Aha! Its summer!

 

It’s that time of the year again when we are envious of our kids (if not always ......... that is) and turn nostalgic over those carefree days of summer of 80s’ or the 90s’, when time literally stood still! Juxtapose to the present, we have turned into anxious parents who are in the continuous quest of finding things to keep our kids constructively engaged and in a constant endeavor of devising ways and means to keep them off gadgets! 

There is no doubt that our parents had it easy during simpler times, lesser distractions, and fewer choices! There is also no denying the fact they are a lot more easy-going as grandparents than they were as parents! (But try and get them to admit it…you are reminded of the 80s’/90s’ kid that you are!)

In between packing the kids off to grandparents, enrolling them into summer camp, driving them to museums or children’s activity centers squeezing in a family vacation or two, before you know it, summer holidays are over and it’s time to scramble for uniforms and books for the new academic year! Well… I began writing this at the beginning of April,  only to be finishing it at almost the end of my daughter’s summer break! 

Anyway, Aadya rang in her summer vacations with AHA! Adventures with Asha Nehemiah at our favourite “ Kahaani Box”, J P Nagar in association with Funky Rainbow, another one of our favourite places,  for  a wonderful  session themed “Author Meet and Greet”, wherein the veteran author Asha Nehemiah took the children through her process of ideating, creating, writing and providing inputs to illustrating her books, in particular reference to the book that was recently launched titled “Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures” brought out by Puffin publications. While offering a sneak peek into her new book, the prolific writer engaged the children with “from-idea-to-print-story” of ten year old Ashish and run-ins at his mom’s workplace, a dream workplace for some viz. a Book store! The delightful session ended with a poster making activity which the kids enjoyed as they doodled their ideas into interesting pictures or taglines!

Here is ours…….

Part of the Puffin’s Silly Billy series,  “Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures” traces the eventful journey of a young Ashish from what he expects to be a painful torture to finding his own happy place at this “beautiful bookstore”, while making lasting friendships and other interesting connections along the way, and in the process solving the mystery of how the book “Success Sutras and Money Mantras” always finds its way onto to the top shelf of the revolving stand!  Aha! one can find adventure in the most unexpected of all places! Accompanied by strikingly realistic yet toon-style illustrations by Pankaj Saikia,  “Ghosts, thieves, and Aha! Adventures  is a summer potpourri -  from funny to wistful and tender, from suspenseful to comic,  full of GenX parenting to Gen Z growing up moments! As it goes in the book    “ Just being around and reading them will give you your own Ah! Moment when you least expect it"…….. so go find your own Aha! moment this summer!

Julley...A Ladakhi adventure!

 

 “Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations” read one of the road signs as we got out of Leh’s Kushok Bakula Rimpochee airport  and the saying probably best represented Ladakh’s landscape and told us what we could to expect from our eight-day long trip to the land of high mountain passes. Ladakh is truly a visual wonder – with its landscapes alternating from rocky to sandy, from gravelled to snow-covered, with deep valleys and gorges, allowing us to experience bright sunshine at sub-zero temperatures!

 

We best remember the land of Siachen warriors for the surround view of the imposing and colossal Karakorum mountainous range emitting myriad shades of purple, green, brown, red and russet,  Buddhist monasteries and Stupas perched atop the most picturesque locales,  snow covered high altitude passes that makes one breathless both literally and figuratively and its pristine lakes that have much more to offer than “All is well” selfies, vegetarian friendly one pot (read bowl) meals of Skyu, Chhutagi, Thukpa and Thenthuk and enriching and awe-inspiring experience at the Hall of Fame museum of the Indian armed forces, and of course a fantastic opportunity to capture the milky way in its night skies, provided one is ready brave the biting cold in the dead of the night!  

 

Ladakh offers a little bit of everything for everyone - a “push your limits” adventure  for the brave-hearts, a meditatively calming experience at the monasteries for the spiritually inclined, scenic drives with breath taking views of the valleys and elevated ranges for the mountain bound, feeling the rush of ice cold waters from Pangong lake to Shey river, from Zanskar to Indus rivers for the water body,  hopping from one Tibetian market to another on Leh’s market  for the shopaholic, tasting the wide ranging array of local cuisine to feast on for the foodie, and not to forget the quiet starry nights for the astro-photography aficionado - the roof of the world truly has lots to offer apart from a much needed break from the sweaty summer of the South (so much so we forgot what it was like to perspire until we landed in Delhi on our way back to Bangalore!).

