Gargi Pant on Pitara Kids Network

Long bony fingers

Sun, 23 Mar 2003 17:18:47 +0000

Somu loved to read ghost stories. Every time he paid a visit to the library, he got back a teeth-chattering horror tale. It was a signal that he was getting ready to play a scary trick on his friends. He was 10 years old.

His parents had learnt to recognise the signs now. The days on which the slim boy’s cocker spaniel eyes shone brighter than ever, and his brown wavy hair seemed to have a movement of their own, they knew that he must have read a ghost tale and was hatching a plot to scare someone.

Who Invented The Pen?

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 05:01:49 +0000

The history of writing instruments with which humans have recorded and conveyed thoughts, feelings and grocery lists, is the history of civilisation itself. This is how we know about our ancestors and their lives.

The handy sharpened-stone, used for skinning and killing animals was adapted into the first writing instrument. Around 24,000 BC, the cave man started drawing pictures with the stone onto the walls of his cave dwelling. His drawings showed events in daily life such as the planting of crops or hunting victories. Walls at the Apollo site in Namibia, southwest Africa are believed to be the oldest rock paintings to date.

Why Do We Have Wrinkly Fingers After Swimming?

Sat, 26 Mar 2005 10:05:37 +0000

You’ve been playing in the pool for almost an hour now, practicing your best underwater somersaults. Now it’s time to get out, and as you look at your hands, it’s . . . it’s . . . it’s the attack of the wrinkly fingered monster!

Don’t get frightened or run for cover under your towel yet. After spending lots of time in the water, it’s totally normal for fingers (and sometimes toes) to wrinkle.

Even though you can’t see it, your skin is covered with its own special oil called sebum. Sebum is found on the outermost layer of skin. Sebum lubricates and protects your skin. It also makes your skin a bit waterproof. That’s why getting caught in the rain, hopping in the shower after a game, or washing your hands before dinner won’t leave your skin soggy. Sebum is there to keep the water out.

Guddu's Lucky Day

Mon, 13 Jan 2003 16:19:52 +0000

The sun shone through Gayatri’s window. It teased her eyelids open. She yawned, stretched and got out of bed – things she had done a thousand times before. For Gayatri, today began like any other day.

Gayatri Verma was a bright, 12-year-old girl with sparkling eyes and dimpled smile. She was an eighth grade student in a local school, forever praying to God for a new bicyle. She hated travelling in a school bus. After all she was big enough to ride the bike on busy streets. But who would make her mother understand?

Where Did Shoes Come From?

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 17:14:08 +0000

Ooh, aah, ouch! People in ancient times must have yelped like this when they walked on rough ground without any shoes on. And it was probably the pain and discomfort that propelled them to cover their feet for protection.

Footwear has a history which goes back many thousands of years, and has long been an article of prestige for people in different societies.

Where Did Shoes Come From? [Illustration by Anup Singh]

The earliest footwear, probably made of plaited grass or rawhide held to the foot with thongs was undoubtedly born of the necessity to provide some protection when moving over rough terrain in varying weather conditions.

What Is The Origin Of Silk Fabric?

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 14:43:43 +0000

My mother took out her favourite blue silk saree for the dinner party. I looked at it, mesmerised by its shimmer and lustre. The rich fabric draped around her body, making her look so very elegant. Definitely no other fabric can match the qualities of silk.

But have you ever wondered, how silk fabric came into existence? Silk production, or ‘Sericulture’ as it is known, has a long history, unknown to most of us.

What Is The Origin Of Silk Fabric?

The silken roots

How Wool Came Into Existence

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 03:50:19 +0000

It must have been a very intelligent human who looked at a sheep walking past and thought of the use its fleece might have!

Although the oldest surviving textile made out of wool is around 3,500 years old, the oldest fine woolen fabric dates to the fifth century BC (about 2,500 years ago) and was found in an ancient Greek colony.

How Wool Came Into Existence

Wool was probably the first fiber to be woven into a textile. Because when primitive man stopped hunting and started herding animals, it was his first step from a primitive life to a civilised one. Sheep were sort of a stone age convenience store for the nomadic lifestyle of our primitive ancestors, a walking food supply that required little care. Sheep provided for all the basic needs – meat and milk for food, skin and bones for clothing, shelter and tools.

Who invented Hello?

Fri, 20 Aug 2004 11:15:32 +0000

Hello, Hullo, Hallo, Hull-oo-oo-oo. You may say it softly or you may holler at the top of your voice, but the person at the other end knows that all you are trying to do is get in touch with a greeting.

