And I thought the Hindu finger puppets were cute. Sanjay Patel, an animation artist at Pixar, created this amazing illustrated book of Hindu mythological figures, which he self-published under the title, Little India. (One alternative, It's A Small Hindu World After All, was more trouble than it was worth, given recent Pixar's breakup with Disney.)

On his site for the book, Patel shows sketches along with some of the pantheon; with her belt made of arms and holding a severed head, smiling, cute little Kali looks like the Powerpuff Girl of Death.

The idea, Patel explains, is "to get to what's pure and timeless about Hinduism, while having fun," and "to simplify Hindu imagery to make it more accessible for young children and their parents."

So far, it turns out non-Hindus have been more interested in the book than Hindus: "They've seen this imagery to death," he says. [No offense, Shiva.]

There's no online ordering capability yet, and the initial print run is only 500 copies, so move fast. The 52 page book is $20+shipping.

Little India [ghee happy, via boingboing]
previously: Hindu Finger Puppets