 

As always, none of our trips is complete without visiting a local book store, and we did manage to find one such place at Leh’s market called “Ladakh Book shop” However, I was a tad disappointed when we couldn’t lay our hands on any children’s books on Ladakh or any book on local children’s stories, and instead found many books on Tibetan tales for children.  

But considering that Ladakh is known for its monasteries spreading the message of world peace, we picked up “Jataka Tales – birth stories of Buddha” selected and retold by Ethel Beswisk, – a nice little compilation of Buddha’s stories originally narrated in Pali, during the course of his forty years after his enlightenment. Brought out in the form of delightful stories revolving around mostly animal stories, with values and life lessons to imbibe from, for children and adults alike. “Jataka Tales” will also serve as a bibliographic souvenir reminding us our Ladakhi adventure! 

 However, for a children’s book on Ladakh, I didn’t have to travel too far and was pleasantly surprised to have found this book tucked away in the corner of one of our book shelves,  bought a few years ago in the hope of travelling to Ladakh someday! “Sonam’s Ladakh”, a Katha publication by Manish Lakhani is a wonderful book that vividly captures the essence of the Ladakhi landscape, Ladakhi culture and its people. Narrated by the five year old Sonam,  who belongs to the indigenous semi nomadic Changpa tribe, the book takes one through a visual tour of Ladakh during the peak of its winter and its myriad summer colours, of its flora and fauna, pristine lakes and its beautiful monasteries and best of all through Ladakh’s “quiet nights full of stars”!  Sonam’s Ladakh is surely a must-visit and a must-read for those getting Leh’d this travel season!   Our Ladakh trip was like a breath of fresh air, and we came back refreshed, rejuvenated and carrying a little bit of Ladakh with us!

A walk in the garden!

It has been over month since we drove out of Bangalore to vacation at my parents’ farm Shristi, at Dharmasthala, and with the extension of lockdown in the State, we are now looking at getting on with our routine - school, work or probably even court work, connecting from here.  Of course, barring a few sporadic connectivity issues, we are more than thrilled to be working out of this serene eco-system that opens up to beautiful views from every window and look out. From the stunning view of Kudremukh ranges from the terrace on a clear day, to the glimpse of the colourful asters outlining our garden area from the balcony, or the panoramic landscape view of our areca plantation from the veranda, to the sight of the silvery sheet of rain soaking the surroundings, we are entreated to the nature’s spectacular imagery at every turn and corner.

What was meant to be a ten-day summer break has turned out to be an extended vacation of sorts for me and the kids, and having settled into a slow paced routine here at the farm, our treadmill-like life in Bangalore now seems like a distant memory. Except for my husband who has been working full time connecting to his virtual workspace from here, we have been off our regular routines as the kids have been on their summer vacation and I have been off duty for most part. Neither did we nor did my-in laws back in Bangalore expect to stay this long  and nor did my parents expect to have us for this long! 😊

While it’s been a dejavu for my son who spent last year’s lockdown at his most favourite place on earth, it’s been  a dream come true for my little one who had always envied her older brother’s extended stays at Shristi.  So much so that she has probably even forgotten that we have a home in Bengaluru! In fact, Aadya’s daily routine here is -  cycling around the courtyard, roaming around our farm, accompanying the cows as they are sent off grazing around our plantation, taking a stroll in the garden picking flowers, stopping just a bit to watch the butterflies hovering around the flowers,  pulling the vegetables off the vine, pausing to discover a nest perched on one of the branches, joining her brother in playing with the pet dogs, regaling the farm workers non-stop with her over-the-top stories….. and with all this she couldn’t have cared any less for her Grade one class all set to resume next week!

Since Aadya’s all-time favourite activity is to spend time in our front garden, picking a wide assortment of flowers for the daily pooja by her father or grandfather or for the flower vase she happily arranges with the help of  her grandmother, or looking at the ready-to-pluck veggies grown in the garden, I knew she would enjoy Niyatee Parikh Sharma’s garden series as I’d like to call it. Brought out by tota books, we can’t thank Funky Rainbow enough for introducing us to Veer’s and Ananya’s green adventures in “The Tomato Thief” and “The Tomato Flood” written by Niyatee Parikh Sharma and illustrated by Alankrita Amaya.  

