A magazine of features and articles for kids focussed on the world we live in. Non fiction features for children on festivals, customs, traditions, art, craft, dance, music, culture, ways of life, history, cinema, sport, champions, rare feats, artists, education, thinkers, famous people, and much more. Also articles BY kids who write on the world around them.
264 items in this section. Displaying page 12 of 27
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong was chairman of the Communist Party of China and the principal founder of the People’s Republic of China. Along with Karl Marx and V. I. Lenin, he is regarded as one of the three great theorists of Marxian communism. Mao’s greatest achievements were the unification of China through the destruction of Nationalist power, the creation of a unified People’s Republic, and the leadership of the greatest social revolution in human history. This revolution involved collectivisation of most land and property, the destruction of the landlord class, the weakening of the urban bourgeoisie, and the elevation of the status of peasants and industrial workers....
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....
Holi – The Colour of Fun is Red, Blue, Green
Holi or the festival of colours, is celebrated with great enthusiasm in India, and by the Indian communities settled abroad. It is a time when the young and old alike, are in a mood to make merry. The most important aspect of this festival is its informal nature. Though a Hindu festival, it is played by Indians from all communities – especially in the metropolitan cities of India, where people from all over the country have come and settled....
Vladimir Ilich Lenin
Vladimir Ilich Lenin, founder of the Russian Communist party, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and first head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was also a masterly political thinker whose theories shaped Communist thought and influenced all factions of the Marxist movement. Lenin was born Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov on April 22, 1870, in the provincial city of Simbirsk on the Volga River. By all accounts, Lenin’s middle-class family was warm and loving....
Viswanathan Anand – The Lightning Kid
Whenever advertisers want a brainy sportstar to talk about their product, very often they think of one name – Viswanathan Anand. A world-class chess champion who was given the name of Lightning Kid because of the speed with which he played. But how are world class champions like Vishy born? For that, ask his mother Sushila. In 1974, when he was five, she first opened a chessboard and taught him the game. She was also his first opponent in the game....
Monsoon in Mumbai
To the people of Mumbai, the thought of rain is as natural as breathing. And they think they are always prepared for it. As the temperature drops, and there is a slight nip in the air they cannot help thinking of piping hot pakoras and garam chai or hot tea. But the visitor often drops down from the sky unexpectedly. It has the power to disrupt the lives of the people. Like it did recently....
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....
The Story of Indian Bronzes
One of the most beautiful figures in Indian sculpture is that of Lord Shiva dancing the Ananda Tandava or dance of joy, one leg raised high, his face very calm, as he destroys all life until new life is born once more. Looking at the divine dancer, we can almost hear the sound of the damru or small drum that he holds in one fist. The bronze figure of this god is often seen in museums, in homes, even at crafts bazaars....
A Harvest of Festivals
The Punjabis celebrate this festival as Baisakhi. The Assamese call this festival Bohag Bihu. In Kerala they usher in the new year with Vishu. For Tamilians it is Varasha Porupu, while Gudi Padva is important for Maharashtrians. But what are they celebrating in the first half of April? The start of a new year according to the indigenous calendar system, and the start of a new agricultural season. The harvesting is over and the old agricultural cycle has ended....
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected the 40th president of the United States on November 4, 1980. At the age of 69, he was the oldest man and the first movie star ever sworn into that office. During his two terms in office, the popular president helped raise the nation’s spirits. He also oversaw the creation of large budget and trade deficits and ultimately effected a historical truce in cold war with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics....