Kidzone

Short story: Fragmented Souls

Lakshmi Narayan Once upon a time, a happy rajkumari (princess) and her charmingly in-love prince, fleeing from the elements while out on a picnic, chanced upon a rundown haveli and took refuge there. Unknown to them, it was haunted by the spirit of an unhappy woman who’d been cheated in love and tormented by her lover to the extent that she killed herself in dejection. Trapped for aeons in this lonely condition, she swore revenge on all lovers, “What I couldn’t have, I won’t let others have,” she swore. So, in many horrible ways, she wreaked havoc on the hapless duo who had dared step into her domain. Till one day, through a quirk of fate, our rajkumari stood face-to-face with the vengeful ghost. An altercation of “Why’re you doing this to me?” and “Why shouldn’t I?” ping-ponged between the two. At the end of this slanging match, the princess discovered, to her dismay, that the malignant spook was none other than she herself from a previous birth! Both the princess and the phantom fell deep into thought, wondering how a soul could be caught in its own coils, one half bitter and sad, the other, free and cheerful. Till the Maker intervened and explained that even when a soul is trapped in a limbo, unable to free itself because of its unfulfilled desires, the parent soul continues on its onward journey towards the Light. Then a day dawns, when the trapped soul is able to un-shackle itself from its worldly yearnings, and merge with the parent soul. And that’s what is called nirvana. A soul splinters and regroups through several avatars, till the final transmigration, when it becomes one with the Source. (Excerpted from Fables from Beyond, Authors Upront, 2020) Journalist, author and animal activist Lakshmi Narayan is a former assistant editor of Femina and former editor of Eve’s Weekly & Flair

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Getting a pet for the family

– Cynthia John Have your kids been pleading for a pet? Here is how a pet can help your family, and how you can get prepared for the responsibility of keeping one. Here are some joys a pet can give your family: • Give unconditional, undying love to each member. • Give a warm welcome when you get home. • Provide fun and companionship when others aren’t around. • Boost self-confidence by making everyone feel special. • Build responsibility. Some considerations before bringing a pet home: • Who will be the primary caretaker of the pet? • Who will be responsible for training, litter clearance and other care-taking? • In the absence of that person, who will discharge these responsibilities? • What type of pet would you like to adopt? • How much time, money and effort will be involved in caring for your pet? • Do you have room enough for your pet? • If you go on a vacation, what arrangement will you need to make? • Is the family ready for these responsibilities? Do some research to find out about the habits and needs of the kind of pet you want to adopt. Discuss the responsibilities and decide if your family is ready for it. If you think they aren’t, consider easier options such as fish, which don’t require as much time or care as a cat or a dog. Though dogs, cats and fish are common pets, there are other pet options which aren’t common. Visit a pet shop and check out the options. Just be sure your family is prepared before you adopt your pet. Visit a farm Urban life seldom provides opportunities to experience domesticated animals. Visiting a farm could be just the thing for your family. There are farmhouses in tourist locations which allow visitors to get firsthand experience of life on a farm. Visitors get a chance to see goats, pigs, chickens and other animals being fed, cleaned and cared for. Your children may even get a chance to feed some of them. You can also watch the daily duties involved in caring for herbs and crops being grown. The people at the farm will give you the hospitality of a home, while sharing the intricacies of farm life with you. So, make a farmhouse visit to get a glimpse of a life very different from life in the city. Also read: Death of a pet profoundly impacts children

