abracadabra 2013
TRANSCRIPT
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ABRACADABRA 2013
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2013House Magazine of Reserve Bank of India Officers Quarters, BKC
Residents Welfare AssociationReserve Bank of IndiaOfficers Quarters
Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai 400 051
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Number : 8February 15, 2013
EditorDr. Dipika Das
Co-EditorMr. Deepak Mathur
Technical AssistanceMs. Sonal Parab
Ms. Prerana Katkar
Cover pageDr. Dipika Das
PublisherResidents Welfare Association
Reserve Bank of India Officers QuartersBandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East),
Mumbai 400 051
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From the Editor
Its my pleasure to bring out the eighth volume of ABRACADABRA,
the House magazine ofReserve Bank of India Officers Quarters, BKC on the
auspicious occasion of Saraswati Puja -
the goddess of knowledge, music, art
and culture.
While the entire nation awaits justice for
the brutal assault and murder of a
helpless 23 year old girl in Delhi, and
given the fact that Human Development
Index in terms of gender equality isamong the worst in our country, I felt
that the role of women may be enhanced in all the activities of our society. In
view of this, I have introduced a new section Woman in our house magazine
ABRACADABRA where health, recipes and other areas for women are
covered. In the Woman section of the magazine readers can get health tips,
recipes of delicious foods and more.
The pages of this years magazine take the readers through a number ofstories, travel experiences, poems, paintings and more which are original
contributions, mostly from the little angels of our colony.
I thank Dr. A.S. Ramasastri, CGM-in-Charge DIT for his special
contribution for the magazine, who visited our colony as a chief guest on the
Republic Day 2013. I would also like to sincerely thank his wife Dr. Gayatri
Devi,having more than 24 years of experience as an Ayurvedic consultant, whohas contributed for the Healthsection within a very short notice.
Finally, I thank all the contributors especially, the children of our colony who
came forward in spite of their busy school schedule. Happy reading!
-Dipika Das
Kav a Ha ra
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CONTENTS
A Memorable Day at BKC Colony Dr. A.S. Ramasastri 7
Short Stories and PoemsStory Writing Competition
First : Std III V Group Neeraja Das 9First : Std VI VIII Group Suchetana Mitra 11
My Journey with Keiro Smaer Saggar 13
Invisible Me Aarushi Roy 16
Our Experience in a Haunted house Anisha Nandi 18
Its Better to be Friends Shreya Sankar 20
The Nature Neeraja Das 20
The New Year Dr. Dipika Das 21DrawingsEntries from Colouring / drawing
Competition
27
Other Drawings of our Children of BKC
Colony
29
TraveloguesThe Malvan Diary Ragamya Shekhawat 30
Bhu Swarg Kashmir Rajat Mathur 33
My Road Trip to Goa Manavadiyta Rajesh 35
WomanHealth
Hair Care -Ayurveda Dr. Gayatri Devi 37
Parenting
How to be a good Mother - 8 Steps 39
CookeryDelicious Recipes Mrs. Arti Mathur 40
Bengali CuisineRosgulla and Fish Fry Dr. Dipika Das 41
Major Activities in Our Colony 43Science Fiction Vacation in Space Sarthak Kanyal 45
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A Memorable Day at BKC ColonyDr. A.S. Ramasastri
ABRACADABRA is the word used by
magicians. They do wonderful tricks andproduce great experience to the viewers
through magic. Sometimes we find magic
happening in front of us without ever seeing
the magician. Of course the world is the
result of the Greatest Magician, invisible
always.
Jan 26, 2013 was a day of magic in my life. I
was invited to be the chief guest of the
Republic Day function at the BKC colony of
RBI. I had a commitment at Hyderabad but
I could not say NO to the invitation as it is
associated with two important aspects of life.
First and foremost is the national pride and
honour. The second, equally important
aspect, is to be with RBI families.In this connection, I remember an earlier
incident in my life. I studied in a relatively
less known school in Chennai. The reason
why my parents admitted me into that
school is because it had Telugu a language
to offer. As Telugu speaking parents, they
did not want their children to miss learning
the language. I developed a great degree ofinterest in the language, thanks to my Telugu
teacher in my tenth and eleventh standards.
I owe a great deal to him for my literary
pursuit in Telugu in my later years.
The Telugu teacher later became the
principal of the school. In the year 1998,
when I was working as a faculty member in
Reserve Bank Staff College, he invited me tobe the chief guest for Republic Day function
in the school. What a feeling it was! To go to
the school where I studied, as chief guest, to
hoist the national flag and to talk to the
students. I was a student for eleven years in
that school and saw eleven such functions.
The twelfth one in the school was different.
I had the pleasure and privilege to be the
chief guest.
The scene where the principal, who was my
erstwhile teacher, walking up to me to
receive me as chief guest was unbearable.
For me a teacher is always a teacher, the
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most respectable person in my life. And
particularly so with this Telugu teacher who
instilled interest in Telugu literature in me
during my early days. The day was
memorable in my life.
2013 was a repeat of 1998. I worked in the
RBI office of BKC for several years. I went
to the colony on a few occasions to meet
friends and colleagues. I never had an
inkling that I would go to the colony to
participate in the Republic Day function as
chief guest. What an experience it was!
It was so nice to see a well organizedfunction. The best part of the function was
the show of talent by children. Children,
with all their innocence, are the fountains of
joy. Whatever they do, it is a great pleasure
to watch. I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I was
amazed the way an introduction was read
about me by one of the young girls, whose
first birthday I attended just a few years
back.
It was a fulfilling day in my life, filled with
flags, dances, songs and finally great food.
I wish the residents of the colony many such
wonderful events. I am happy to express my
thanks to all residents for giving me a
wonderful day through their house journal,ABRACADABRA.
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Story writing competition
Topic: My funniest Dream
Neeraja Das, Std-III: First - Std III to V GroupMy funniest dream was when I dreamed that
I was a frog jumping all around. I would
splash water on whoever I would see and
would make fun of them. They would reply
How silly you are, jumping all around
and splashing water on others and making
fun of them? And saying this they would
laugh and giggle. And we all would laugh. I
had a friend the tortoise and his sister.
Whenever I would get sad, they would make
me laugh. One day I met a fairy and the
fairy said - I can fulfil three of your wishes.
I asked for three wishes which were:
i) I should become a swan
ii) I wanted that I can be a talking swan
iii) I wanted that my neck would become as
long as of a giraffe
The fairy fulfilled all my wishes.
First, I went to the tall coconut trees and ate
the coconuts and invited my friends - turtle
and tortoise and gave them some coconuts.
After that, I was feeling very hot, so I went to
the nearby pool and swam there. There I
met a crocodile and he said - How foolish
you are that you are swimming in a pool
instead of flying in the cool air!
Hearing this I went to fly in the cool air.
There my long neck got stuck in the clouds.
I tried again and again but I couldnt get out
of that clouds. Then a balloon came and
stuck into my neck which made me fly in the
air, like a heavy hot air balloon.
After that, I came to a nearby village wheresome kids were playing cricket. They saw
me and (I forgot to tell you that I had golden
feathers) they threw the cricket ball at me
and it hit my golden feathers.
I got very angry and screamed at them - Are
you crazy? Cant you see that my beautiful
golden feathers are getting spoilt!
They were amazed and because they had
never seen a golden feathered talking swan,
they started making fun of me.
On the other side, my friends turtle and
tortoise were carelessly eating some fresh
and ripe peaches and plums. I was getting
frustrated with this kind of life but was still
excited to know what would happen next.
I got tired and went to a nearby farm to take
rest for some time in the horses stable.
When I woke up, I found that I was in a
cage in a girls hand. I got frightened and
began to shout - Please help me,
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somebody, anybody! However, I was in a
cage. I looked outside the window and saw
that it was raining outside. I was sad that I
could not go out of the girls house because
of two reasons- it was raining outside and I
was inside a cage which was locked.
I looked out carefully and I saw that my
friend turtle and tortoise were having fun in
the rain. I thought- how careless friends are
they!
I tried to shout to them for help but the
sound was not reaching them. Mildly
somehow, they heard my voice but, sadly,
the girl also heard it. I heard her footsteps
and quickly pretended to eat the food she
had given. She came inside the room, but
did not notice that the voice came from me.
I soon fell asleep.
When I woke up, I saw that I was with my
friends - turtle and tortoise. Soon when we
were playing in the rain, I saw the fairy again.