Legend has it that Thomas Alva Edison was the first to say hello over the telephone. But Edison didn’t invent ‘hello’ by a long shot. As a matter of fact, the greeting has been around for centuries much before the invention of telephone in 1885.

Dress like an Egyptian

Thu, 27 Mar 2003 10:19:44 +0000

I am writing this as I am travelling in my time machine. I know how important it is to keep a diary of happenings. The machine is making strange rattling noises, because I forgot to clean its aching joints this morning. It’s an old contraption, after all. Hullo! Where am I? I thought I was visiting ancient India, but this decidely looks like a pyramid. Oops! Looks like I have reached ancient Egypt. Never mind, as they say – enjoy!

The Greek Barber

Fri, 17 Dec 2004 22:02:40 +0000

I wonder what others think of when they hear a mention of Greece. I think of the first Olympics and I think of the poison Socrates the philosopher was forced to drink. But I want to see something different today. Athens, here I come!

The Greek Barber [Illustrations by Anup Singh]

My machine says we have reached the Athens of 2005 years ago (5th century BC). I stretch myself and walk out of the machine. There is a large group of men chatting and laughing in a shop. It’s a barber’s shop! If our Indian barber shops are any indication then these barbers’ shops must be the place where men exchange the news and gossip of the day – whether it is about politics or sports, or even philosophy. Yes! My pocket guide on ancient Greece tells me it is true.

The Cookie

Mon, 29 Apr 2002 11:13:20 +0000

The dining table was loaded with goodies – cake, pastries, pies, halwa, laddoo and yes, her favourite cookies. Nina wanted to eat them all. The 10-year-old stuffed a couple of cookies in her mouth but the cookies tasted a little different. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t gulp them down.

The dream broke at that point.

Nina woke up with a start and found herself chewing on a bed sheet. She was in her dormitory bed and it was pitch dark. A grumbling stomach reminded her of how terribly hungry she was. All because of Mr. Katiyaar, the poker-faced warden of the residential school which had been her home for the last one year.

When Grandma challenged British Rule

Fri, 22 Oct 2004 12:18:40 +0000

Whenever I go to my ancestral home in Nainital, I never forget to brush my hand across an engraved name-plate and feel the name on it. The name belongs to my great grandfather who used to work for the British Empire. For his loyalty, he was rewarded with the title of ‘Rai Saheb’.

Having worked with the British for years, Rai Saheb gained in wealth and name. And everyone in the household feared him. Well, not exactly. There was one person who dared to defy him: my grandmother. She was his first-born and his favourite.

Dad and the Dog

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 21:49:55 +0000

If you happen to come across a man talking to a large, brown dog, carrying on a realtime, honest-to-god, heart-to-heart conversation, although the dog doesn’t appear to be saying very much, what would you think? Is the guy a candidate for the nut factory, has he lost what little was left of his mind, or is he just another dog owner?

If he is called Mr Joshi, and his mate on the leash is called Pluto, there goes my Pop and his most precious companion.

From Heaven To Hell

Mon, 09 Aug 2004 04:05:15 +0000

Kaz Suyeishi will never forget the quiet peace of the cloudless August morning in 1945. The 18-year-old was in the front garden of her home in Hiroshima. She was chatting with a friend, when a gleam of silver in the sky caught her attention. “It looked like an angel,” she said. “It was the most beautiful airplane. It looked like heaven and peace.”

From Heaven To Hell [Image Source: Darkness of a Thousand Suns: Causes, Complexion and Consequences of the Nuclear Arms Race, by Delhi Science Forum]

The plane was ‘Enola Gay’, dropping the world’s first atomic bomb, nicknamed ‘Little Boy’, over the Japanese city, on August 6. “That little bomb changed heaven to hell,” recalled Suyeishi. The flash of silver disappeared, replaced by a white spot in the blue sky. The sky changed to gray. Then red. Then black. The next thing Suyeishi remembers is regaining consciousness under a mound of wreckage that had been her neighbour’s house. She is above 70.

Some Animal Fathers are Great Dads too!

Sat, 19 Jan 2002 11:33:51 +0000

Most animals never even see their parents. Many never meet their fathers and some do not meet their mothers either. Some insects, fish, amphibians and reptiles hatch from fertilised eggs and face life on their own. And those animals who are raised by parents, are often reared by their mothers. But we found that there are some animal fathers who are great dads too.

