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Waiting for the Rain
I hope it rains at least today,” Velu thought, as he opened his eyes. Velu was a farmer. The sun was beginning to rise, glowing crimson like fire. Velu scanned the sky. There was not a cloud. “It doesn’t look encouraging,” he muttered to himself and got up. Rain or no rain, a farmer wakes up early. Velu worked hard. His piece of land never failed him. Season after season he cultivated it, harvesting jowar one season and dal the next....
How the Dragon Came to be
Long ago, there lived in China a young boy called Chi Yu. Chi Yu lived with his mother in a tiny house at the edge of the village. There were beautiful green meadows all around and tall hills. Every year after the rains, the fields looked greener and more beautiful than ever before. Each morning as the sun peeped into his window, Chi Yu jumped out of bed. He ran to the fields to cut the fresh grass that had grown at night....
The Plastic Menace
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai city a few months ago, the worst rains in decades. The downpour literally brought the city to a standstill. And all because of discarded plastic bags. Plastic bags or polythene bags are essentially made of petro-chemicals. These bags are very thin and in a strong wind can fly away from garbage bins and land on drains and rain-water channels. The bags then clog the drains as they do not let water to flow through....
How the First House was Built
A long time ago, humans were only as tall as hens and rabbits. These tiny “humans”, if you can call them that, lived under trees. Living in trees was not very nice. During rains they got wet. In summers they sweated madly, and in winter they almost froze into ice. Life was tough. How the First House was Built [Illustrations by Sudheer Nath] So they started living in burrows, just the way rabbits do....
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....
Puppets on a String Dance Again
Vishnudas Bhave’s puppets had to go through a long ordeal before they finally got to the right place and in the hands of the right people. It was not just a long journey but a tough one too. This story dates back to the year 1843, when the father of Marathi theatre, Vishnudas Bhave created his puppets, in Maharashtra’s Sangli district. They were not ordinary wooden puppets. They were so life-like that it seemed they would talk to you any moment....
Welcome Rains?
April 21: A few days ago, Delhi residents were pleasantly surprised when the sweltering April sky suddenly darkened with clouds and it began to rain heavily. A freak shower, they thought, since it hardly ever rains in Delhi in April. But, surprise, surprise… the rains occurred the next day, too. And the day after. The unseasonal showers have transformed the weather marvellously. It hasn’t happened in Delhi alone. Most of northern India, from Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, have been hit by the rains....
Life inside a Public Transport Vehicle
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....
Wet behind the ears: Mumbai floods again
Where: Mumbai, India June 25, 2007: A kid of five would tell you that it rains in June. Especially in Mumbai, which being on the coast, takes a soak before the rains make their way to inland cities like Delhi. Yet, year after year, with unfailing precision, Mumbai goes under water. Knee deep water, with floating trash, stinking dead rodents and million toxic bacteria. This year, it has been no different. The Indian Express reports that five persons were killed, subways got flooded, trains were running late (or not at all), trees were uprooted and roads were under three feet of water....
Robbing the Rich for Rain
July 8: Life becomes difficult when it does not rain. Farmers try all sorts of things to make the rain gods happy. Some get frogs married, others perform ‘pujas’ or worship. But, the Bhil tribals of Mewar, Rajasthan, are different. They plunder or rob the houses of traders, most of whom happen to be Jains, says a report in ‘The Indian Express’ newspaper. The Bhils believe that the traders keep the monsoon clouds trapped inside their lockers....
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