I asked - I am getting bored with the kind of
life and she made me frog again. I woke up
from my deep sleep when I heard my
mothers voice and found that I was just
dreaming.
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Topic: How I saved the plane from getting hijacked
Suchetana Mitra, Std VI: First - Std VI to VII Group
25th February is our flight to Kolkata.
Mother said. That is a month away, I
scowled. Before going to Kolkata, I had my
final exam taking place. Mother said that I
must get full marks in every subject so that I
could get praise from everyone and a
surprise from her too. Every time mother
promises me about a surprise gift, if I get
full marks, teacher gives such a tough paper,
that my head becomes an empty nutshell!
I am a vivid and voracious reader. I have
read detective stories like Nancy Drew,
Sherlock Holmes etc. In these stories the
detective solves a difficult mystery and
becomes a hero.
I have finally given up my hope of getting
full marks in exam, because that is nowpractically impossible. How about solving a
difficult problem like these people! Well
you must be thinking that what kind of
moron I am, thinking of being a detective is
a childs play! Well, I gave it a try anyway.
Mom, I am going out, I said. Only if you
have finished your homework, she replied
and gave me a lecture on how important it isto do well in studies. I guessed informing
her was a blunder.
The next Sunday afternoon it rained
heavily. I sneaked out with my raincoat and
my dog fluffy. Thankfully, she didnt bark
too much. I called two of my friends
Aarushi and Anisha and told them my idea.
They both laughed but finally agreed, It is
certainly worth a try, they said.
Sometime later, I found them both near
the banyan tree (our meeting place), few
yards from our building.
So how do we start, Anisha asked while
Aarushi was playing with Fluffy.
Well, I said trying to sound like a leader,
We are not professional detectives that
mysteries will walk into us, we have to
explore mysteries.
Just explore the place while hiding I
mean, dont walk out into open. All right
leader.
Fluffy no barking. I said, she seemed to
understand which was satisfying.
The three of us, sorry, the four of us (how
could I ignore Fluffy!) crept behind the
bushes to do some sleuthing.
Robert, you sure, no one around? asked a
gruffly whisper.
No one is sight till now, Boss, a meeker
voice said.
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Four pairs of eyes watched intently from
behind the bushes.
Good!, said the boss, Discussed the
highjackplan with the rest of the crew?
Yes Sir.
Tell them the changes which I am making
now
From behind the bushes we caught the
glimpse of the boss. A fat dark skin brute
with black clothes which didnt fit him (he
was adjusting his clothes frequently.) He waswearing a black hat and black sunglasses,
practically looking just like a villain would
look. His companion was also looking just
like him with a slightly lighten skin and
thinner body.
The flight of the 25th February to Kolkata
will be hijacked, the boss continued.
What!, I almost screamed out. That is the
plane, I am going to board! If Anisha had
not clamped a hand over my mouth, I
would have practically shouted.
The boss kept discussing the plan and I
took in every word as in how to catch up
with the plan and hijack it.
When they finally left, I burst out my
shocking discovery.
Thats terrible! my friend said.
I had forgotten about Fluffy before she let
out a soft bark.
On the day of the flight I was troubled a lot!
My mother enquired but in vain.
I need to have an urgent talk with the pilot
I told myself.
I told him everything and he was
dumbstruck. What! He said and told that
he will take another route.
Oh I forgot to tell you that they were
supposed to come in a helicopter.
From far away we could spot those people!
James, you have failed again!
This girl has overheard your whole plan
I just saw the boss give Robert a bump on
the head. We caught the villain and they
were put in the planes junk side.
I anyway got a lot of praise and the surprise
Nancy Drew and the Moss Covered
Mansion (though I know that worth
something more like an iPad!)
So this the way I got what I could get by
getting full marks.
I am so happy
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My Journey with KeiroSmaer Saggar, Std VI
My journey with Keiro began a few weeks
ago on December 15, 2012. I was returning
to Mumbai after attending a wedding in
Pune. Just at the start of the expressway we
stopped at a Honda car showroom to see the
colour of our new car. My mother and father
got engrossed, while my driver and I started
playing with a tennis ball. Initially, we were
trying to play on the either side of the road
but the dust and noise by the passing cars
made that difficult. We retreated to a safer
narrow street, but our ball went in a bush. As
I tried retrieving, the spectacle of six cute
hiding puppies greeted me! They were so
cute that I wanted to take all six of them with
me. One of them came near me. As I bent, it
tickled up my arms and started licking me. I
was on the seventh heaven. I cuddled him. I
wanted a puppy at my home and was aftermy parents. Now I wanted him desperately.
He was of light brown color. I thought he was
the cutest and the bravest among the six.
After my mother and father came outside the
showroom, they found me playing with a
puppy. I requested and begged them to take
him home. My mom refused at first. She
informed that she had planned to get a
Labrador on my birthday and asked me to be
patient. She enquired in the neighborhood
and locals urged us to take the puppy with us
saying that her mom wont miss as she has
loads that cant be taken care. I added that if
everyone wants a good breed, then what
would street dogs do? This was a clincher
with my mom and my father who never was
in favor of a dog at home melted when I
handed over the puppy to him. So a family
member was added as we resumed our car
journey.
We were happy and tensed at the same time
It was getting dark and we knew nothing
about handling dogs. My parents madefrantic calls to NGOs and vets who assured
that was safe to adopt a stray puppy. On our
first visit to a vet, we came to know that he
was a male dog. We were thrilled when the
vet opined that he was not a usual stray dog
but instead was a crossbreed. However, he
was smelly and scratchy. In our first few days
my mom sponged him, put an anti flea and
tick powder on him. Meanwhile, my sister
arrived from her hostel in BITS Pilani. To
her delight and my chagrin, my mom gave
her the right to decide the puppys name. She
took no time in naming him KEIRO, as if he
was her Japanese boy-friend. She explained
that she had named the dog after the
Japanese cartoon she used to see when she
was my age.
Our daily life changed. Me and my sister
woke up early at six in the morning to take
Keiro to the terrace. He would chase us in
round and rounds as we dodged. My dad
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started running with Keiro and patted him for
his sprints. First few days my mom was
scared to touch Keiro. Every time he neared
her, she would let out a scream and run away.
It was lot of fun. Sometimes I would lift
Keiro and quietly place him right behind
mom to make fun of her. We went to our
hometown, but my father stayed back to take
care of Keiro. My mother missed him dearly
and on return started loving him more than
us. Her fears waned. It was a small newly
born baby to her. Keiro bonded with my
family as I can never describe. He seamlessly
became one of us. He would lick endlesslywhenever I returned from our school or our
parents from office.
My friends were equally keen to play with
him. But his vaccinations had just begun and
had a long schedule of two months. So he
was not allowed to mix freely with others.
Nevertheless, it was a sight when in morning
my neighbours fed dozens of crows with
cooked rice, while we fed Keiro with his milk
and cerelac on the same terrace in close
proximity. He had no liking for the dog food
and wanted the human baby food and even
to eat with us or with crows. There is place
for everyone to coexist, live and let live, I
thought! Days went by the same way. I went
to school, my sister went holidaying toremote villages with an NGO. Only my
father remained active to help Keiro with his
terrace outings. Then one day I left Keiro
and went overnight at my friends place. The
next day I went to Essel World and Water
Kingdom with my friend. I forgot about
Keiro, but he and me had tears in our eyes
when I returned. Keiro was very active on
that evening of January 5, 2013. I was looking
forward to the next day to celebrate my
birthday with my friends. We could not get
Keiros second vaccination done because the
vet told us he was still not 45 days. So mom
decided that Keiro would have to be locked
inside and not join my party. This subdued
my enthusiasm for the next day.
That night we woke up from the noise of
Keiro. This was not unusual. Mom said he
wants to pee, so I put Keiro in the washroom
and closed the door. He continued to wail
somewhat unusually. I opened it after five
minutes. I lifted him but we noticed that
Keiro was limping. He could neither stand
nor walk straight. My mom scolded me for
having hurt him while closing the washroom
door. By the morning Keiro started behaving
strangely, circling with wobbly gait. Keiro
vomited four times. Meanwhile, my cake
arrived at my home. My friends also arrived
but my parents left home for the vet. My
father was told that Keiro was not hurt in leg
by door closing but by some disease. He
should be hospitalized as quickly as possible
as he may not survive. My father held back
this news till after I had cut my cake, butbroke down thereafter. My parents rushed to
the SPCA Dinshaw Animal Hospital and
admitted him there. They confirmed that our
puppy was suffering from a dreaded viral
disease called canine distemper. It is a
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highly contagious viral amongst canines but
does not transmit to humans. Keiro may have
caught infection before we lifted him or later
because his vaccination was still incomplete.
