Trains on Pitara Kids Network

My Trip to Nainital

Mon, 25 May 1998 23:16:50 +0000

Satyanshu Mohan is student St. Joseph’s Intermediate College at Allahabad and is studying in class four. Here he recounts his trip to Nainital with his family.

Nainital is a beautiful hill station in Himalayas. My father is very fond of Nainital. This year we went just after Deepawali to Nainital on a short trip. There is no direct suitable connection by train to Nainital from Allahabad so we first went to Rampur and then from there we took a train to Kathgodam.

The Exotic Peacock

Mon, 04 Sep 2000 18:58:57 +0000

Come monsoons, and we immediately think about the beautiful peacock, dancing in the rain, with its luscious tail spread out behind it. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful birds in the world and a native of the Indian sub-continent, it is not surprising that the Peacock was anointed as the national bird of India in 1963.

The Exotic Peacock [Illustrations by Neelima Bhushan]

Hailing from the pheasant family, these exotic birds are cherished for their colourful plumes and eggs. The peacocks, more appropriately called peafowls, (peacock refers to the male) are found in lowland forests and hills usually in small groups consisting of one male and several females.

A Train Adventure of Wild Animals

Fri, 30 Mar 2001 02:06:40 +0000

An empty goods train was speeding through a jungle. Up front, in the engine, was the driver and at the back, in the last compartment, was the guard. Apart from them, the entire train was empty.

A goods train carries goods. Like logs of wood, or boxes of chocolate – ummm, even cars and jeeps. But this train had been carrying coal. It had brought coal from a mine in Dhanbad in Bihar for a thermal power station in Delhi called “Badarpur”. After unloading all the coal in Delhi, the empty train was going back, to get more coal.

Why Does Time Start in Greenwich?

Tue, 09 Oct 2001 04:38:38 +0000

Its six in the morning and the sun is streaming through the window of your home in Delhi. In New York, people are just packing up to go home as it is six in the evening!

Nothing amazing about it. We know that the earth is round and that it revolves once in 24 hours. So while it is daytime in the east, it is still night in the west.

But for ages, people measured time based on the position of the sun – it was noon when the sun was highest in the sky.

Who Invented Traffic Lights?

Tue, 29 May 2001 01:06:14 +0000

Long before roads needed traffic lights, railways were using a system of signals to control train traffic. In the early railways, a single track was used for both up-going and down-going trains, and safety depended on spacing the arrival and departure of trains according to time intervals.

These signals consisted of a ball and something that looked like a kite. When the kite was raised on top it indicated danger while if the ball was raised, it indicated the all clear.

The Gifts

Mon, 02 Sep 2002 23:05:14 +0000

Seema and Reema were highly excited. Their uncle was coming today, from Mumbai. It wasn’t the actual arrival that excited them, it was the thought of the gifts he would bring for them. There would certainly be gifts, of that they were sure. No self respecting uncle would arrive at a brother’s house without gifts for his eight year old and nine year old nieces. But there was nothing they could do but wait.

So they waited. Their father had gone to the station to pick him up. They awaited his return eagerly. The train was expected to arrive at 10:00 p.m. But it was well past 11 now and there was no sign of their father’s return. They called up the station (again), only to be informed (again) that the train was delayed. Their patience wore thin. They were very cross with Indian Railways. Then suddenly in the depths of their despair they heard the honk of a car. It was their car! They had come! He had arrived at last!

Tea At The Dhaba

Sun, 25 Feb 2001 11:05:19 +0000

This story is from the book The Adventures of Rusty. Rusty is a 12-year-old boy and as you read on, you might think that he is very much a part of you! The book has two sections, and Tea at tha Dhaba is one of the stories of the second section called “Running Away”.

Running away from school! It is not to be recommended to everyone. Parents and teachers would disapprove. Or would they, deep down in their hearts? Everyone has wanted to run away, at some time in his life if not from a bad school or an unhappy home, then from something equally unpleasant. Running away seems to be in the best traditions. Huck Finn did it. So did Master Copperfield and Oliver Twist. So did Kim. Various enterprising young men have run away to sea. Most great men have run away from school at some stage in their lives; and if they haven’t, then perhaps it is something they should have done.

What does a Train Whistle tell us about the Universe?

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 15:33:03 +0000

I remember my first visit to the railway station as a child of five. The excitement of the approaching train was an experience I have never quite forgotten. At first I heard a train whistle far away, low and distant. As the train got closer, the sound of the whistle not only increased, it became shriller, and difficult to bear. So much so that I covered my ears in alarm!

