156 items in this section. Displaying page 11 of 16
Peru's Barefoot Librarians
Twelve year-old Leonardo Herrera had never seen a book in his life although he knew how to read. He and his friends used to carve letters and numbers on cactus leaves after seeing their teacher do the same on small blackboards. He belongs to poor peasant family in Bambamarca in Peru. His family grows maize and potatoes in a place which is 12,000 feet above sea-level. But Leonardo wanted to see what a book looks like....
Why do we Celebrate April Fool's Day?
Breaking news: Linus Torvalds, (a competitor of Microsoft) has decided to join hands with Microsoft! Alien spacecraft lands at Siberia. Scientists are rushing from across the world to investigate it! What is your reaction on reading these statements? Disbelief? Taken aback? Yes, this is exactly what people may want you to do on this day — take you for a ride! It is April First or Fool’s Day! Most people are fooled when they hear some such unsuspecting news!...
The Best Storyteller in the World
Bajai,” as we called grandmother, was the best storyteller in the world. Her tales of jewelled ladies and brave warriors, of civilisations that ended due to famine, floods, war or volcanic eruptions, filled our young lives with fantasy. Nestling in the foothills of Mussoorie is a tiny village called Johri Gaun (Johri village) where we spent part of our summer and winter vacations every year. They were fun-filled days of sun-kissed air and raucous laughter, when we cousins met and had a great time....
Celebrity Camera
When man took the first steps on the moon, a camera captured the moment forever. Today those pictures are a part of history. And so is the camera that was used to shoot them. The Hasselblad camera. Celebrity Camera The first space photographs were taken with Hasselblad cameras. One Hasselblad is still orbiting around the earth. It was dropped by an astronaut while on a space walk. Do you know that a few Hasselblads are also lying on the moon?...
The World's Hottest Chili
Do you like your chilies hot? For the spiciest, tongue-burning experience yet, head for Assam – that’s where the hottest chilies are grown. For years, Mexico’s ‘Red Savina Habanero’ was believed to be the hottest chili in the world. But now a chili grown in Tezpur, Assam, in northeastern India, is being touted as the hottest chili ever. And coming from a state, which is better known for its tea than its chilies, this discovery has caused quite a stir....
Help Save Our Home
Raju Kher has just passed his Madhyamik or class X exams. He is very happy for having scored a first division and achieving ‘distinctions’ in four subjects. A student achieves a ‘distinction’ by scoring at least 75 marks in a subject. But Raju’s distinctions are even more remarkable because he has nothing much to go by. He lives in a Home for the destitute – a home for the homeless and the poor. So there have been no tuitions for Raju, no energy foods to improve his brainpower during exam times, and no parents either to shower all the attention that an achiever usually gets....
Letter from a Daughter to a Mother
Twelve-year-old Soumya thinks that mothers can make difficult things simple. In this letter to her mother, she tells us why she feels so. Dearest mother, you are the loveliest person in the whole world. You do anything and everything for me. Now this reminds me of the day when I had a fight with my friends. This happened when I was 10 years old. My friends and I were playing basketball when one of them teased another....
The Emperor who Hated Schooling
Emperors too were children once. Even Mughal emperor Akbar, who has been given the title of Akbar the Great. He was more interested in bunking lessons rather than learn from his tutor. Being his own master from a young age, one day he decided that he did not want to study. He made the highest minister in his father Humayun’s court tell his teacher that it was to be an off day! Later in life, he went out of his way to tell people that he was illiterate....
A Salty Life
It is one of the most common scenes in Bollywood films. There has been a jewel robbery in the house of a rich man. He comes walking down a long staircase and asks all the servants to gather. Then his eyes fall on the oldest servant. The servant falls on his knees and says Sarkar aapka namak khaaya hai (My lord, I have eaten your salt). Remember the dreaded dacoit Gabbar Singh in Sholay, one of the biggest hits in the history of Bollywood, released in 1977?...
The Kite-Maker
The night was pitch dark. A street lamp shone dimly, creating pools of shadows along a tiny lane in Bareilly city. Sitting beneath the light was Imran. His nimble fingers were busy pasting thin sheets of coloured paper. He was making a kite. Even though he could barely see, he didn’t fumble in his work. He could make these kites blindfolded now. At 10, he was an old hand at the craft, having started making kites when he was just six years old – the kites that Bareilly, in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is so well known for....