We were told Keiros survival chances are no
more than 2 per cent given the deterioration
that has already occurred. Furthermore, the
progression of disease cannot be reversed
and there is no real treatment. Keiros parts
were already paralysed and brain was
damaged. Our lives went topsy turvy.
My mother was inconsolable. My sister
rushed back and went straight from train to
hospital all by herself. A week long struggle
ensued as we visited Keiros daily morning
and late evening. Our vet Pooja, a true
animal lover, also visited him twice daily. She
spent her own time and money. It was a pain
for all of us to see him confined to an
isolated cell. He suffered pain and the
dedicated vets and medication could do little
to help. We played as much with Keiro as
possible during our visits. He seemed to
improve initially, but a week down the line
the highly qualified vets of the hospital told
us that he is as good as no more. We had to
confront with reality. Our vet had confirmed
the same. My dad was in hospital on January
12, 2013 when Keiro breathed his last in his
lap. My mom could not bear to see him and
was in trauma. My father and Rawat uncle
cremated him on a pier in the hospital and
our journey with Keiro ended. Ourmemories have not. While there cannot be
another Keiro to take his place, most in our
colony are now taking care of the several
small street puppies that abound our
neighbourhood. May his soul rest in peace
Amen!!...
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Invisible meAarushi Roy, Std VI
On Sunday mornings, my mom usually
wakes me up by eight oclock. But today, no
one interrupted me till nine (for a change!). I
was surprised. I thought for a while. Had my
parents gone out? I dont think so. Were
they hiding, waiting to jump on me? I crept
out of my bed, half afraid that they might
pounce on me. But, from the keyhole of my
bedroom door all I could see was my parents
and my brother having breakfast at the dining
table.
I was confused, why didnt they come and
wake me up? As I went towards the hall, I
was expecting my mother to start scolding me
for getting up so late. But no one even
looked at me! As I sat next to them, I heard
the conversation was about me. They said
that my uncle (who is a scientist) had brought
some vanishing liquid. Accidently, he spilled
it and a few drops of that had landed in my
drink. I was puzzled because my drink tasted
the same. Nevertheless, I went to see myself
in the mirror. I looked into the mirror and I
saw.....nothing! I was terrified at first. Then I
decided to take an advantage of it. I strolled
into the hall again. I sat down on a chair,
picked up a sausage from my brothers dishand started munching on it! My brother was
staring at the flying sausage. First there was a
full sausage, then a half and then nothing!
Then I reached for another but my brother
was ready for it. As soon as I picked up a
sausage he screamed, Mamma...look, flying
sausage. My parents, who were arguing on
whose fault it was, looked up in surprise
They really thought it was a flying sausage! I
slipped away quietly from the room and went
outside to play. As I was skipping towards the
lift, I saw my friend Hansini coming out of
her house as well. She had a basketball and
was dribbling it while waiting for the lift
Suddenly, I thought of playing a prank on
her. I took the ball from her and he stoodstunned for a moment and then smiled. I
knew she was surprised because she had
never seen a ball dribble on its own, but I
know she took it as a challenge. She neatly
took the ball from me and tried to dodge
from everywhere. When the lift came up
finally, I tugged at her hand to let her know
When we reached the ground floor, I tookHansinis hand and stopped her. I found that
I could still talk. So I told Hansini whatever I
knew. She was a good listener. Though she
was astonished at first she believed me. Later
she wanted to play a prank on our colony
bully, Rea. We met her in the basketball
court. She and her side-kicks were bullying
another kid. Hansini came up to the kids
defence and Rea came up and turned on her
Hansini was finally challenged to a game of
basketball. She accepted it immediately. I felt
as if she had a plan and decided to go along
with it. I went up to her and asked in her
ear, What are you doing? She got startled
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at first, and then she grinned and told me that
she needed my help to fool Rea and the
idiots. The start was taken by Hansini and
she had to dribble the ball all the way to the
other side. My job was to tackle the players
one-by-one. I started off with Nina, who waseasy as I only had to trip her. Hansini scored
a hoop! Then came Aarthi who shoelaces I
had tied earlier. She stumbled in such an
amusing way she fell head first, her face in a
mingled mixture of horror and confusion.
Hansini stopped in her tracks to make her
balance while she was laughing. Big mistake!
Rea rammed into her taking the ball. Hansini
recovered and tore after her. Meanwhile, to
cause a distraction, I hurried up to them and
tapped Reas shoulder. It worked! Hansini
took the ball from Rea just when she looked
back and scored a wining hoop. The match
ended as 2-0. Rea and her group looked
really dumps, but they deserved it. Hansini
and I were walking down the footpath on the
lane outside our colony, when she asked me
a question, When do you think you will be
visible again? I mean youre not going to
stay like that forever, are you? Her question
took me by surprise. But if I had to admit, I
was thinking about the same thing. I was
really getting fed up of Hansini looking at
London and talking to Tokyo, (just because
she didnt know where I was standing.) It'sreally weird. I told her may be by evening at
most. She didnt seem to be convinced. So
we decided to ask my parents. When we got
home my parents didnt even know that I was
there until I spoke. They almost jumped out
of their skins. When they got used to it they
said that uncle had prepared a weak solution
so that within an hour or two I am supposedto be visible again. They actually shouted the
sentence, probably thinking that I was
invisible as well as deaf. I was tired of my
parents looking around suspiciously, half
expecting me to appear out of thin air, so I
went into the kitchen. Our cat, Tabby, was
sitting on the kitchen slab, purring
contentedly, when I went up to her and said
Boo. She screeched and leapt up and out
of the room! Well! I didnt mean to scare
her. Later on, while I was stuffing my face
with cookies, my Mom came into the kitchen
and started scolding me for sitting on the slab
and eating cookies straight out of the box. My
Dad hurriedly came into the kitchen, looked
at me and gasped. Yes, looked at me square
in the face for the first time today. I realised
that I am visible again. I was so happy that I
hugged my mother (while she was still busy
scolding me!)
To be honest with you, I would really prefer
being visible rather than invisible. I also
promise to check on what I am drinking
before I take a sip. But my experience was
good, really good!
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Our Experience in a Haunted houseAnisha Nandi, Std VI
Finished!, I screamed out as my paper was
over. Everyone stared at me as if they had
seen me for the first time in their life.Everyone but Anita and Amita, my best
friends concentrated on their paper. My name
is Ananya. My last exam has ended and a long
holiday extends in front of us. Me, Anita and
Amita, have plans to go to the Sundarbans.
On the next day we along with our families
reached the airport at noon. We took our
boarding passes and after around half anhour, the airplane arrived at gate number 9.
We boarded the airplane and after all the
passengers settled down, the plane took off.
After two and half hours, we reached Kolkata.
We took a car to Sundarban. We were
accommodated in a hotel in which we had
planned to stay. Next day early morning, we
went to visit the forest on an open roof jeep.
We sat on a trench and from a safe distance
from the ground; we kept a watch on the royal
Bengal tiger. It came after 15 minutes
quenching its thirst from a river. The tiger saw
us, but it did not feel threatened so it just
ignored us and went deeper into the forest.
Soon we went to a river bank to spot
crocodiles. We were instructed by the guide
to climb the trees to not only have good view
of it but also to be safe from them, because, if
we stand on the ground and spot them, they
might also see us and attack on us. We
spotted a good number of crocodiles and
headed back to the hotel. On the way, we
spotted some other animals and unique birds
We had enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. While
returning we stopped at the road side for awhile in a small tent. We three met an old
lady who had fully covered by cloth. The old
lady said, There is typical magic here; I will
show you three in case you come without
family. Her voice had some influencing
magic. We ignored.
We returned to the hotel and had our
breakfast. During breakfast we three decided
to go to the place where the old lady had
invited us for showing magic. Our parents
were busy chatting. So we started for the place
and planned to return before 12 p.m. We
took all our necessities and we set off.