The Tomato Thief  has Veer eagerly and patiently waiting for the tomatoes to ripe in the green patch in his terrace garden and just as they seem ready to be picked, they vanish leading Veer to go on a who-dun-it-expedition, making him interrogate each and every member and visitor of his household, from his naughty sister Ananya,  Baba, Shoba aunty  Ramu Kaka, his friends Shreya and Pranav, but to no avail. Veer even wonders if the aliens and their UFOs had anything to do with his missing tomatoes! Read on to find out the culprit …who also makes a surprise appearance on the sidelines of “The Tomato flood” (which was discovered by Aadya reminding me of Mo Willems’ books that always have the illustrations of characters of previous books making guest appearances in the later titles!)

In fact, we live through the likes of “The Tomato Flood” almost every other day, with our vegetable garden abundantly sprouting brinjals, okra, snake gourds, string beans and jackfruits more than we can eat, and we totally empathise with the predicament of Veer and Ananya’s mother who is forced to churn out every recipe there is in this planet with tomato as its ingredient….all thanks to Veer and Ananya’s gardening misadventures. Read this hilarious tale of how Veer and Ananya's family avert a tsumani of tomatoes from their garden! Both the books make for delightful reads and the author beautifully strings everyday occurrences into engaging light hearted stories. We love the playful yet relatable illustrations that have a sense of continuity in both the books, and definitely has us begging for more stories from Veer and Ananya’s household!

Aadya's day out at the beach!

Summers are always a throwback to one’s school days!  Though we adults aren’t as lucky as our kids to enjoy a summer break for a  whole month or two  (unless you are in the teaching profession),  the sweltering heat, twilight evenings, school holidays, the mango season, ice cream outings….. All of which ushers in a lazy feeling goading you to .........maybe take it easy this season …..unwind and chill out with kids and family. With schools closed, and a consequent respite from the morning rush and evening homework, I can't help if some of my son’s holiday fever rubs off on me too. Though we didn’t plan for a major trip this summer….we combined a couple of family events at our native town with a small beach vacation at the coast with a final stop (as always) at my parents’ farm house Shristi, Dharmasthala.  

The highlight of our trip was our stay at Sai Vishram Beach resort at Baindur, Udupi District. A quiet little property on the shores of Someshwara Beach which promises a back-to-nature (sea in this case) experience, free from devices ( no TV nor phone) albeit with all the modern comforts, and a delicious vegetarian spread. The almost-private beach as its center piece, the resort offers a host of beach related activities during the day and sunset evenings with chai and literally ‘bajji on the beach”!  We enjoyed the calm and pristine surroundings of this Sattvik resort, made even more homely by the ever-smiling staff and not to forget the Sai Baba temple in the midst of the refreshingly beautiful sea facing greenery that made for a memorable summer getaway for all us!

Though our little one has been to a beach before, this was her real  full fledged beach experience and we were quite surprised that she shared no inhibitions (like her brother earlier did!) with any of the beach activities, whether it a motor boat cruise, to jet skis, or riding on the waves lashing on to the shore with the help of a life guard or simply floating in the middle of the Arabian sea, or making sand castles….our little adventurist was game for it all!  

To complete her beach experience, we read a couple of books on the beach. I had picked up   "Keya's day at the Beach" a Level 2 Pratham reader by Radha Rangarajan and illustrated by Lavanya Naidu. Keya excitedly  peeks out of her burrow in the sand to be looking out at the sea. As she accompanies her mother to the beach, she spots many of her kind who have all come out for their feed of the day at the shore. As she marches on with her mother, grabbing whatever treats she can find in the sand, her mother introduces her to many of her species kind from the robust-soldier crab, to the eye-popping ghost crab, from the big-claw-fiddler crab to the crab-eating moon crab. Alas! just as she nears the sea, it is time to head back to the burrow. But Keya has enjoyed a day out at the sea and can't wait for the next day to march into the beach again! This is a-one-of-a-kind fiction-non-fiction book anthropomorphizing crabs which does make an interesting read with vivid illustrations for curious little minds.

But for my little one to fondly remember her fantastic beach experience at Sai Vishram Beach resort , I had to fall back on another anthropomorphic series - "Peppa at the Beach" , a Peppa Pig adventure, revolving around their beach outing with the Kangaroo family. My little one could very well relate to the excitement of the approaching waves, riding on the waves and being carried by the waves into the shore..... just like how she attempted to do with the help of a life guard at the beach.  Just as Daddy pig is caught off guard with a giant wave that picks him up and carries him into the share, my little one was knocked down by quite a few big waves hitting the shore and no sooner did she wipe the saline water off her face than she was ready for more! So just like Keya and Peppa, our little one loves the  beach! 

Spring in Shristi!!!!

