Meet the Characters

The official wiki of Maya’s Storybooks by Ujwol Shrestha — a brave little girl, her loyal puppy, and the wise grandmother whose stories become real adventures, all set in the hills of Nepal.

Maya

Main character

Age

About 6 years old

Home

A hill village in Nepal, with her Grandmother

Outfit

Rose-pink kurta with white embroidery, white shalwar, pink sandals, two black braids with red ribbons

First appearance

The Dog Who Wore Marigolds (Book 1)

Personality

Kind, generous, brave, curious

Who is Maya? Maya is a six-year-old girl who lives with her Grandmother in a little village between the hills and the sky in Nepal. She loves festival week most of all — the marigolds, the lights, the music — and she has the biggest, kindest heart in the village.

When Maya finds a scruffy stray puppy with no garland on Kukur Tihar, the day of dogs, she doesn't hesitate: she gives him her own brightest marigold garland, the one she spent all morning stringing. That is Maya in one moment — whatever she has, she shares.

Signature moments

Strings the brightest marigold garland in the village — then gives it to a stray puppy (Book 1)
Breaks her temple garland in two to share with a baby monkey (Book 2)
Climbs the 365 steps to Swayambhunath with Grandmother every spring (Book 2)
Follows Grandmother's bedtime tales into real adventures, from Chitwan's jungle to Lumbini's gardens (Books 3–5)

Did you know? Maya's two black braids with red ribbons never change — her outfit is exactly the same in every book, so young readers can always spot her.

Moti

Maya's puppy

Species

Dog (puppy)

Name meaning

"Pearl" in Nepali

Home

With Maya and Grandmother

First appearance

The Dog Who Wore Marigolds (Book 1)

Trademarks

Barks at everything; tail goes thump-thump-thump

Who is Moti? Before he was Moti, he was a scruffy stray with dusty paws and ears too big for his head, watching the marigold sellers with hungry eyes on Kukur Tihar. He had no collar, no garland, and no one waiting for him — until Maya set down a bowl of warm rice, laid her marigold garland beside it, and sat very, very still.

She slipped the marigolds over his head, pressed a red tika on his forehead, and he followed her home. They named him Moti, which means pearl in Nepali — because he was the treasure they didn't know they were looking for.

Signature moments

Eats the bowl of warm rice, then noses the marigold garland with eyes like melted chocolate (Book 1)
Wears the brightest marigold garland in the whole village every Kukur Tihar after (Book 1)
Sniffs every single one of the 365 steps to Swayambhunath (Book 2)
Barks one last important bark, as if every rescue had been his idea (Book 2)

Did you know? Kukur Tihar is a real festival in Nepal — part of Tihar, the festival of lights — when dogs are honored with marigold garlands and red tika to thank them for their loyalty.

Grandmother

Maya's grandmother & guardian

Role

Maya's grandmother; they live together

Home

The hill village, with Maya (and Moti)

First appearance

The Dog Who Wore Marigolds (Book 1)

Known for

Butter lamps, bedtime tales, gentle wisdom

Sayings

"The right neck will find you." · "The Buddha loves a generous heart most of all."

Who is Grandmother? Grandmother is the warm heart of Maya's world. She and Maya live together in the hill village, and her bedtime tales have a habit of becoming Maya's real adventures — a story about a magical jungle becomes a journey to Chitwan; a spring pilgrimage becomes a monkey chase up 365 temple steps.

She never rushes and never scolds. When Maya worried whose neck would wear her garland, Grandmother simply smiled: "The right neck will find you." And it did. She lights the butter lamps, tells the stories, and lets Maya's kind heart lead the way.

Signature moments

"The right neck will find you." — and the stray puppy appears (Book 1)
Lights a butter lamp at Swayambhunath as Maya makes her offering (Book 2)
"The Buddha loves a generous heart most of all." — after Maya shares her garland (Book 2)
Tells the bedtime tale of the magical jungle, then takes Maya to see it herself (Book 3)

Did you know? In the books she is always simply "Grandmother" — she needs no other name. Every spring she climbs all 365 steps to Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple above Kathmandu, with Maya and Moti.

The world of Maya

The stories are set in Nepal — hill villages strung with marigolds, the Monkey Temple's 365 steps, the jungles of Chitwan, the clay diyo lamps of Bhaktapur, and the peaceful gardens of Lumbini. Every book is rooted in a real festival or place, with a note for parents at the back.

Hill village in Nepal Tihar, the festival of lights Swayambhunath, the Monkey Temple Chitwan's jungle