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Conserving Mother Earth

Nikhil Jayadevan As deliberated extensively at the recently concluded COP 26 global climate summit held in Glassgow, planet Earth is experiencing global warming and climate change, which has prompted unnatural weather conditions, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Here are some simple ways in which children can learn about conserving Mother Earth and natural resources: The water worksheet The Water Worksheet identifies ‘water wasters’ and turns them into ‘water savers’. On a chart paper, draw two columns and label them Water Waster and Water Saver. Team up with friends and go on rounds of the neighbourhood to observe how water is being used. For example: Is the driver using a hose pipe to wash his car? Does your building’s water tank overflow often? List these two under the column, Water Waster. Next brainstorm with your friends about how water can be saved in each situation. For example: the driver can use a bucket of water instead of a hose pipe to wash his car. To prevent the overhead water tank from overflowing, a sensor can be installed to automatically turn off the motor. Write down the best ways to conserve water under the Water Saver column. Eco-cushions Turn polythene bags into soft cushions. This is a great eco-friendly way of conserving Mother Earth by getting rid of plastic bags without despoiling the soil and environment. Snip plastic bags into tiny bits. Stuff the pieces into a cushion cover. Zip it up or stitch the opening shut so that no plastic pieces escape. Paint an eco-slogan on it or embroider a pretty pattern. Ideas for an environment campaign against overuse of plastic bags Plastic bags, except biodegradable ones, almost never decay. Over 1 billion tonnes of plastic is generated annually with most of it landing in the ocean resulting in 100,000 sea animals dying every year choking on plastic waste. So, the more plastic we keep away from trash cans, the better for the environment. Here are some ideas to start a local community campaign against plastics usage: Groups of friends can pledge not to throw plastic bags in the trash bin Organise an eco-cushions making party. Donate the eco-cushions to an orphanage or old people’s home. Or sell to friends and family and use proceeds to support environment causes. Carpooling Bonding with neighbours by car pooling can cut fuel consumption by half and reduce air pollution. Whether it is grocery shopping or visiting public parks, there are sure to be neighbours who do similar things, visit similar places. Make a list of places your family visits every week. Match the travel pattern with a neighbouring family. A little effort is needed to match schedules, but it is possible by making a Family Travel Schedule. Draw three columns on a sheet of paper, label them ‘Name of family member’, ‘Where they go’, ‘When.’ Fill in the columns for each family member. Calculate the number of trips which can be cut down by clubbing activities. Get together with neighbours and match timings…

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Discovering Warli art

Sabrina Rajan The Warli are an indigenous tribe living in the hilly and coastal terrains of the Gujarat-Maharashtra border. Their art tradition stretches back to 2,000-5,000 BCE. Modern day artistes and designers have begun discovering Warli art and using their art forms involving a set of geometric shapes — a circle, triangle, and square — to paint and decorate contemporary objects such as lampshades, sarees and ceramic pots. Simple and beautiful, Warli art captures details of the social life of village folk, and was usually painted on walls of homes and other buildings. Warli art basics A few geometric patterns such as a circle, triangle and square are repeated over and over again. Two triangles joined together at their tips form people. Stick hands and legs are added. Triangles are used for mountains and trees. The circle often represents the sun or moon. Squares denote land and/or sacred places. Materials Traditionally, white pigments were used to paint on earthen or terracotta walls. The white pigments were made from a mixture of rice paste, water and gum. A chewed bamboo stick at one end was used as a paintbrush. Warli art was used to pass on folklore to the next generation. It often shows human figures in action — people hunting, farming or dancing. History Warli art was discovered in the 1970s in Maharashtra but dates back to as early as 3,000 B.C. It is named after the Warli tribe, the largest tribal population in Maharashtra. Colours Traditionally, natural colours were used for the background, and figures were in white. The colours used were henna, indigo, ochre, black, mud and brick red. Warli art today It is still used to paint eye-catching scenes on walls. In addition, poster colours can be used on handmade paper of different colours. A dark coloured handmade sheet (red, black, dark green) can be chosen, and a scene can be painted in white. Alternately, black painted on white or off-white handmade paper also looks great. Warli art forms are also visible on sarees, churidars, coasters, lampshades, pots and doors. Also read: The Importance of Art Appreciation

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Go creative with haiku

Annie Besant Jon

Fat and green I am,

Hop and skip on land and water

Have you heard my croak?

Yep, it’s a frog! This simple riddle is in the form of haiku, unique short-form Japanese poetry. Haiku traditionally consists of three short lines that don’t rhyme, with themes centred on nature.

