The villagers of the Sundarban are extremely poor. Poverty, however, is not the biggest of their worries. Human settlements border the marshy forests of the Sundarban. The swamps are home to poisonous snakes and man-eating tigers on land and crocodiles in water. Often, the villagers cross creeks, canals, and rivers to move into the villages Read more…

We were going up the Siruvani hills in the Nilgiri mountain range. Set against the blue horizon, the rugged hills looked quite beautiful. The plants, trees and bamboo groves gave the Hills a unique greenery. We had embarked on the adventure early in the morning. It had been several hours since we had been trudging Read more…

Ajay had been promoted from grade seven to eight. He was, after all, a bright student. However, he had a secret fear gnawing at him. It was practical science. He had begun to loathe this class, simply because he was allergic to the human skeleton kept in the biology laboratory. Ajay loved science as a Read more…

Preeti, Santosh, and Ashok at their great grandpa’s place for the summer break. Great Grandpa was, after all, the kids’ favorite. He was gazing at a portrait on the wall. The man in the portrait was his father. Santosh and Ashok walked in just then. They sat around Great Grandpa as he began speaking. ’76 Read more…

Mother shook me gently. ‘Get up, Raju! It’s Ganesh Chaturthi today. We must go to the temple.’ ‘Oh! So, you’re going to make modaks, aren’t you, Mom? I love them!’ Even at twelve, I still loved Ganesh Chaturthi. Mom smiled. ‘Yes, yes. I’ll make plenty of them. You can eat as many as you want. Read more…

I went to bed late one night, Only to be awakened by a faint light, I looked out through my window, And saw a spaceship land low, I was gently lifted in the air, I know not where, Until I landed on a world all new, Believe me, it was all so true. ‘Greetings, earthling!’ Read more…

Rahul and John were close friends. In fact, they were next-door neighbors. One morning, Rahul sat in the garden, intently peering over something. ‘John, see what I got!’ said Rahul. John, who had been waiting for his friend’s call, crawled through the gap in the hedge. He looked at the tiny silver globules lying in Read more…

It was a moonless night when a crowd of villagers in Jasinapur sat under the shade of a huge banyan tree. This was their usual meeting spot, a place where they chatted their idle hours away. Gusts of wind often shook the nearby trees. Only the rustling of leaves and the animated conversations amongst the Read more…

Babulal was the biggest bully in school. He was in grade ten, but even eleventh and twelfth-grade boys feared him. He swaggered about, pushing others aside, and sneered at them when they protested. Every morning when Babulal arrived at school, everyone tried to keep out of his way. If anyone strayed into his path, Babulal Read more…

Mahima Miss put on her stylish glasses and turned to the class. The children in VI A gazed back at her. ‘Today, we will write a letter,’ announced Mahima Miss. ‘To whom?’ inquired Ganesh, who sat on the last bench. ‘”To whom” is incorrect English,’ said Aarti. ‘It should be “to who”.’ ‘To which to Read more…