Catfish: A male sea catfish keeps the eggs of his young in his mouth until they are ready to hatch. He does not eat during this period, which may go several weeks.

Why do we Get Hiccups?

Fri, 25 Aug 2000 04:04:30 +0000

Hic! You’ve just hiccuped for what seems like the tenth time since you finished your big dinner. Wonder where these funny noises are coming from? The part to blame is your diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of your chest, and all hiccups start here.

The diaphragm almost always works perfectly. It pulls down when you inhale to help pull air into the lungs, and it pushes up when you exhale to help push air out of the lungs.

Roman Holiday

Thu, 28 Oct 2004 02:59:37 +0000

Suitcase – checked. Diary – checked. I am writing my last lines before I take off in the time machine. Time machine – checked! This time it’s going to ancient Rome at the height of its empire. Only this morning I read somewhere that when in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you want to accompany me, sit in your seat, hold the mouse firmly, and whatever you do, don’t press the escape key on your keyboard.

Why Father's Day

Sat, 22 May 2004 05:02:43 +0000

Father’s Day, contrary to what many people believe, was not established in order to help greeting card manufacturers sell more cards. It began in the US about a 100 years ago when cards were not as common as they are now.

It was started by Sonara Louise Smart Dodd who lived in Spokane, Washington, in 1909.

Her father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was an outstanding dad. He had raised six children singehandedly after their mother died during childbirth. And Dodd felt that there should be a special day to honour her remarkable father as there was one to honour mothers.

The Language of a Cat

Tue, 13 Jan 2004 12:33:50 +0000

The poet Carl Sandburg wrote, “The fog comes in on little cat feet.” So do a large number of our words and expressions. Let’s think of the cats that run and leap and pounce and slink and purr and meow through the English language.

There are a number of explanations for the phrase, “it’s raining cats and dogs”? Cats and dogs were closely associated with the rain and wind in the western mythology. Dogs were often pictured as the attendants of Odin, the storm god, and cats were believed to cause rain.

A Battle Well Fought

Thu, 06 May 2004 12:28:34 +0000

June 2: In the war against AIDS, they don’t come any tougher than Xolani Nkosi, better known as Nkosi Johnson since his adoption by a white family. In his short life, he had become one of South Africa’s youngest and boldest campaigners fighting for the rights of AIDS affected people to be accepted by society.

At 5:40 am on June 1, he finally lost the battle. Now, there’s nothing more the doctors can do for him. The virus had damaged his brain, making him unable to speak or eat.

Making Friends and keeping them

Fri, 05 May 2000 23:47:54 +0000

Making Friends and keeping them []

Coping With Friends
Written by Peter Corey
Illustrations by Martin Brown
Published by Scholastic India Pvt. Ltd.

You must have often wondered if only you had known how to handle that bossy friend of yours in school, you wouldn’t have to run away from her every time you met. Well, blame it on the fact that you didn’t have a ‘how-to’ book on coping with friends all this while. Today you can, however, be wiser by referring to Coping With Friends. You’ll love this book for its hilarious sense of humour and outrageous fun.

Sand Flower Vase

Wed, 27 Mar 2002 20:34:01 +0000

Have you ever seen an empty glass bottle lying in one corner of the kitchen or store room? It makes you feel like giving it a new life. Make it a flower vase and then see it take its place proudly in the house as a precious object.

The things you need:

An empty glass bottle
Sand or pebbles
Glue
Poster colours
Brushes

Step 1: Stick the pebbles on the bottle with glue or cover the entire surface with sand, depending on the kind of look and feel you want. Let it dry.

Girl Power

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 17:29:12 +0000

August 26: The world is changing fast. A decade ago, no one would have thought about boys wanting to step into a girl’s shoes. But now, this is happening. According to a report in The Times Of India, girl power rules. A survey by the Hyderabad-based market research company, NFO-MBL India, says that 42 per cent boys marvel at the thought of being a girl. The boys in question are between 15 and 19 years of age and they belong to the five cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai.

Do You Know What You are Eating?

Fri, 03 Dec 2004 13:24:09 +0000

June 5: When you think of a cold drink, you think of its sweet taste, the fizz, and the sparkling bubbles under your nose. But not for a moment do you imagine animal parts being mixed in it.

And yet that is what seems to be happening, says a report in The Hindu newspaper. The use of animal ingredients in ‘vegetarian’ food products is more common than you can ever dream of.