We reached the place but could not locate the
tent and the old lady. So, we decided to
explore the nearby jungle instead. As we went
deeper and deeper into the forest, it grew
darker and darker. We were getting goose
bumps. Suddenly, I heard some barking
sounds right behind us. It seemed as if wild
dogs were behind us. Without looking
behind, we ran deeper into the forest. We had
no track of where we were heading to. We
suddenly saw a worn out house in front of us.
As we headed towards the house withou
thinking, the dogs stopped chasing us. The
dogs barked and soon they went away. It was
surprising but at least we were relieved as the
dogs disappeared. As we went inside the
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house, the door of the house closed
automatically. When we looked behind, the
door was not to be found and we were inside
a dark house. We went further inside. It was a
spooky house with cob webs and dust all
around. Some bats were flying over our heads
with typical sound. We heard a loud noise
behind us and we started to run but
unfortunately in three different directions.
I ran and ran and ran and ran. I wanted to
stop but my legs seemed to be running on
their own. The corridor was quite long with
right side open and series of rooms at left
side. I heard a loud magical sound and could
see that the floor parted with a dead end. I
came to rapid halt before reaching a dead
end. I saw a rope dangling down as if it was
hung down for me. I climbed up the rope and
popped my head through an opening in the
ceiling. I switched on the torch but uh! There
were skulls and bones lying around. I almost
fainted. At that moment I felt somebody is
rescuing me by holding my hand and dragging
towards some direction. But I did not feel to
get up. When I gained strength and got up, it
was an old lady dragging me. She led me on a
table. She gave me food and water. The lady
resembled with the old lady we met at the
tent. So, I thought that she came to rescue and
I started whispering to her the incidents thattook place. Also, I complained why she was
not there at the tent since we went there on
her request to see the magic. After a while, I
asked her many questions but she answered
none. On a sudden she took off her scarf and
it was a skull standing in front of me with a big
smile in its bonny face. I ran out of the hall
with terrified scream. I was running as fast as I
could and collided with someone crying for
help. I discovered my friend Anita. We
hugged and whispered that we did a mistake
of doing this adventure. I said let us find out
Amita first and then we need to do something
to get out of here. I informed her that I met
the old lady who had invited us. It was a skull
Anita said that we might be under the
influence of the magic of the skull and
therefore we came here. There must be
some way out, I thought. I put on the torchand could find out that there was a small
window on the left side. We entered and
luckily found our friend Amita lying
unconscious on the floor. We woke her up.
We shared horrific experiences amongs
ourselves. Anita narrated that the room where
Anita entered there were bloods strains. As
she entered the wash room she saw aDraculla. She ran out of the room with a
scream. Amita went to a kitchen and spotted
bottles of parts of humans, she got terrified
and ran out of the room. Meanwhile, we were
looking all around us. We started to find a
way out of the house. Suddenly, I spotted a
crystal along with a book of spells. Inka
makamasapel inacra lam pel cam hom des ton
thru e habris ton haofbit, we chanted in
unison. In a flash, we were back in the place
where the tent was. We were so happy and
thanked god for saving our lives. We took an
oath that we would never venture in such a
deserted place in future without the
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permission of our parents who would be very
anxious of not finding us in the hotel. We
rushed to the hotel and re united with our
family. We had to answer lot many questions
with manipulated answers.
It's Better to be FriendsShreya Sankar, Std II
The cat, the dog and the rat
were not best of friends,
The dog chased the catThe cat chased the rat.
One day they decided that
enough is enough,
and they sat together
to have a friendly chat.
"Why can't we be friends
and stop this ugly fight,"they said to each other
and so they became friends.
They continued to chase each other
while playing "hide and seek,"
and "catch the thief"
and no longer were they afraid.
They played all the games
under the sun,and found that friendship
was great fun.
The NatureNeeraja Das, Std III
It is the garden full of Tulips and Roses
The children are dancing and
The elders are working.
The plants and the flowers
Make the planet pretty,
The children of the planet
Bringthe planets beauty.
The world is full of our beautiful dreamsAnd, I think that the world is
Made of chocolate creams.
It is like, we are seeing a picture
It is only our beautiful nature.
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The New YearDr. Dipika Das1
Subhendu was an Air Force pilot. He had
died accidentally when the Air Force plane
crashed leaving his wife Shanti and four-
year-old daughter Ishita. When the charred
body of Subhendu was brought home, Ishita
was taken to one of their neighbours house
and not allowed to see her fathers dead
body. She did not know that her father had
died and would never come back.
Subhendu used to come home after a long
time. When coming home, he used to bring
lots of toys for their only daughter Ishita. He
used to go to visit many places with her and
tell many stories to her. Ishita was very fond
of listening to the story ofThakumar Jhuli.
When her father did not come home for a
long time, Ishita asked her mother
Mummy, why is daddy not coming home?
When will he come?
Shanti used to say My darling, your father
is not getting leave. His new boss is very
strict and not sanctioning leave for him.
Ishita used to get a strong resentment
against her fathers boss and say Mummy,
daddys boss is very bad, I will beat him.
Shanti was a teacher in Air Force school on
the military campus. She continued to stay
1This story is published in the January (First) 2013
issue of Womans era.
on the same campus with her daughter after
her husbands death in spite of her parents
frequent request to come and stay with
them at Kolkata. Shantis parents wanted
her daughter to get married again. Butwhenever they asked her to get married, she
used to reply Ishita is very unfortunate to
lose her father at a very young age, I will not
let her lose her mother too. I have seen how
neglected the children are when their
mothers remarry.
It was not an easy task to bring a child up
single handedly. One has to play the role of
both father and mother. The most difficult
part for Shanti was to answer Ishitas query
about her father. Every day Ishhita used to
ask her mother when her father would
come home and every day Shanti used to
tell her the same lie. So far, Shanti did not
tell her daughter that her father had died.
How suddenly, could she tell her that herfather would never come back?
Shanti had never thought that this lie would
make such a serious problem in her
daughters life! Since Ishita was expecting
that her father would come back every day,
she became very depressed when her father
did not turn up. She had stopped playing
with others and almost stopped eating. She
was becoming very ill. The family physician
told Shanti that unless her father was back,
it was very difficult to make Ishita well.
Shanti had started blaming herself for her
daughters condition.
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Whenever, Shanti used to feel very lonely,
she used to visit the social networking site
for single parent -Solo mate. She had made
some friends who were also single parents.
She had one Indian friend Balaji who livedin California, USA with his 10-year-old son
Dev. His wife had died of cancer five years
back.
Since Shanti was feeling very lonely, she
opened the Solo mate site and saw Balaji
online.
Shanti told him that she is very upset sinceIshita was depressed and not keeping well.
She told him how guilty she was feeling
about telling lies continuously to her
daughter that her father would come back
one day!
You must be knowing, how much I have
struggled to bring up Ishita single handedly.
How can I see my daughter in such acondition? The doctor has said that unless
her father is coming back, Ishitas condition
will be deteriorating. I am really feeling
helpless. Dont know what to do. Shanti
said.
Balaji said Since I am also a single parent, I
understand all your feelings. Dont get so
upset! We have to find out some ways to
make her normal. Can I help her?
How? Shanti asked.
You tell her that her father will be coming
to see her during the next Christmas. I am
coming to India during Christmas. I will visit
her as her father.
One more lie? To cover up a lie, how
many lies havewe to tell her? Shanti broke
down.
The immediate need is to make her well.
Is there any other way out? Balaji asked.
But she remembers that her father used to
narrate her Bengali stories from Thakumar
Jhuli. How can you learn Bengali in a short
time?
I will give a try. There is Bengali school
run by Bangladeshis here. I will learn
Bengali before this Christmas.
Balaji had learnt Bengali and used to chat in
Bengali with Shanti to practice it.
Ishita ekhon kemon ache? (How is
Ishita?) he wrote.
She is much better once she has learnt that
her father is coming during Christmas. She
has started taking food. Shanti replied.
***Cring Cring..! On 24th December evening,
the doorbell of Shantis house was ringing.
Ishita ran to open the door. She saw a tall
Santa Claus standing in front of her.
Santa Claus extended his hands towards
Ishita and greeted her, Wish you a Merry
Christmas, my darling! Then he said Can
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I come inside? I have a very special gift for
you!
Then Santa Claus told Ishita, Now I will
give you the very special gift! Now, will you
close your eyes for a few minutes?
Ishita kept her eyes closed.