Once the excitement had passed, I discovered a secret – even with my eyes closed and by just hearing the whistle, I could tell whether a train was approaching or moving away.

Far from Potty about Harry Potter

Wed, 15 Dec 1999 04:12:01 +0000

Harry Potter Series
Written by J.K. Rowling
Published by Scholastic Books (US) and Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)

Two weeks ago, we had carried a book review by 11-year-old Sujit Thomas on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. In his view, the Harry Potter series is far superior to Enid Blyton, or even Roald Dahl.

But there are opinions and opinions on Harry Potter. We present the views of 10-year-old Moen Sen, a student of Loreto Convent, Delhi, in an attempt to see why some books become more popular and what makes them tick.

A Train Journey beyond Childhood

Fri, 08 Nov 2002 18:35:39 +0000

The year was 1938, and the fear of war was looming before Europe. Hitler’s Nazi Germany was becoming more and more arrogant, with its fearful philosophy of the superiority of their (Aryan) race and the inferiority of the impure Jewish race, which made them less than human.

That year holds the key to one of the most tragic and unknown events of the Second World War era. For, in 1938, 10,000 German-Jewish children bade a final farewell to their parents before being sent off to foster homes in England. The intention was to save them from the wrath of Hitler’s regime.

Life inside a Public Transport Vehicle

Tue, 14 Jan 2003 06:02:34 +0000

It’s interesting how people make use of the time they spend in travelling from home to office and back, in Indian cities like Delhi and Mumbai – especially if they happen to travel by public transport.

In buses and trains, packed tight as sardines, people manage to catch a few extra winks and even manage to reach the snoring stage. Or in one deft stroke they spread out a newspaper over multiple knees and arms to read the latest cricket score, the latest share to crash in the market, or the latest case of a politician caught taking a bribe.

Bullet Train for India

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:00:37 +0000

Where: New Delhi, India

January 19, 2009 : Mr. Lalu Prasad and his team of railway officials took a ride on one of Japan’s bullet trains, which covers the 515 kilometres between Tokyo and Kyoto in two hours and 20 minutes. Back home, the minister announced, “The day is not far off when the bullet train will run in the country.” The railway ministry is appointing international consultants to plan the project. France and Germany have expressed an interest in the project in addition to Japan.

A Children's park in the Train

Wed, 28 Aug 2002 13:25:38 +0000

October 14: First chocolates and now mobile playgrounds! Children have two reasons to thank the Swiss. The latest bit of good news is that the Swiss railways have started trains which have a special children’s corner. And no prizes for guessing that the theme of this playground is dinosaurs. The Indian Express.

Children boarding trains on the Basel-Zurich-Chur route and the St. Galen-Zurich-Berne-Interlaken line have found that riding the train can be a most enjoyable experience, reports ‘The Indian Express’. No more pestering mothers to take a round on the train that would send them flying into someone’s lap, or buying unending supplies of candy, or reading a much thumbed comic for the fiftieth time to avoid looking out at a boring scenery.

On the tracks of a hero

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 07:25:34 +0000

Where: Delhi, India

April 17, 2007: He does not look like Superman or Shaktimaan from any angle. Nor does he look like Batman or Spiderman. But 57-year-old Mahender Singh is a super hero in real life.

In December 2006, he stood on a railway track to stop a train speeding towards him. It was the only way to stop the train from going over the broken railway track and having a terrible accident. By doing this Singh saved the lives of thousands of people travelling on the train.

Historic Station Soon to be History

Wed, 09 Oct 2002 05:14:16 +0000

November 24: A historic railway station, that once linked the Indian city of Jammu, with Sialkot in Pakistan, is soon going to be demolished. A Kala Kendra Complex or centre to preserve art and culture will be established in its place.

The catch is that the Jammu & Kashmir government, that ordered the demolition, itself does not know what exactly it is going to preserve in the art centre. But that clearly does not seem to bother it. The more important job is to tear down the old station, never mind if it is over 100 years old and has a rich legacy, reports the ‘Indian Express’ in an article covering this issue.

Woman who Terrifies Burma's Military

Thu, 04 Apr 2002 12:04:25 +0000

Woman who Terrifies Burma’s Military []

September 23: Two days ago, commuters at the railway station in Myanmar or Burma’s capital city Yangon (earlier spelt Rangoon), were confronted with a scary sight. A posse of policemen in riot gear, was swarming all over the station.

No, it wasn’t a dreaded terrorist attack that they were guarding against. They were preventing a frail 55 year-old woman from boarding the five pm train to Mandalay, according to reports in ‘The Hindu’ and ‘The Indian Express’.

The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

Fri, 26 Jul 2002 10:53:07 +0000