According to the report, an organisation called the Animal Welfare Board of India has brought out a list of vegetarian food products containing disguised animal supplements. What’s more, these ingredients are undeclared by the manufacturers.

Granny's Girl

Wed, 08 Mar 2000 12:34:45 +0000

Granny’s Girl []

Neena’s Granny

Written by Vinita Krishna
Illustrations by Sujasha Dasgupta
Published by Scholastic India Pvt. Ltd.

Some grannies are funny, some grannies are loving, but Neena’s granny is her best friend. While the little girl thrives on Granny’s lunchtime surprises and stories and snuggles up to her in the night, Granny looks forward to her darling’s return from school and waits to hear her amusing tales.

Take Me Back

Tue, 27 Jan 2004 21:30:11 +0000

July 6: A clueless girl stands outside her school building, looking lost among the swirling mass of uniformed school students. She is not allowed to wear the school uniform, ususally sits in the last row without a partner, her notebooks go unchecked and her name does not appear in the attendance register.

Meet six-year-old Ekta, who is being punished for something her father, Sunil Mistry, did. He had questioned the fee structure of the school and called it illegal.

Precious Boats

Mon, 05 Jul 2004 02:43:19 +0000

July 27: Grooms in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district are singing a different tune these days. They are no more asking for jewels or hard cash. No, they haven’t given up on the dowry. Instead they are demanding for something more practical and useful, a wooden boat. Along with it comes the demand for a bride who can swim, says a report in Hindustan Times.

The reason for this lies in the floods that hit this area last year and the people are not taking chances anymore. “Life after all, is more precious than gold, silver or a few thousand rupees,” says a resident of Murshidabad, in the news report. “Though we hope there are no floods like last year’s, the boats can always be used for fishing.”

Places That Care

Wed, 11 Aug 2004 17:11:31 +0000

How many of us have ever given even a fleeting thought to the inconvenience faced by disabled people in the public spaces in our country?

How many of us have seen them shopping or visiting theatres, cinema halls or places of worship, leave alone historical monuments?
Perhaps, none.

For the ‘differently abled’, it is not just disability that makes life tough but our own insensitive and smug attitude coupled with a pathetic support structure that deems it fit to label people with disabilities as ‘handicapped’ rather than help them lead lives on their own.

It's Hi Harry, Bye Hardy Boys

Sun, 01 Aug 2004 00:00:11 +0000

August 1: On July 31, as an army of children and adults got ready to “celebrate” Harry Potter’s birthday, there was a young fictional heroine waiting to share the limelight with him. Her name? Lyra Belacqua, a girl with extraordinary powers, unusual friends, and living an orphaned life as well. Lyra Belacqua is the name of the latest craze unleashed by writer David Pullman among young book readers in the US.

The verdict is clear; Harry Potter and Lyra Belacqua are here to stay. Gone are the days when the clean and well-scrubbed Hardy boys, Nancy Drew, the Famous Five and The Secret Seven ruled over young readers’ hearts and cupboards.

Reaching the Top of the World

Sat, 23 Oct 2004 08:08:47 +0000

May 23: Looks can be deceptive. At 16, Temba Tsheri Sherpa looks like any ordinary schoolboy from Kathmandu. But look closely. He is the youngest person to scale the world’s highest peak – the 8,848-metre-high Mount Everest, The Telegraph newspaper reported.

Reaching the Top of the World [Illustration by Anup Singh]

By climbing the peak 16 days after his 16th birthday, on May 22, he broke the record set by another Nepali climber, Shambu Tamang, in 1973, at the age of 17.

Flooded by disaster

Sun, 03 Oct 2004 13:27:43 +0000

July 31: Monsoon in Orissa has meant only one thing in the recent past: floods. It’s no different this year. Floods have left 85 lakh people in over 15,000 villages homeless. The official death toll: 80. And one lakh hectare of crops have been submerged.

About 5,000 kilometres of roadways, 500 kilometres of the national highways, and piped water supply sources to 61 towns have been submerged, causing widespread chaos and distress. As happens in such situations, water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, malaria and jaundice have affected more than 15,500 people, says a report in

They Don't Listen To Us

Thu, 28 Oct 2004 13:25:43 +0000

June 8: We have all heard of adults doling out that fearful thing called a report card to children year after year to remark on their academic performance. But as the school year comes to a close in the US, the Uhlich Teen Report Card, released in Chicago, is bound to raise many eyebrows. Here adults don’t give grades, they get graded by teenagers on their ability to handle issues affecting the youngsters, says a report in the Hindustan Times.