Balaji removed his Santa attire. He was tall,
dark and quite handsome like Ishitas father
was.
Now open your eyes Balaji said. See,
your father is in front of you!
Ishita opened her eyes and saw her father
in front of her. She had last seen her father
three years back when she was four years
old. She could not remember his face fully.
Balaji took Ishita in his lap and said Ishita,
amar opor khoob rag kore acho? (Ishita, are
you very angry with me?)
Ishita said Yes! Why did you not come to
see me before? I am very angry with you!
Sorry, my child. I did not get leave from
my work. My boss is very bad! He did not
allow me to come home!
Ishita put her tiny hands around Balajis
neck and said, Papa, I love you. I missed
you so much.
Balaji said, I also missed you, my darling!
and gave Ishita many toys a Barbie set,
magic set, Jwellery set, and lots of
chocolates. Ishita was very happy to get all
the toys.
Ishita asked, Tell me papa, you will not
leave me again!
Balaji said, This whole Christmas vacation,
I will be with you, my child. Then, I have to
go back to work. Otherwise, how can I get
money to buy toys for you?
I dont need toys, papa, I need you! Ishita
said.
Also, I have one more child with me to
take care of.
Who is that? Ishita asked.
He is your brother Dev.
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Let him come and stay with us too! Ishita
said.
Balaji visited with Ishita many places with
Ishita. He narrated many Bengali stories
from Thakumar Jhulito Ishita.
***Next day, Balaji brought Dev to Ishitas
house. They became friends in no time.
Both of them used to feel very lonely at
home and were deprived of love from one
parent and had no sibling. Dev used to
spend most of his time in day-care centre orschool. He did not play with friends and
became an introvert. He used to spend
most of his time playing computer games
and watching TV.
Balaji was surprised to see his son playing
and enjoying life with Ishita.
Shanti also felt very happy to see her
daughter jolly and happy after a long time.
Shanti touched Devs head and asked him
Dev? Do you like India?
After a long time Dev got the feeling of a
motherly touch.
He said I hate my home in America. Its
very lonely there!
If you wish, you can come here every day
and play with Ishita Shanti said.
Shanti prepared Devs favorite dish - puri,
halwa and kheer by her own hands.
After seeing the menu, Dev asked Aunty,
how do you know that these are my
favourite dishes?
Shanti replied I am like your mother.
Every mother knows what her son likes.
Dev got very sad and said Ishita is very
lucky to have a mother like you. You must
be preparing Ishitas favourite dish every
day! I dont have my mother.
I am here with you, my child. I will
prepare what you like, Shanti said.
Dev spent the whole day with Ishita and left
Shantis house in the late evening.
Shanti called Balaji and said This
Christmas was my daughters best
Christmas. Ishita was so happy to get her
father back. I cant express my gratefulness
towards you. I dont know how to thank
you!
Shanti, have you noticed how happy our
children were to get their lost parents
back? You must have realized that children
need both the parents - single parenting
cannot fulfill their psychological need.
Do you know? I had always dreamt to
have a daughter like Ishita? Today, while Iacted as her father. I was really feeling very
happy, Balaji said.
Like you, I also wanted to have a son of my
own, Shanti said.
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Cant we become Dev and Ishitas real
father and mother for the rest of their
lives? Balaji asked.
I was always skeptical about second
marriage. But now I realize that Ishita needs
her father. Perhaps, this will help, Shanti
said.
***The old year passed and the New Year
came bringing new hopes, new happiness
and new love in Shanti and Balajis life.
They got married in court and became Devand Ishitas real parents. In the New Year,
both Shanti and Balaji made a New Year
resolution that they would treat Dev and
Ishita equally and would not cause any
misery to anyone.
Where do you want to go for our second
honeymoon? Balaji asked Shanti.
Can we go to Hong Kong? Shanti replied.
Why do you think about Hong Kong?
Balaji asked.
I would like our children to be with us on
our second honeymoon.
As you say, honey! Balaji replied.
They had reserved a room in Hong Kong
with a king-size double bed.
When Ishita and Dev come to know about
the trip to Disneyland, they were very
excited. Ishita had never been to
Disneyland. Although Dev had visited
Disneyland at Los Angeles, he was eager to
visit Honk Kong.
Both children enjoyed all the rides together
in the Disneyland. Balaji took special care
of Ishita and was always holding her hands.
Shanti spent more time with Dev. They all
enjoyed Mickeys parade in Disneyland,
took photographs with Disney characters -
Goophy, Mickey and Minnie and enjoyed
special shows at Adventureland,
Ancientland, Futureland and Fantasyland.
After the Disneyland trip, all were very tired
and wanted to sleep. Both the children
demanded that they be allowed to sleep
beside their mother Shanti. Ishita had
always slept with her mother. And Dev also
insisted on sleeping beside Shanti, enjoying
mothers affection. Finally, Shanti slept in
the middle, with Ishita on one side and Dev
on the other. Although, Balaji got a bit upset
to be apart from Shanti on their second
honeymoon, he felt calm to see that his son
had got his mother back. He realized that
sacrificing personal happiness was nothing
for the sake of childrens happiness.
Next day, they visited the Ocean park in
Hong Kong and enjoyed the roller coaster
ride, balloon ride etc. The park was very
thrilling and adventurous and both the
children enjoyed it very much. They also
visited Victoria Peak, Long Buddha and sea
beaches in Hong Kong before returning
back to India.
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Six months later
Shanti and Ishita left for California. Ishita
got admitted to a school in California and
Shanti remained as a housekeeper to look
after both the children. Since Dev and Ishitadid not get proper care earlier, Shanti
decided not to join work to take proper care
of both the children. Instead of teaching
other children at school, she took the
responsibility to look after the studies of her
own children. While going through their
notebooks, Shanti came across Devs writing
in an essay, Your most memorable day. He
wrote, My most memorable day is the day
I got back my Mummy.
She is the most caring and affectionate
mother in the world. I love her the most.
She had inspired me a lot. I wish everybody
gets a mother like her!... Tears welled up
Shantis eyes while reading the essay.
In English creative writing, Ishita was to
write five lines about My best friend. She
wrote My best friend is my father. He
always plays with me. He tells me stories
from Thakumar Jhuli. He takes me to many
places to see. I love him the most.
Shanti looked up and thanked goodness forgiving her a wonderful family back!
_____________________________________________________________Drawings of the Children whose father takes care of Security of our Colony
Poonam Tanaji Gade Ravindra Tanaji Gade
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Entries from Colouring / drawing CompetitionNursery
Abantika - First
Std- I&II
Apoorva
Tanvi-Second
Shreya- Second
Pratush Mitra - Third
Kaveri- First
Aditya Roy
Manav- Third
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Std- III-V
Devangi- First
Std- VI-VIII
Sarthak- First
Neeraja- Second Gaurav
Anisha- Second
Gupta
Suchetana- Third Arushi- Second
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Other Drawings of our ChildrenNeeraja- Std III Kaveri- Std-II
Abanita- Nursery
Anisha- Std VI
Apoorva- Std-I
Shreya- Std-II
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The Malvan Diary
Ragamya Shekhawat, Std - VII
December 15, 2012 - It was just anotherFriday night, the same type of night that we
can call A Family Night. Sid and I am
watching the film Hugo, Dad and Mom
are surfing on the net looking for a nice and
quiet place, where there is no rush or the
type of crowd found in Goa. After a bit of
search, they have zeroed in on Malvan,
Tarkarli in Maharashtra.
December 21, 2012 - Today had been anexciting day at school as we had the eventPanache, which has a number of activities
and we are asked to choose any two to
three. I had taken Ad Mad and Cook It
Up and though there were prizes, I was not
so lucky. When I told my friends of my
Christmas vacation plans to go to Malvan,
they seemed quite interested in the place
but none of them had been there.
December 22, 2012 - There is one moreweek for our vacation to end and days seem
too long. Its the same old Monday - wake
up, brush your teeth, eat, go tuition return
and then watch T.V. and sleep and then the
next day. It seemed that this week wouldnt
end.
December 24, 2012 - I just saw mompacking clothes and I asked her why; she
said we are leaving for Malvan on 25
December a long trip by car!!! For her it
meant packing, packing and packing but for
Sid and I, it means super-exciting vacation is
about to start. Dad has come early from
office to help Sid and me to buy snorkelling
equipment. Its a bit expensive and we
decided that it may be better to hire one at
Malvan. In any case, Sid was not too excited
with the idea of swimming in sea water.
