Childhood Experiences on Pitara Kids Network

The Wooden God

Fri, 28 Dec 2001 18:20:09 +0000

Bablu hated the ritual of prayer and fast that his family had been observing for as long as he could remember. The entire family had to wake at dawn and have a dip in the village pond, even if it was in the middle of the bitterest winter.

A chilly winter day would find a shivering Bablu trying hard not to think of the million ice-cold needles that would pierce him when he entered the pond to bathe. The very idea of the bath would of course have driven all traces of sleep from his mind. But there was no relief even after that. On his return home, he had to sit and recite shlokas or prayer for an hour without fail. And this, under the eagle eyes of his grandfather!

The Butterfly in a Bottle

Sat, 02 Nov 2002 23:43:58 +0000

Poltu was wide awake in his bed. He had had a marvellous dream in which he had won the football match in the inter-school competition. He was getting ready to receive the trophy when the alarm rang. So loudly that it jarred him awake.

But Poltu wasn’t too unhappy at the intrusion. He ran straight to his study table. There, in an empty jam bottle, was the treasure. A colourful little butterfly. How difficult it had been to catch it. It had kept flying away from his grasp. But catch it he did. Without a net, too. And now it was going to be part of his biology project in school.

The Adventurer

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:50:06 +0000

I am sure all families are interesting. But I like to think that my family is especially interesting. I have such great nephews and nieces because of whom there is not a single dull moment in life.

Two-and-a-half year old Arshiya goes around asking everyone a very serious question, “Are you happy?” If you ask her to exercise, she says, “I am not Swami Ramdev”. Swami Ramdev is an expert on yoga and comes on a television channel every day. Arshiya has seen the programme with her grandparents.

Tilak and Sudhir

Fri, 19 Oct 2001 10:50:29 +0000

“Guess what, Tilak!” his mother said, a week after they had moved into their new house. “I’ve discovered that one of my old friends lives nearby and her son is your classmate at school. Isn’t that nice?”
“What’s his name?” Tilak asked.

“I think he is Sudhir,” said his mother. “Isn’t he your friend?”

Tilak shook his head. “Oh! Sudhir? That chap isn’t good at games or anything. He keeps reading some old books all the time.”

Why is Snow White?

Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:35:53 +0000

I am sure like my two kids, all of seven and three years, you too may find the cold in Delhi a bit too extreme. It is cold and clammy and some days it is foggy making it dangerous to drive. Some days I would like them to be adequately muffled up in warm winter clothing, while they feel quite comfortable running around in a sweater and shorts! But most days it was grumble, grumble, grumble!

The Not-quite Robbery

Thu, 22 Aug 1996 06:04:42 +0000

This time, the summer vacation felt longer than normal to Vamshi. Nothing exciting was happening. So many exciting things happened to children in stories but never to Vamshi. He discussed these observations with his friends Jayesh and Samir. “Other kids often get a mystery or something to solve,” he told them woefully. They all pondered in silence. Lives in stories were so exciting. “Maybe we should make things happen,” said Jayesh. “How about creating a mystery for others to solve,” said Samir, suddenly excited. “What do you mean?” asked Vamshi suspiciously. “Maybe we could rob a bank or something…,” said Samir carelessly. There was a period of silence as the idea began to sink in slowly.

A Sister for Shubya

Wed, 11 Sep 2002 20:14:41 +0000

It all began when Shubhya walked into her friend Diya’s house one evening. The Sharma household was agog with excitement. Shubhya was quite surprised to see so many people at Diya’s house. All of Diya’s aunts, uncles and various cousins were around. Even her grandparents had arrived from Jaipur.

Shubhya wondered what was up. Suddenly, Diya spotted Shubhya. “Shubhya”, she shouted excitedly, “I’ve got a baby sister! I had told you that we were going to get a baby. Now I have someone to play with all the time. Come and see her.”

Fairy Tale Country

Mon, 27 Apr 1998 09:57:59 +0000

Anjali got up. Her grandmother was still asleep. It was quite bright outside. ‘It must be eight. Why hasn’t Naani got up?’ she thought to herself. She placed her hand on her naani’s forehead. It felt warm.

“Naani,” Anjali softly whispered in her ear. Naani opened her eyes and looked around. “Oh my! You will be late child. I am sorry I should have got up earlier,” she said attempting to get up.

“Take it easy Naani,” said Anjali, placing her hand on Naani’s arm. “There is no hurry. Last night’s khichdi is there. I’ll have that and go. You take rest. I think you have fever.”

Wonder in the Sand

Mon, 08 Jun 1998 23:40:09 +0000

Adventures in the Desert
Written by Cheryl Rao
Illustrations by Ashish Sengupta
Published by National Book Trust, New Delhi

Two children from Mumbai spend a year in a small army township in the middle of the Rajasthan desert. Missing the urban sights and sounds, it takes them a while to get used to living in a place where the only excitement is a roll in the dunes. But adventure is just a sandstorm away and all too soon their stay is over.

The Boy who Lacked Sight but Had a Vision

Mon, 06 Nov 2000 01:39:35 +0000

It was like any other day in school for six-year-old George Abraham. He went to La Martinere school in Lucknow, where he lived with his aunt. The school was open to boys till the fourth standard.

That day, as usual, the teacher found that the little boy was holding the book next to his nose. She complained and George had to undergo several eye tests. The doctors found that his retina was damaged beyond repair, and said he would lose most of his eyesight.

Hungry in the land of plenty

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 03:10:33 +0000

One day I came back from school, I was hungry… I looked for a samosa but my sister had eaten it all up. I guess she was as hungry as I was. I thought for a while and asked myself, ‘do you think there is enough food?’

Now that was a bit difficult to answer. I went to my father for the answer. My father said: “Yes, Nihal, India does not have enough food. One of every five Indians goes to bed hungry. Twenty years back it was worse, almost two out of five people did not have enough food. Science has helped in reducing the number of hungry people, but we still have a long way to go.”