Village Life on Pitara Kids Network

Shaikh Chilli

Tue, 16 May 2000 20:16:03 +0000

Long, long ago, there lived a simpleton whose name was Shaikh Chilli. Because of his stupid but innocent actions, he was popular among his friends. They enjoyed his company.

One day, the village zamindar (landlord) sent for him. This landlord was well-known for his dishonesty. He asked Shaikh Chilli to count all the houses in the village. He promised to pay him at the rate of twenty paisa per house.

Poor Shaikh Chilli worked hard for many hours, walking through the streets and lanes. By evening, he had given the total number of houses to the zamindar and received payment.

It All Began with Drip Drip

Sun, 28 Mar 1999 20:45:12 +0000

A tiger was caught in a storm, he had wandered into the fields looking for something to eat. He huddled close to the wall of Naini’s hut for shelter. Naini was an ill-tempered old woman who lived on the outskirts of the village. She was feeling especially ill-tempered that day, because her roof leaked badly.

“This drip-drip!” she muttered, pushing her tin trunks and bed from place to place to keep them dry. “Is there no escape?” She slammed the bed against a trunk, picked up a small wooden box and shoved it against the wall. The wall shook.

Double it up!

Wed, 02 Oct 2002 06:37:23 +0000

Raju and Savitri lived in Tanjore in the state of Tamil Nadu. Raju worked in the rice fields of a local landlord or zamindar for six months a year. In turn, he received four sacks of rice as salary. He would then sell three of them in the local market and keep one sack for himself for food.

At the local market he would exchange the rice for vegetables, flour, and groceries. Savitri would do the cooking and washing and look after the home.

The Rich Man's Vessels

Tue, 22 Aug 2000 05:58:37 +0000

Once upon a time there lived a rich man in a village in Kerala. His house was full of vessels of all sizes – some as small as a bird, others big enough to seat a child. Whenever there was a ceremony in any household, the villagers would borrow his utensils. After the function, they would return the whole lot of vessels to the rich man.

Then one day, a strange thing happened. A villager who had borrowed some utensils, returned a couple more than he had borrowed. The rich man was perplexed. He scratched his head.

Kaku and Lal Hawa

Thu, 25 Apr 2002 04:38:01 +0000

Kaku lived in a small village called Chhoti Dadi. The small village had a small school. Everyday Kaku had to walk from his little hut at one end of the village to the primary school near the village well. On his way to school, he passed through green paddy fields, the village lake and the old Ram Lila ground. All his friends, be it dreamy Jhunjhunu, colorful Pinaki or talkative Tachi, did not like walking to school.

The Story of Appu

Fri, 24 Jan 1997 03:31:18 +0000

There was a small village called Pearl Island. But neither were pearls collected in the village nor was it an island. Perhaps the village was named so because it was far away and isolated and difficult to reach. The nearest town was miles away – a two-mile trek to Gudem, an overnight boat journey to Palem, an hour’s horse-cart ride to Gortipadu, and then three hours by bus. By rail, the journey from the city was four hundred miles long.

The Clever Dog

Thu, 26 Feb 1998 00:44:01 +0000

Bandita Nath is a sixth class student of Delhi Public School. She loves to draw and write.

Once upon a time, there was a rich moneylender in a village. His name was Seth Karam Chand. One day, a kind and a generous man named Sunder Singh came to Seth Karam Chand to take a loan. He took five hundred rupees loam from Seth Karam Chand.

The Clever Dog [Illustration by Anup Singh]

After a few months, Seth Karam Chand came to Sunder Singh’s house to colelct his debt. But poor Sunder Singh couldn’t pay back his debt.

How to Bell a Thief

Thu, 29 Nov 2001 08:30:23 +0000

Sonapur was a small village. It was famous for its little temple. The temple had no deity. All it had was the imprint of a pair of feet. According to folklore, these were of a pious sage. A diya burned brightly, night and day. Seven beautiful bells hung in the little temple, gleaming brightly in the light cast by the diya.

The villagers of Sonapur were content and happy. Their fields yielded abundant crops. Earnings were enough to meet the needs of each family.