Tonight I will not be able to sleep because
of the excitement of the trip that would
begin tomorrow but dad said we need to
catch some sleep for the long journey in car.
December 25, 2012- Ahhh, it seems that Iam car sick. We have started the journey at6a.m. now it is around 1 p.m. and still not
half way!!! We have decided to stop at a
hotel for lunch but I have no idea when we
will reach there. Ahhh at last, we have found
a nice place to eat. They have limited menu
and I have opted for dosa, Sid has opted for
his usual pav bhaji and Mom and Dad are
still scanning the menu. After the quick
break, we hit the road again.
Its 7:00 pm and we have reached Malvan
but arent able to find the hotel. I thought
that we will reach by 10 p.m. but then using
the GPS we found it by 8 pm. We are so
tired that we cant even walk. But Dad is
forcing us to go and have a walk on the
beach which is just besides the hotel. The
waves are sounding like the roar of a lion
and we are all thinking that the sea will run
after us and drench us. Sid is so sacred that
he is about to cry but Mum has finally
convinced him to come closer to the sea.
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We order some typical malvani food and
then hit the pillow to sleep like babies.
December 26, 2012 We had been wokenup by a rooster who was crowing so loudly
Aaaahhh!!!!! We went to the beach to have
a morning swim. The water was so cleanthat we could even see the sand and shells.
We had swum so much that we were very
hungry. We changed our clothes and had
bread, milk and omelette for breakfast. Dad
said we are going to the Sindhudurg Fort
built by Chhatrapati Shivaji. This fort was
the first fort built in sea. Shivaji had done so
much hard work that the fort is worth seeingand the guide explained the history. It was
amazing. After seeing the fort we went to a
restaurant and had our lunch and guess
what . It was delicious Malvani fish and
prawns again. After that we went to the
village for a walk and then again went for
swimming till it was dark. What a day! But
there is another day waiting for us.
December 27, 2012 -We were again wokenup by The Mr Rooster. After some talk with
the hotel owner, we were off to the jetty
from where we were to go for scuba diving.
We shared a boat with an uncle and aunty.
Dad and I went for snorkelling; they told us
some signs which we can use under water.
Dad and the uncle went first. Dad did not
come up for a long time but that uncle didcome up like 20 times. Then it was my turn
first I practiced and just took a deep breath
and went in with the guide. I got scared first
time but then it was awesome to swimming
with the fishes. There were colourful corals
and many underwater plants too. After
about 20 minutes under water, we went
back to the boat and went to the jetty.
We then decided to go the Devbaug for
water sports. On our way to Devbaug, we
met some people on wayside, whoorganized water sport and we selected one
of the packages. They gave us a motor boat
that first took us to the crocodile point
where a rock looks like a mouth of a
crocodile. Then to a beach and the
lighthouse, after which we went to the
Tsunami Island for the sports.
I first opted for the jet ski and whooooooo.
It was an incredible speed and then Sid
went for it too. Next was Sids water scooter.
Not too fast but he managed to do some
small stunts like making it jump out of
water. And then Dad, Sid and I go onto a
bumper ride and as expected it was
bumpy!! We walked around the island and
had some snacks and coconut water.
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Walking on beach we saw hundreds of
crabs and I was basically horrified!
We left the island to return to the beach at
Devbaug. On the way back, Dad suddenly
stopped the car. We all got out to see why
and saw him gazing at a hut in a smallschool. They had decorated it for Christmas
with baby Jesus with mother Mary, wise
men, the sheep and shepherds. Then we
moved back on the road, when the boatman
met us again. He took us to his Bhabhis
restaurant on the beach. It was a very
frustrated place and the food was average.
We walked on the beach next to therestaurant. We were like a star fish saver we
had saved seven star fish which were lying
on the shore. After that went back to the
hotel and went for swimming on the beach.
Then more Malvani food and hit the bed.
December 28, 2012 It was the friendlyrooster again in the morning (I wanted to
ask for Chicken for lunch!). We changed
and went down for the Dolphin Safari. We
waited for a long time but there was not a
single dolphin but then all of a sudden, 10
dolphins jumped out together, what a sight!
We chased the dolphins for over an hour
and saw many more. Then we came back,
kept our bags in the car and left for Pune.
We had travelled a lot before we reached
Kholapur, where we had lunch and visited atemple.
After that we were travelling non-stop. I was
feeling too hot and then Dad asked
someone and they told that there was
waterfall nearby. So we went and bathed in
the waterfall and got refreshed. It was like
10 p.m. when we reached Pune. It took us
about an hour for getting in and go to sleep.
December 29, 2012 Today we are stillsuper tiered, after a boring bath in thebathroom, we went down for breakfast and
there we found one of my friends who lived
with us in Ahmedabad. Dad and mom
chatted and we also had a little chit-chat.
After a hearty morning breakfast, we went to
the Kayani Bakery - one of Punes best
bakery, from there we bought some cakes,
cream roll and bread. Then we went to theAga Khan Palace, the place where Gandhiji
was imprisoned. There are the things which
he used and some newspaper. Then we
again hit the road for Mumbai. On the way
our ear drums were drumming because of
change in air pressure as we descended
from the mountains. It was evening by the
time we came back home. It was a real
holiday!
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Bhu Swarg KashmirRajat Mathur
The mere thought of going to a hill station
with family, makes one so excited and that too
Kashmir seems to be the cherry on the cake.
During this summer vacations we went to
Kashmir. Even the air journey was good as
snow capped peaks of the Pir-Panjal range
could be seen from the aircraft. As we reached
Srinagar, we could see mountains and lush
green areas and the scenic beauty was
awesome.
At Srinagar airport we were received by
Kesari Operators. From the airport we
were taken to a houseboat in the Nigeen Lake.
Shikara ride to the houseboat made us feellike royal as they were decorated profusely
and the surroundings were very beautiful.
The view from the houseboat was magnificent.
The boat had well furnished common rooms,
lake facing balcony and deck. The rooms were
nicely decorated and had a lot of woodwork
Even after such a long journey, we were still
energetic and stress free due to the excellent
weather. Next day we headed to Sonmarg and
saw the last village in the Kashmir valley-that is
before entering the Laddakh valley and also
the starting point of the Amarnath Yatra. There
we encountered some breathtaking views of the
Indus valley with some small glaciers still
surviving the mild summer of Kashmir
The day after we moved our base to Pahalgam,
some 200 kms from Srinagar, passing by the
ruins of the 1St Century Avantipur temple. The
Lidder river which flows through the heart of
Pahalgam is a joy to see and to relax. The
crystal clear water and high currents of the
water is a delight to see. We had our cottage
by the riverside and a huge garden attached to
the cottage. Mall Road is a shoppers paradise
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especially for people looking for woollens and
thats what kept my parents busy that day.
Next morning we headed to Aru valley and
Chandanwari some 17 kms. from our hotel .
The Aru valley are lush green slopes of thelesser Himalyas. The road trip was quite
picturesque but has some really deadly curves
on the narrow road. Countless coniferous tree
cover, fast currents of the Lidder river, rocks
and pebbles on the banks, mountains touching
clouds gave everyone a breath-holding views.
We later went to Gulmarg to experience some
real snow. We left early for the Gondola
(Cable Car) ride to the highest point in
Gulmarg which is some 4100m above sea level.
The Gulmarg Gondola system is really efficient
and it is The Worlds Highest Cable Car. We
enjoye skiing and sledging in the snow on
reaching the topmost peak of Gulmarg.
The sub zero temperatures and the noon sun
glare combined gave a very harsh weather
experience; but it was worth every penny
We spent only 7 days in Kashmir, but the
memories are to stay forever. It has been
correctly said that if there is paradise on earth,
it is in Kashmir.
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My Road Trip to GoaManavaditya Rajesh2, Std-II
I always wanted to go on a road trip as I used
to see my fathers friends go on road trips.When my father told me that we will go on a
road trip to Goa and would be in Goa on New
Years eve, I was very happy. Then I sat with
my father and checked out the various routes
to Goa. We started packing our bags, mom got
some yummy foods, my grandmother made us
some really good lemonade and by the time it
was Friday evening, I was very excited. Mysister Tanvi, loves to play with sand and so my
father got her a new set of beach toys.