With the monotony of online classes […]

The J.K. Rowling story

Anitha Bennett “All I ever wanted was for somebody to publish Harry so I could go to bookshops and see it.” — J.K.Rowling Reportedly richer than the queen of England, J.K. Rowling — author of the best-selling Harry Potter fantasy series which have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide — has a remarkable rags-to-riches personal story to tell of her transformation from a single mother living on £70 a week on welfare into one of the world’s most famous and wealthiest woman authors with a net worth of £820 million (Rs.8,420 crore). Rowling was born on July 31, 1965 in Chipping Sodury, UK. From early age, she nurtured an ambition to become a writer, although little came of her early literary efforts. Rowling finished school and was encouraged by her parents to study French at the University of Exeter. She wanted to choose English, but complied with her parents’ wishes who felt that French would be “more useful” to her. After a year in Paris, Rowling graduated from Exeter and took various jobs in London. It was in 1990, that Rowling first conceived the idea of Harry Potter. “When I was traveling back to London by myself on a crowded train, the idea for Harry Potter simply fell into my head. To my immense frustration, I didn’t have a functioning pen with me, and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one. I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain. The scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn’t know he was a wizard became more and more real to me. I think that perhaps if I had to slow down the ideas so that I could capture them on paper I might have stifled some of them. I began to write Philosopher’s Stone that very evening!” she recalls. But her book took a backseat in the December of 1990 when Rowling lost her mother to multiple sclerosis. She felt the loss deeply and mourned her for several days. In 1991, Rowling left England to become an English teacher in Portugal. It was here that she met her first husband, and together they had a daughter Jessica. However, after a couple of years, the couple split and Rowling was on her own again. She returned to England in 1994, to continue her first book. She was working full time, raising her daughter as a single parent and trying to finish her first book. Eventually, she finished her first manuscript of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, and sent it to several literary agents who typically rejected it. Then out of the blue, she got a message from Bloomsbury editor Barry Cunningham that the publishing house had decided to print her book and pay her an advance of £1,500 (Rs.1.5 lakh). His eight-year-old daughter had “loved the book’s first chapter”. Within a few weeks of publication in 1996, sales took off. Then, Scholastic, an American company agreed…

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Create a glowing deep sea scene

The underwater world is a treasure house of flora and fauna. Hundreds of corals, fish and other creatures of various sizes, shapes and hues inhabit this last unexplored frontier. Here is a way to replicate the wonder of the deep sea by making a glowing underwater night scene.

Things you need

Cardboard box
Scissors/paper cutter
Serial lights
Clay in […]

Island & Resort

Once there was a woman who was really fed up with all folks around her. Her parents, for instance. Every time they came to stay, her mother would whinge about her sisters, her neighbours, her grocer. “My neighbour stole my mangoes,” and “Your sisters think I’m their ayah,” “My grocer cheats me,” and so on.

Her […]

Short Story: The Spelling Bee

Dhanya Parthasarathy

Screams and laughter carried a long way from a coach of a train bound from Bhopal to Chennai. Twin sisters, Ashwina and Avasha, aged 12, and their cousins Prashant and Arjun, were playing Spelling Bee. Nobody took much notice of Arjun’s four-year-old brother, Rachit. The boys didn’t want a tiny tot in their team. […]

Heart to Heart

Hey, Guys!
Do you love crossword puzzles? Rhymes? Songs? Greeting cards? What do all of them have in common? Words, of course! Though we use words day in and day out, they are never uninteresting. That’s because they communicate all types of thoughts, ideas and feelings, and they always give us food for thought. […]

Day for other

Big Dreams

When you hear about successful businesses, do you wonder how they succeeded? Many businesses begin with simple people with big dreams, and loads of energy and enthusiasm.
The Subway Restaurants chain was started by a person who needed money to fund his college education. Seventeen-year Fred DeLuca started selling submarine sandwiches for this, supported […]

Do it now!

Wind chimes

Cynthia John

Make your own wind-chimes to create some gentle music and remind you to celebrate each day.

Material required
Cardboard
Colourful magazine paper
Fevicol
Compass (to make holes)
Coins
Paints, twine, glitter

Preparation guide
1. Draw an attractive picture on a piece of cardboard and cut it out. Paint it on both sides.
2. Draw some […]

Short Story

True Friendship

Lakshmi Narayan

She was born, not very pretty. She was born, not very smart. She was born, not very tactful. In other words, she was an awkward child, who grew up to be an awkward adult.

Even her parents found her an embarrassment. Her so-called friends bitched behind her back. She felt betrayed and alone.