Excerpts from Ek-kori’s Dream

Tue, 18 Dec 2001 09:43:36 +0000

Ek-kori’s Dream
By Mahasveta Devi; Translated by Lila Majumdar; Illustrations by Judhajit Sengupta, Published by National Book Trust, India

There was no other way but to take cover as early as possible. The village school would open as soon as it was light and Aunt would certainly send him to school today.
The mango tree was outside the house, a huge fajli mango tree. Ekkori’s grandmother used to plant good mango saplings year after year, but Grandfather uprooted them all. Aunt grieved over it to this day. “Oh dear, dear!” she would say sadly, “no one shouts in the house now-a-days! Mother and Father quarrelled all day long and the whole house echoed with it!”

The Mango Charm

Fri, 28 Aug 1998 16:32:41 +0000

A wandering youth once met Bholu, an illiterate villager, who knew how to perform a miracle. Everyday Bholu would go into the forest, stand under a mango tree and utter a charm. The tree would immediately become heavy with fruit. The next moment the mangoes would ripen and then they would fall to the ground. Bholu would collect them, eat some and distribute the rest among his neighbours who were poor.

Keshav the youth fell at Bholu’s feet, even though the latter belonged to a lower caste, and begged him to teach him the charm. The man reluctantly agreed but warned him, “You must never use the charm to satisfy your greed. Moreover, the charm will only work as long as you do not tell a lie.”

Honey, what about it?

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 14:59:55 +0000

Where: the eastern state of Orissa,India

July 19: Banjipali village stands on a hill surrounded by forest. It is a very small village, with about 150 people. They are mostly poor tribals from the Binjhal community. For years they have suffered from a water shortage and from the fact that it is very easy for the world to forget about small villages tucked away in some forest. So they decided to take matters in their hands and came up with a very sweet idea.

The Mail Carrier

Mon, 19 Nov 2001 08:19:27 +0000

August 5: Karrappan walks through dark forests and lively villages, covering more than 20 km on foot everyday. And he carries a heavy bag on his head.

Karrappan is a mail carrier. He works with the postal department of Pulpully, a small, remote village in Kerala. He has been working there for 40 years now.

Karrappan is a most unusual employee. Take his appearance, for instance. Karrappan wears only a dhoti. And nothing else. The dhoti may be just a long piece of cloth which Indian men wear, tied around their waist, but it is probably the most suitable attire when you have a gruelling walk ahead of you, under the glaring sun.

Duped Again

Wed, 01 May 2002 10:40:56 +0000

October 21: There are two Indias – the India of the powerful, privileged classes and the India of the masses. The powerful have good jobs and enviable lifestyles while the masses are precariously perched on the brink of survival. A large proportion of the masses lives in villages, which, as Mahatma Gandhi said long ago, is where the real India lives. Ill-fed, ill-clothed and ill-educated.

Time and again, this real India finds itself being taken for a ride. Last week we wrote about the villagers in Maharashtra who were promised jobs by the state government 25 years ago, and are still waiting.

The Flower Girls of the Mountains

Sat, 15 Jul 2000 22:16:24 +0000

I was back in my village after a long time. Tall pines and Deodars greeted me as I walked uphill, on the twisty ‘kuccha-pukka’ road. It is a small village, tucked away in the lower ranges of the Garhwal Himalayas, in northern Indian state of Uttaranchal. As my house came into view, my thrill knew no bounds. I was glad to be back.

It was a week-long family ‘puja’ that had brought the whole family together at the village. I met all the cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents who had come from different corners of the country, where they now live.

Villagers go Online

Mon, 20 May 2002 22:03:52 +0000

October 28: The internet is quietly transforming the lives of over 20,000 people in six villages around the South Indian state of Pondicherry. Whether it’s sugarcane farmers in Kizhur village using the net to consult an entomologist ( one who fights bugs ) online, to save their crops from being ravaged by bugs, or a farm-worker making incense sticks under a government-sponsored scheme about which she found out on the net, the internet has become crucial to the lives of all the villagers.