishankar faced her own challenge in adapting the text. “I wanted to keep the profound message,” she said, “at the same time it’s also a very quirky book in many ways.”

She had to find the right balance, not to keep it too long, making it dense with words but also not to make it so short that it read like a synopsis. She also made deliberate word choices, for example in some of the earlier English translation the word “tame” had been used but she felt that there is no particular word in English that could capture the meaning it conveyed in the French version.

Kuriyan’s illustrations, painted with acrylics to achieve “deep colors” and “deep rich color,” include visual references that adults will appreciate. Kuriyan also shared that the inspiration behind the king’s character is modelled after a famous ruler from Awadh, Nawab Wajid Ali Khan.

The book is recommended for ages 8 to 10, though both creators agreed that picture books are for everyone. As Kuriyan said, it’s “for adults who are kids and kids who are adults.”

The adaptation reminds readers “not to take adults too seriously” and to retain “your childlike wonder.” As Ravishankar beautifully expressed, the book teaches that “what makes something beautiful is something that is invisible but you know is there” – a timeless message now accessible to a new generation of Indian readers.