One Saturday […]

Fun Facts

1 Apples, not caffeine, are more effectual at waking you up in the morning.

2 No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven times.

3 A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.

4 Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep your eyes from watering.

5 Bats always turn left when exiting a […]

DIY: Colourful Pom-Poms

Materials

2 balls of wool (different colours)
Craft glue
A pair of scissors
1 key ring
2 cardboard pieces (3-inch and 2-inch)

Take a ball of wool and wrap it loosely around the 3-inch cardboard piece. Repeat for the second ball of wool with the 2-inch cardboard piece.
Hold the wool firmly and remove from the cardboard piece, being careful to […]

A new hobby for the pandemic: Clouds Watching

Clouds watching is incrementally becoming an enjoyable hobby for children and adults during the current pandemic era. Is it a dog? Is it a rabbit? Is it a king sitting on his throne, or a monkey eating an apple? It offers tired eyes a therapeutic break from reading printed material and/ or staring at digital […]

Puzzle Box

Javed got a pack of ten pencils for his sister. He took one for himself and made it look different so that he would know which was his. Can you identify which one is his?

Answer: The topmost pink pencil

Moms ’n Dads

Here are four suggestions that can help moms and dads to encourage effective learning in […]

Short Story – Bored brother

Bored brother

Dhanya Parthasarathy

Recently Prakash had started hearing a lot about a ‘board’ exam. What’s that? he wondered, Was it a ‘bored’ exam where children and teachers yawned all the time? Or was it a test with questions on blackboards?

“No, silly. It’s just another exam, but a very important one,” explained his brother, Anand, who […]

Heart to heart

Hey, Guys!

Studies. Online classes. Exams. Do they make you groan? Or do you enjoy what you learn and take tests in your stride with a chilled-out attitude?

Whether your school allows you to participate in fun-learning activities or tries to make you cram, it’s your attitude that will make learning an enjoyable experience.

For instance roller skating […]

Do it now!

A Pocket Pinwheel
Anitha Bennett

Do equations scare you? Are your numeral tables jumbled all the time? What about complicated physics formulae? For all the things that confuse you, here’s a smart pocket pinwheel reminder that you can make in a jiffy to enable you to tackle those ‘forget-tables’!

Things needed

Split-pin brass paper fastener
Sheets of thick chart […]

Find the secret message

Letters of the alphabet are hiding in these words to write a secret message for you. To discover the message, find out which letter is speaking and write it beside the sentence.
I am in ice-cream but not in scream ______

I am in fun and also in painting ______

I am in drawing and in dreams […]

Are you a good team Player?

Nikhil Jayadevan

The ability to work in teams is an important skill for success in school, college, workplace and life. Are you a good team player? Or are you better working on your own? Take this survey to find out!

Do you go out of your way to understand and collaborate with your teammates?

A: Yes. I find […]

Puppet shows to pep up the vacation!

Summer holidays are here! Though the huge surge in Covid-19 cases has forced families to cancel travel plans, summer holidays are a time of relaxation and leisure and children look forward to engaging in nonroutine enjoyable off-screen activities. An innovative summer activity is for children to hand-make puppets, and stage puppet shows for family and […]

Puzzle box

There are some familiar things that give you a tinge of nostalgia when you get back to school. Find ten of them in the grid below.

Moms’n Dads

Here are a few ideas to make school-going fun for a holiday-weary child.

1. Buy a gift and surprise your child on the morning of the first day of school […]

Short Story

Curing the show-off

Nisha Daniel

“I’m sick and tired of Vijay’s boasting, ” Sundar complained.

Ramani closed her book and looked up. “So am I. He’s always boasting about his wonderful holidays abroad or how his parents can afford bathroom fittings that cost the earth.”

“Waste of money, if you ask me. I’m sure I could put that money […]

Do it now!

Get expressive with a display board

Anitha Bennett

It’s school time again, with lists and pamphlets and reminders that clutter your space. Nothing is handier than a personalised bulletin board to put it all up.

You will need:

Corrugated cardboard/ Thick cardboard
Fabric
Thick chart paper
Broad satin ribbon for the border
Decorative stuff

How to do it:

1. Cut a piece of corrugated cardboard […]

Heart to heart

Hey Young Uns!

It’s school time again and time to catch up with friends and get back to the academic routine.

While summer holidays are fun, schooldays also offer — especially after the long pandemic shut down — excitement.

As you begin the new academic year, think of some ideas to charge you up, so that you could […]

Quiz space

1. The first artificial outer space satellite, Sputnik 1 was in the shape of a beach ball and weighed 84 kilograms. In which country was it invented?
a. United States of America
b. Russia
c. Sweden
d. France

2. An unexpected visitor was sent into space on an experimental mission by the Russians in 1957. This […]

Zigzag roads to success

Inventors make life simpler for us with their inventions, but the road to innovation is not smooth, it’s paved with many trials and tribulations and some quirky incidents. Here are some happenstance incidents of three famous scientists’ lives.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was the inventor of the electric light bulb and has 1,093 patents to his […]

Art for juniors

Here is a simple, yet sweet ladybug to draw. Just follow it step by step and draw a bright picture for your room!

Do it Yourself

Funky Jeans

Use your creativity to transform your staid pair of jeans into funky trousers bearing your personal style statement. Here are some great ideas to embellish your jeans:

Colourful dangler. Cut a […]

Friendships add glow to life

Anitha Bennett & Cynthia John

Bonds of friendship are special. Unfortunately because of social distancing rules and travel restrictions mandated to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s been especially hard for children and adolescents to meet with and bond with friends. But there are many who have made innovative efforts to bond with friends […]

Puzzle Box

Parvathy wants to convey a message to some of her friends. Can you find the names of her friends and the message?

Answer: Reduce, reuse, recycle. Shalini, Mohan, Sirish, Binu, Harish, Anju.

Moms’n Dads

Anitha Bennett

Here’s an activity that you can do as a family and enjoy the spirit of giving.

On special days, like birthdays, anniversaries or […]

Do it now!

Use your pen power!

Nikhil Jayadevan

When you set out to do something to make a difference — for example, to eradicate hunger — working solo or with a few friends is not enough. Sometimes it’s necessary to write letters to alert government officials, newspaper editors, local business leaders and producers of television news programmes.

Write what you […]

Short Story

A House Named ….

Lakshmi Narayan

Once met a gadabout on my travels who kept me entertained with tall stories of where he had gone and who he had met. But the oddest experience he said he had was when he lost his bearings and found himself in front of a cottage in the midst of a […]

Heart to Heart

Hey Guys!

Do you want your life to make a difference to society?

There are many ways in which we can make an impact on the lives of others. We can protect the environment, create awareness of social needs and reach out to help those in need.

The satisfaction of making a difference is inestimable. PW Kidzone gives […]

Puzzle Box – find the missing numbers

Vinod is trying to make a weekly planner to use this year. But he lost the numbers 1- 7. Can you help him find them in the picture?

What do you see below? Look beyond the word and find the hidden phrase.

Moms ’n Dads

If your New Year resolutions never seem to last, try making them together […]

Do it now!

The New Year has begun and a planner is just the thing for a great start! Make your very own planner. You will need:

A 5-section notebook
Colour pens, glitter glue, stickers, 3D colours, and satin ribbon.
Give a heading to each of the five sections. Next, enter your goals and resolutions under each head.
Set your goals for […]

Short Story – The Kitchen King

The Kitchen King

Sangeetha Narayan

It had been a regular day in school. One of our teachers asked us about our ambitions. I wonder what came over me as I foolishly expressed my secret ambition, “I want to be a chef!”

There was total silence for a minute, and then the entire class burst out laughing. I had […]

Heart to Heart

Hello Children!

PW Kidzone brings you warm New Year wishes along with a load of new ideas to begin the year with!

If you are brimming with optimism, with hopes and dreams that make you want to soar, we are right with you.

And if you are doubtful about what the year holds in store, we bring […]

Puzzle box

Look closely at the sentences below and discover some coolers hidden in between.

Angela took some board games to Minu’s house.

‘Raju ice-cream’ has three coolers hidden inside.

Answer: Gelato, ice, ice cream, juice

Moms’n Dads

Want to rustle up a dessert for the family? Doing things together is fun. Try making this Mango Treat together.

Things needed

• 3 ripe mangoes

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