The arrival of spring  in all its blooms and hues is best seen at my parents’ farm at ‘Shristi’ in Dharmasthala. With over twenty different varieties of flowers, including few local species with no English equivalent names and  multiple varieties of some common garden species adorning the front garden, and the fruit orchard replete with juicy jam fruits sprouting on  every branch,  spring  is truly in the air!!

The row of colourful balsams lining the garden as if to rein in the zinnia from blossoming all over the place, leaving little room for the long necked Canna or the dwarfed golden marigolds who seem to be vying for physical and screen space as one tries to capture the garden on lens, and the ever dependable  all-seasons hibiscus of many shades  and combinations, always yielding to the native “sadaa pushpa” or “shankapushpa” or “kanakambara” that seem to steadfastly assert its roots in any given space, restricting some ‘flower show varieties” like red lilies, velvet flowers and coxcombs to potted plants, and not to forget a dash of yellow and white  bougainvillea that have crept into the garden off late! While most of this sprightly garden is in full bloom in morning glory, there are some flowers who welcome the late risers too, in choosing to bloom only under the blazing sun, while others stay on till evening eagerly waiting for the sprinklers to come on at sunset! As you look out of the window from any part of the house, or sit by the front porch or walk down the path leading to the main gate, Shristi’s flowers are always there to brighten your day, lift your spirits and give you that Wordsworth-ian feeling evoked centuries ago on seeing the bright yellow “Daffodils”!!!!  

While I may not be able to compose a poem like Wordsworth, or even write like Ruskin Bond (who I'm sure would’ve been inspired to turn in a write up on Shrist’s flowers),  I can certainly dedicate a blogpost to the spring blossoms at Shristi that have been attracting many visitors from extended family to friends and creating many facebook memories! Of course, a garden like this represents a keen interest and a mammoth effort put in by my parents in beautifying what is already a paradise for us city dwellers!

Needless to say, my city kids have been mostly outdoors the last four days, with my older one practising his balling amidst the nets specially put up by his doting grandfather and my younger one darting across every half an hour to the cattle barn, and in between all that, both of them have been soaking up some sunshine, feasting their eyes  and getting wet at the flower garden!

As cliched as it sounds, every post on Onestoryaday is always followed by a book to read, and this time it’s  “Flora Flowers” by Debi Gelori, a book that we picked up from the soon-to-be-closed down library Kutoohala, (sad sigh!) 

Anyway, spring is here and Flora’s bunny family are all busy making plans and necessary arrangements for what each one plans to grow -  Nora planted amaryllis, Cora planted pink tulips, Sam sowed lettuce, Tom planted sun flower seeds, and Max plants cress and what about Flora? As the little Flora peers into her siblings’ efforts, they all want to keep her at bay. Finally Flora helps herself with a pot and plants a brick hoping to grow a house instead! As Nora’s amaryllis, Cora’s tulips, Tom’s sun flowers bloom in full confidence, and Flora’s family devour Sam’s lettuce garnished with Max’s Cress, Flora’s siblings poke fun at her supposed house that still appears to be a brick!! But Flora prods her house all along. As summer sun turns into winter snow and finally during the following spring,  Flora’s family comes out of hibernation. Flora is delighted just as everybody to see her brick grow into a nest for their birdy friend .....finally making it a house! A nice little read that beautifully illustrates the glory of spring and its breathtaking blooms....and makes your little one take note of the little joys of nature around her! Here’s inviting everyone to feast their eyes on our own little flower show at Shristi! :-)

Abhay's cricket attacks!

Partly published in Parent Edge  blog . 

“Why do I have to study science if I want to become a cricketer?” was one of the questions I had to encounter when coaching Abhay for his exams this year! I am not sure whether it’s a natural progression of interest for boys his age or inspiration from his cousins (who are district/club level under-14 players), but I have no idea when my nine year old turned from a regular cricket fan (or so I thought!) into a wannabe cricketer! Over the last year…Abhay’s interest in cricket has transformed into almost an obsession … with him swinging his bat, practicing his bowling and watching long forgotten matches on sports channels back-to-back and so on and so forth! So this summer, we had no choice but to enroll him into a cricket coaching camp, where he goes every morning, lugging his cricket kit that seems larger than him! J As if that were not enough, we have to tolerate his continuous chatter and live demonstration of various cricketing techniques he’s learned at the camp…..all day!!!! So it’s all about cricket, cricket and more cricket this summer! 