Egg Carton Flowers

Mon, 16 Dec 2002 01:26:44 +0000

There are times when you want to give a special gift to a friend or family member and want them to know that you took a great deal of trouble to make it yourself. On days when you feel like that why not try making flowers that always bring a smile to the sternest of faces! How’s this for a great brainwave – flowers made of egg cartons…

Egg Carton Flowers [Illustrations by Shinod AP]

The things you need:

The Frog Prince

Thu, 25 Apr 2002 14:29:12 +0000

This frog may not be a prince, but he is certainly charming! So be ready to be wooed by this jumpimg jack’s charm.

The Frog Prince [Illustrations by Shinod AP]

The things you need:

Paper plate
Green and black paint
Brush
Scissors
Red felt paper
Green and white chart paper
Glue

Step 1: Paint the paper plate green. When it’s thoroughly dry, fold the plate in half.

Let's Tango

Sun, 07 Jan 2001 07:12:41 +0000

If you are interested in making music, why not start by making a music instrument from things easily available at home?

The things you need:

An empty toothpaste pack
Three rubber bands
A sheet of coloured paper
Glue
A blade or paper cutter

Let’s Tango [Illustrations by Anup Singh]

Step 1: Cover the entire pack with a coloured paper. Use glue to stick the paper.

Step 2: Draw a rectangle of 1 inch x 2 inches on the upper side of the pack. The rectangle should be in the middle of the pack.

Tin Can Lantern

Wed, 06 Feb 2002 19:50:46 +0000

Are you bored of having dinner under the same electric lights? Here is something to light up your family meal time.

Tin Can Lantern [Illustrations by Shinod AP]

The things you need:

An empty soft drink can or a tin
A hammer
A few nails
A 15-inch long wire

Step 1: On the outside part of a can, draw any pattern that you like.

Step 2: With the nail tips, hammer holes of various sizes, according to the pattern that you have drawn. Be sure to make two holes near the top, on opposite sides, for stringing a handle.

Your Own Bus

Sat, 14 Apr 2001 04:14:25 +0000

Shiny vehicles on a shop shelf are inviting, but how about making a shiny red bus, much like the ones you see on the roads. What’s more, you can give a new life to things that are being readied for the dustbin at this very instant!

The things you need:

Empty juice carton
Felt paper (any colour of your choice)
Black marker pen or pen
Four bottle caps
Glue
Thermacol

Your Own Bus [Illustrations by Anup Singh]

Step 1: Paint the four bottle caps to make the wheels for your bus.

Sock Doll

Tue, 26 Mar 2002 14:43:53 +0000

Line up a few of these dolls on a windowsill or mantel, and you’re guaranteed to spread cheer to family and guests alike.

Sock Doll [Illustrations by Shinod AP]

The things you need:

Cotton socks
Pieces of foam
A few rubber bands
Red and black paint
Scissors

Step 1: Fill a cotton sock three quarters of the way with the foam pieces. Secure it by tying a rubber band at the end of the filling.

The Green Family

Thu, 11 Oct 2001 03:32:07 +0000

The Green Family [Illustrations by Shinod AP]

Want to have a family of your own? A green family? All it takes is a little water and sunshine to entice this green family to spread its roots!

The things you need:

Empty containers of different sizes
Wheat seeds
Soil
Water
Poster colours
Brush

Step 1: Fill three-fourths of all the containers with garden soil.

Step 2: Spread a handful of wheat seeds on the soil. Cover the seeds with another layer of soil.

Shake a Shaker

Fri, 23 Mar 2001 21:38:52 +0000

Do you want to belt out a song, but need an instrument that will keep the rhythm and add to the effect? Why don’t you try making a ‘shaker’ that will do the trick?

Just remember, you will be making a valuable addition to the range of percussion instruments that are used for their rhythm and the texture of their sound – like the maraca (a rattle like instrument in the shape of a gourd, that contains dried seeds, pebbles or lead shots).

Glove Puppets!

Tue, 22 May 2001 08:25:48 +0000

Take out those old socks that have been lying in your cupboard. With these puppets you can actually hold a puppet show for your friends and family.

The things you need:

Old sock
A needle and thread
Poster colours
Brush
Red coloured paper

Step 1: Put your hand inside the sock, take hold of a part of

Glove Puppets! [Illustrations by Anup Singh]

the front of the sock and pull it in. While still holding the front
part, turn the sock completely inside out.