We packed all our stuff in the boot of the car
and started from Mumbai at around 5.00 p.m.
on 28.12.2012. We stopped overnight at Pune.
From there we started early next morning and
took the Mumbai-Bangalore National
Highway, NH-4. We were using google maps.We went through Satara, Kohlapur, Belgaum,
Castle rock and reached Goa. I saw lots of
sugarcane fields on the way. I was asking my
father and writing down the names of all the
places we passed by, in my small notebook.
The drive was fun. We had stopped for
breakfast and lunch on the way and we
reached Goa at around 7.00 p.m. First we went
to Sri Mangesh temple which is at a place
called Ponda, near Goa. It is a very beautiful
temple. We went to our rooms, which was
right next to a beach and freshened up. Tanvi
2Thanks for help fromAmma
wanted to play in the beach. However, as it was
a long day, we had a small walk on the beach,
had our dinner and went to sleep.
Next day morning, both me and Tanvi woke
upAmmaandAchanand all of us went to thebeach with our toys. We did some digging with
our spade, made sand castles and had lots of
fun. Since I love playing in water, afterwards all
of us went and played in water for a long time
After breakfast we went to old Goa to see old
churches. We saw many churches including
Church of St. Francis of Assisi, which has the
body of St. Francis preserved for the last 400
years! I cannot imagine how that was possible.
The next day was the best day for me. We
went to Dona Paula beach, where there are all
kinds of water sports. The minute I saw the jet
ski, I wanted to go on it. I asked my father and
he agreed. First my mother did it, then it was
my turn. They put the lifejacket for me and I
climbed on it. The instructor asked me to holdthe handle tight and relax. We started and as
we went deeper into the water, it was slightly
bumpy. The breeze was hitting my face and we
were zooming. It was real fun
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After I came back, Tanvi also started saying
that she wanted to go. Achanallowed her and
go, within minutes Tanvi had put on the life
jacket and she was ready. The instructor, who
was accompanying Tanvi took her for two
rounds and she had real fun. Ammawas a bit
scared for her. In the meantime my father had
gone para sailing. I had seen para sailing on the
television and told Achanthat I too wanted to
go. Achan agreed and we left for parasailing.
They took us in a boat to deep sea. From there
we climbed into a speed boat which had a
parachute and other equipment. Tanvi also
came on the boat with us. There were 4 of usfor doing parasailing on the boat and I was the
first to go. They put on life jacket and sling to
attach the parachute. A instructor also came
with me. After that the boat started going fast
and they started releasing the rope. I was
excited going, but once I left the boat, I was
very scared and kept looking at the boat which
kept getting smaller and smaller. Once I wason top, the uncle with me kept telling me, oh!
look around and then I slowly turned my
head and it was a beautiful view of many boats,
building and water. After spending about 20
minutes, we started to go down and at this
time, I wanted to stay up for some more time,
but I had to land on the boat. This was
definitely the most thrilling moment I have
experienced till now, it was really amazing.
That day evening there was a party and dinner
in the hotel that we were staying, since it was
New Year Eve. We wished everyone Happy
New Yearwhen it was twelve oclock.
The next day we went to see an aquarium,
where was saw many fishes, lobsters, turtles
and Piranha. We also went to a scary house
which was slightly scary for me and Tanvi. In
the afternoon we were taken to see the inside
of a ship. It was a great event. In the evening
we went for a cruise in a ship, where we saw
some dances, danced with other children and
had dinner.
On Wednesday we went to Tarkarli, which is
near Goa. There we stayed at a beautiful resort
next to a beach. As soon as we reached there
we took our toys and ran to the beach to play
There were a few children already playing. We
played in the sand. After some time we started
collecting shells. My father showed me crabs
and we played in water for a long time. There
were people offering camel and elephant rides
The ride was fun. However, the uncle over
there asked me to hold tight while the camel
got up and came down, it was really jerky.
In the night we had dinner at a restaurant
where they made really tasty food. I loved the
prawns there. Early in the morning we went on
a boat ride to see dolphins. We saw lot of
seabirds. They took us to a point where the
river (Karli) meets the sea. When we entered
the sea the ride turned bumpy. After that we
had breakfast and left for Mumbai. We took
the Mumbai-Goa highway, NH-17 via Ratnagir
on the way back. We passed through many
small towns and beautiful beaches and reached
Mumbai at 9 p.m. The road trip was a great
experience. I enjoyed my trip to Goa and
liked parasailing the most.
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Hair Care - AyurvedaDr.Gayatri Devi
IntroductionHair is the bi-product of Asthi dhatu(Bone tissue) according to Ayurveda.
It gets oiliness from Kapha dosha,
softness from pitta and dark colour
from vata.
Nourishment from Rasadhatu.
Healthy Rasa and Asthi dhatus +
balance in Tridoshas healthy hair.
Types of hairVata NaturePitta nature
Kapha nature
Combinations
Vata hairDry- vary from dry to oily in different
spots
Thin
Dark in shade
Coarse, rough in texture
Curly, tangle easily.
Dull, lusterless.
Prone to dandruff and split ends
Pitta HairOily
Thin
Light colored
Straight, fine and do not tangle easilyProne to premature graying and
baldness
Kapha HairOily
Thick and firm
Dark brown or brown-black
Curly
Lustrous
Hair careSystemicnutritious diet to nourish
the rasa and asthi dhatus
Localoiling, nourishing and cleaning
Mind-stress free and peaceful
Exercise
Herbs for hairlocal and systemic use
Exercise-Yoga for Hair careExercise improves-general health,
improves circulation to the scalp.
Yoga all poses with head bending
down improve circulation. Yoga gives
relaxationMind-Stress
Stress is injurious to color of hair.
Minimize time related pressures.
Practice relaxation techniques
meditation, music.
Adequate, good quality sleep helps
the natural process of rejuvenation.
Herbs to de-stress-Tea with jatamansi
and brahmi-2-3 times a day.
Some hair problemsHair lossDandruff
Graying
Alopecia
Hair fall-CausesSevere illness
Hormonal Imbalance.
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Autoimmune disorders.
After delivery.
Local inflammatory conditions.
Low serum iron anemia
Un-controlled diabetes
Medicines the causes hair lossanti-coagulants
anti-gout
chemotherapy to treat cancer,
vitamin A (hyper vitaminosis)
birth control pills
antidepressants.Improper hair care
Tight hair rollers that pull on hair
Hot oil hair treatments or chemicals.
Other causes
Mental stress, poor nutrition- lack of
proteins and iron
What we needNutritious diet, exercise, relaxation,
proper hair care with herbal hair oils
and herbal hair wash.
TipsMassage the scalp gently with coconut
or almond oil daily for 10 to 15
minutes.
Boil Neem leaves in water. Cool,
strain and rinse hair with it.
GrayingExternal-Hair pack
henna powder 2tsp
curd 1tsp
fenugreek 1-tsp
coffee 1 tsp
mint juice 2-tsp
basil juice 2-tsp
InternalGrated fresh ginger + honey store in a
fresh jar. Eat 1-teaspoon every day.
Dandruff1 Tsp camphor + 1/2 cup of coconut
oil store in a air tight glass container,
massage scalp before going to bed.
Add a spoon of castor oil, mustard oil
and little coconut (or neem) oil and
massage scalp every night and have a
herbal hair bath the day next.Herbs for HairB
hringaraja
Brahmi
Amla
Methi
YashtimadhuNeeli
Jaswant
Rose
Lemon
Coconut
Sariba
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8 How to Be a Good Mother - 8 stepswikiHow
Step 1: Be patient. Keep your cool and tryto stay patient. Stay calm, explain the
practical reasons not to do something, and
then why YOU don't want them to do
something.
Step 2: Take an interest in your child'sinterests. If your son likes music buy him aguitar and watch him play. Ask questions,
like what is your favorite type of music, whatis your favorite song, etc.
Srep 3: Don't be tight about money. Okay,so blowing money day after day isn't the best
thing to do, but don't automatically say no to
everything your kid asks for. Buy something
small every now and then. Even offering to
purchase some candy or chips at the store
can make a difference. And be generous atbirthdays, maybe buy them something they
have been hinting they want for a while.
Step 4: Make sure you are an approachableperson to talk to. Try your hardest to alwaysbe understanding and a good listener. Not
having someone your children can talk to
can cause kids to retire into a shell, so make
sure you talk to them about how they feelregularly.