In fact, buying his cricket kit almost felt like a coming-of-age event of sorts, with our nine year old, dizzy with excitement over choosing the best cricket gear for his game, in the company of his equally excited but more-seasoned and experienced cricketer cousins!! We are not certain if his new-found sporting activity is just for summer or a year- long affair or beyond, but all I can say is that it’s his job to dream and our job to provide the right pitch for him to realize his dream!  That said…. as he dons his cricketing gear, we can’t help but notice that our little boy in white looks all grown up!!

Ever since Abhay’s interest in cricket grew, I have been on the look-out for  good books on cricket for young readers and I couldn’t believe my luck when I found this book written by our favourite author! What are the chances of finding a book written by Ruskin Bond on cricket …right?? I grabbed it as soon as I chanced upon it! So we begin this IPL cricket season with the best - Ruskin Bond’s recent offering “Ranji’s wonderful bat and other stories” that is not only makes for an engaging read but also brings out the pleasures and pains it takes to watching and playing the gentlemen’s game respectively.  This wonderful compilation includes some of Bond's early stories featuring twelve year old Ranji and his love for cricket. I’m sure  Ranji’s emphatic  “I want to be a test cricketer when I grow up, of what use will Maths be to me?” does echo some the sentiments of our wannabe cricketers at home …doesn’t it??  While this book, brought out by Puffin, the children's publication wing of Penguin publications, has cricket as it's centrepiece, it's not all about cricket either, and other stories revolve around sporting activities in general, sportsmanship spirit and many a nature adventures. This curated collection also contains excerpts from his novel (that we had featured a while ago) "The Hidden pool"  that showcase unconventional sporting feats like the big bug race or the adventurous treks to the Pindari glacier.  Read on as he reflects on why cricket is every living being's game in India, including a crocodile in "Cricket for the crocodile", or that cricket unexpectedly acts as a gender-bender in “Koki plays the game”, or Uncle Ken’s muddled experiences with tennis and cricket alike, or a young boy’s cycling turns into an unforgettable run-in with nature’s fury in ‘Riding through the Flames”, how two boys fight over an exclusive swim in a pristine forest pool in “The Fight” and many such page-turners. Of course….being an Ruskin Bond aficionado, both of us devoured the book in no time and Abhay couldn’t help comparing himself to Ranji, the protagonist in the cricket stories. The charm of any sport does not only lie in the day’s game or the match, but in the passion, dedication and the joy of losing oneself in it and trust India’s favourite story-teller to vividly bring out the same in his sports stories.  Replete with subtle wit and humour, coming of age tales of friendship and team spirit on and off the field, lively limerick-style poems on cricket, bring on your sporting or cricketing outfit with the Bond from Mussoorie!  

Abhay .............finally takes the plunge??

Come summer and Abhay knows what to expect from his mom.....nothing better than to enrol him into swimming classes of course! For the last few years, swimming has been a mandatory summer time activity that almost always made its way on Onestoryaday! Every summer.....Abhay goes through first time jitters as he stands in line with other kids needing to be coaxed into entering  the pool and this year was no different! In fact he began worrying about it much before...during our two week vacation at my parents' farm house.....resulting in his doting grandmother pulling me up for being a pushy parent ( which I confess I am). This time however...the ordeal of having to watch him panic at the poolside didn't last too long .........as his body seem to remember what his mind didn't! By the end of the first week...he had not only regained his confidence of staying afloat sans floaters but also didn't stop showing off his pool side exploits to everyone around! So after all.....a little push is needed to take the plunge..isn't it?? 

I found a perfect book to celebrate Abhay's first confident splash into the swimming pool.... “Radhika takes the Plunge” by Ken Spillman and illustrated by Anu Biswas is a chapter book brought out by Young Zubaan publications. The story revolves around Radhika who in her attempt to adjust to her new surroundings in Perth post their move from Delhi, is hell bent on learning/going swimming with her friend and her dad, if only her perpetually worrying mother would let her. Finally Radhika cannot believe her luck as her mother gives in, only to realize that swimming isn’t simple as she thought….as she feels jinxed by her mother’s warning her that she is nowhere close to a fish!  But amidst the peer pressure, pressure of fitting into a new environment, suffering through the ensuing embarrassment and dealing with an ever-nervous mom, read on as Radhika does learn a thing or two about coping with fear! With pictures by the high school student Anu Biswas that best illustrate the travails of a tween caught in the motions of carving out her own identity in a new place, and printed content in a running handwriting font ….this is an amusing story that most kids aged seven and above can relate to. So let your young reader take the plunge with Radhika this summer ...just like Abhay did!! :-)

