Kolkata, Oct 21 (IANS): Animated versions of short stories penned by Swami Vivekananda have been launched by Ramakrishna Mission Saradapitha here to celebrate the monk's 150th birth anniversary next year.

Titled "Putulder Golpo" (The Story of Puppets), the animated DVD series are now available in Bengali, with English and Hindi follow-ups on the anvil.

"We intend to make Swamiji's stories accessible to the children who are fond of animation. This is an effort to introduce them to his teachings," a senior Maharaj (monk) of Ramakrishna Mission Saradapitha, a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, told IANS Saturday.

The 90-minute DVD compilation includes four stories - "The dog's curly tail", "Each is great in his own place", "The golden mongoose" and "The three boons".

The stories were part of Swami Vivekananda's lectures across America, following his rousing speech at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.

"Swami (Vivekananda) used to narrate stories as responses to questions by his followers. They became very popular and were originally published in Karma Yoga, a part of the book series 'Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda'," the senior monk said.

Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary falls on Jan 12, 2013.