Step 5: Be supportive, and never laugh atyour kids hobbies, interests or friends.Understand that it's okay if your child thinks
differently from you. Don't get mad because
they have a different opinion to you, or your
son wants to become a doctor and not an
engineer. Don't laugh at them, or their
friends.
Step 6: Be able to admit that something youdid may have been wrong and don't beafraid to apologize. It might be hard, but it'sbetter for everyone if you just admit to yourmistakes and apologize. It teaches your kids
that it's okay to make mistakes, as well as the
importance of an apology.
Step 7: Respect your child's love for theother parent. You should not be jealous of
your child loving their Dad.
Step 8: Lastly, love your children more thananything. Whenever you love your child ornot, somehow deep in your child's heart,
they will love you forever whenever they are
loved, or not.
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Patienthttp://www.wikihow.com/Be-Patient -
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Delicious RecipesArti MathurKaju Burfi
Ingredients:1. Kaju-50 g2. Sugar-50 g3. Kewra Essance-few drops4. Fat- 1 tsp
Methods:1.
Grind kajus to a fine powder
2. Prepare sugar syrup-adding a littlewater to sugar till the syrup is thick
3.Add powdered kaju and essence4. Mix well and remove from fire5.Apply a little fat on hands and make a
ball of above mixture
6. Roll it immediately on a greased thalito 1/6 thickness
7. Cut into diamond shaped burfies.
Spinach And Channa Dal Cutlets
Ingredients:1. Potatoes-100g2. Chana Dal-20 g3. Spinach-25 g4. Green Chili-5. 6. Salt-1/2 tsp7.Amchur-1/4 tsp8. Garam Masala-1/4 tsp9. Red chilli powder-1/4 tsp10.Egg-1/411.Bread crumbs for coating12.Ghee for frying
Methods:1. Boil, peel and mash potatoes2. Cook chana dal till tender and dry off
excess water
3.Wash and chop spinach and greenchilli
4. Mix above ingredients with spice5. Shape into cutlets6. Dip in beaten egg and coat with bread
crumbs
7. Deep fry in hot fat
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Bengali CuisineDr. Dipika DasRasgulla and Fish fry are the two most
favourite Bengali dishes taste heavenly.Every wedding feast had either a Fish
Fry or Rasgulla or both in their menu.
Although, I am writing this, the recipes
are not mine. Both my mother and
mother-in-laws are great cooks. While
my mothers expertise is in namkeen
food, my mother-in-law specialises in
making Bengali sweets. I am proud tobe daughter of Mrs. Mira Sur and
daughter-in-law of Mrs. Bithi Das.
Recipes of Fish Fry and Rasgulla are
from my mother and mother-in-law
respectively
Rasgulla / Rosogulla
Ingredients: Milk 1 litre Flour 1 tea spoon Sugar 2 cups Sour whey 2 cups
Methods:1. Make chena (paneer) of the milk and
whey. The chena should be very soft. Use
whole cream cows milk.
2.Add 1 tea spoon flour to the chena andknead it with the palms of the hands until
it is smooth and pliable (knead for 15-20
minutes).
3. Divide the dough into twelve or sixteensmall portions.
4. In each portion put a grain or two of sugarcandy and roll to form a ball.
5. Make thin syrup by combining 2 cupsSugar and 8 cups water and cook over low
heat.
6. Drop the rasgulas in the clean boilingsyrup, and boil for 5 minutes in high heat
and next 15 minutes in medium heat.
7. Sprinkle water on the boiling syrup every2 minutes, if rasgullas get dry.
8. Remove from the heat and cool.9. Flavour with rosewater, if desired.
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Fish Fry
Ingredients Fish Fillets 8-12 pieces (Bhetki fish) 1 onion 2 fat cloves of garlic 1/2" piece of peeled and chopped ginger
Methods:1. Put the fish pieces in one single layer in
a shallow bowl. Sprinkle saltto taste onthem.
2. Make a paste of onion, garlic and ginger
with little water
3. Marinate the fish pieces for at least one
hour with thepaste in step 2, 1 tbsp ofvinegar or lime juice, 1 tsp of Roasted
Cumin Powder and 1/4 tsp of Garam
Masala. All of the fish pieces should be
nicely coated with the marinade.
4. Before start frying, take each of the fish
pieces out from the marinade and drainthe excess liquid.
5. Have a flat plate of bread crumbs
seasoned with salt.
6. Take a shallow bowl and whisk 2 eggs
to a smooth consistency.
7. In a small Kadhai or Frying pan
(suitable for deep frying) heat enough oil.
8. Take the fish piece, roll it in bread
crumb, dip it in the egg liquid, roll in
bread crumb again gently rolling off any
excess and fry.
9. When the fish has nicely browned on
both sides take out and drain on a paper
towel.
10. Serve it hot with some mustard sauce
or Maggi Hot and Sweet sauce. You may
add chopped onions and cucumber that
works wonder.
If you are a vegetarian don't be
disappointed, you can make just the same
with Paneer fillet which is equally tasty
http://www.bongcookbook.com/2009/11/bengali-fish-fry-anglo-bangla-fry.htmlhttp://www.bongcookbook.com/2009/11/bengali-fish-fry-anglo-bangla-fry.html -
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Sara
Major Activities in our Colony during the Year1
2
3
4
5
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1. Republic Day Celebration 2013: Chief Guest Dr. A.S. Ramasastri; 2. IndependenceDay Celebration 2012: Chief Guest Mr.Bazil Shaikh; 3. Medical camp arranged byThyrocare in July 2012; 4. Medical camp arranged by S.L. Raheja Hospital inFebruary 2013; 5. New Year Celebration on 31st December 2012 ; 6. Ganapati Puja2012; 7. Saraswati Puja 2012; 8. Drawing Class for kids in the Colony and 9. YogaClass for ladies in the Colony.
6
8
9
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Vacation in SpaceSarthak Kanyal3, Std VI
Mankind has progressed a lot.
Technology is making us superior in every
way. Spacecrafts are being developed to
search for life on other planets. My dream
was to vacation in space and finally it came
true one day.
The year 2015. The famous lucky draw
had started all over the world. I slowly
approached the lucky draw machine andentered my name. For some days I had to
spend sleepless nights. At last my phone
rang. Desperate to find out the results I ran
like the wind and picked up the receiver. I
could not believe myself. I had won the super
space trip and stay in resort on Mars! I
slapped myself but no it was real. I was
informed that first I had to attend training
classes for a month. Time flew by and I
passed the training and became the perfect
astronaut. Finally the day came and I reached
the rocket launch station. After bidding
goodbye to my family members, friends and
well wishers I sat on my seat and waited for
the launch sequence to start 10,8,6,4,2,0..
Whoosh! As the rocket went high up in the
air I felt both nauseous and homesick. Soon
I got adjusted to the environment and felt
better. After having a look at most of the
3 This science fiction essay written by Sarthak
in school for inter-house competition stood
first.
celestial bodies, we started for the resort on
mars and reached. I entered my magnificent
suite and quickly took out my astronaut
apparel.
I was so tired that I slept like a log for
some time. Suddenly, I woke up by a high -
pitched noise. It was a UFO! I quickly
entered in it and found a jocund, playful
alien. I went to his home which was on Mars
only. As soon as I entered his home, I was
shocked to see that it was upside down! The
place was perfect for a gadget geek as it was
filled with gadgets. Suddenly I started to feel
dizzy and the alien quickly went in the
interior of the house and brought me a cup
of coffee which was labelled as oxygen.
Finding it tasty, I quickly drank the whole
thing and felt strong enough. I introduced
myself and he introduced himself. His name
was Jaran. Then we played a game called
Toffee with Jaran which was all possiblewith the help of translation gadgets. I could
only pass seven levels and got a gift hamper
full of gadgets. We ate wonderful puddings
and jellies with which we could change our
colour. Finally it was time to say goodbye to
my best Martian friend. He dropped me in
my resort and bade me a tearful bye.
Finally it was time to go back to Earth. I
wished to stay there forever but for the sake
of my family I wanted to come back. As we
were approaching the Earth our Prime
minister Pranab Mukherji asked that how
India looked from there and I answered,
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East or West India is the best. After
reaching India I was welcomed with garlands
and I had become the first child to visit Mars.
I will never forget the stay at Mars and my
alien friend.
By Snehadeep