The Cherry Tree

Like every summer, Abhay spends the first half of his summer holidays at my parents' farm "Shristi" at Dharmasthala. This time however, much to his chagrin ... his mother has joined him that too for the full length of his stay ... which has invariably come in the way of the no-holds-barred- grandparental pampering that he used to enjoy during his stay here earlier!:-)) So much so that I have also been accused of acting like his jealous older sibling vying for my parents' attention! :-)

Anyway, my parents' Arecanut farm is adorned with a colourful flower garden bordering the house, a vegetable garden full of seasonal veggies like red pumpkins, okra, long beans and greens, and a fruit orchard .. bearing many fruits like the fig, chiku, pineapple, banana, guava..with it's star attraction being the jam fruit tree! With almost all it's branches sprouting the juicy "Jamnerele", as it's known in the local language, our tree offers a fun summer- time activity especially for kids and believe me, no visitor leaves Shristi without embarking on a fruit picking adventure, plucking the white and pink fruits off its branches and filling their baskets with as many as they can reach!:-) And to think that we used to pay for this sort of fruit picking activity in the US now sounds unreal! 

Dedicating this post to the painstaking efforts of my parents in creating what has become our nature summer retreat .. we read Ruskin Bond's "The Cherry Tree" which was originally a part of his short story collection titled " The Night Train at Deoli and other stories", now has been converted into this little book for young readers by Puffin publications. I needn't say any more about Ruskin Bond's narrative that turn a simple story into a magical and a moving tale with an old world charm to it but the Cherry tree brings about an amazing intermingling of nature's various elements  with the transitioning human world! 

The story traces six year old Rakesh's joint venture with his retired forest ranger grandpa of growing a Cherry tree in their back yard in lower Himalayan region that starts with Rakesh casually planting a Cherry seedling, only to be pleasantly surprised to find small twig with a leaf sticking out of the stony ground next spring. As Rakesh excitedly begins to nurture it with the aid of his grandpa, the little twig grows into a small tree, braving all odds ranging from a hungry goat, a woman grass cutter to a caterpillar. Finally as he celebrates his ninth birthday along with his friends around the tree, the Cherry tree gifts him with its first pink blossoms followed by the season's first fruit! Read on as during the next few seasons, as Rakesh grows taller, and his grandpa grows older, how amongst all the greenery of the hills, their day-to-day life revolves around the most special tree amongst all - the Cherry tree. Beautifully brought alive by its vivid illustrations by Manoj A Menon "The Cherry tree" is a must read for any young reader to understand how  life can be do much enriched by one's natural surroundings- just as how we enjoy the beauty of our farm "Shristi"! 

Summer vacations - Time to turn a Bookasura!!!

First appeared on parent edge blog

We are at the end of the academic year and the  dreaded exam season is over in most parts of the country…at least for the younger kids and shall I say the most dread season for the parents is here to stay for the next two months ….vacations??!!  While the prospect of a temporary respite from the mad school mornings may be a reason for cheer, but given the long summer breaks, parents most often find themselves fretting over how to keep their kids engaged or occupied constructively. With most households having both parents working, the kids’ holiday schedule can get even more hectic than the regular school schedule- driving them from summer workshops, art camps, sports camps and even pre-IIT JEE training programs!  Of course….there’s always an option to pack them off to their grandparents’ provided it is convenient and the grandparents are willing to share the load…of course not to forget the children being willing participants to the change in social climate!:-)

Anyway, speaking of going to grandparents’ for the holidays, we are at Abhay's grandparents' place at Shristi and will spend most of April soaking up some coastal sunshine! Though a lot of kids routinely spent their summer vacations at grandparents' while we were growing up, I never got a chance to do so. Thankfully, Abhay is lucky and spends a part of summer holidays every year at their farm house at Dharmasthala. For a change, this year I also have accompanied Abhay to his grandparents' place...though I am not sure if he's very thrilled about it! :-)

Anyway, we got along many books withus, including a recently released book that makes a great summer read for kids aged five and above, -  Arundhati Venkatesh’s “Bookasura” brought out by Scholastic publications.

Bookasura revolves around the adventures of Bala and his run-in with the book-eating monster. You can’t help but adore Bala, the young protagonist, who amidst his excitement over having discovered a new adventure book series, his irritation at being supposedly sidelined by the new baby at home and his utter disdain over his baby sister gobbling up some pages of his book, feels almost relieved to be sent off to his grandparents’ house for the holidays. Bala’s visit to his grandparents is almost reminiscent of the days we used to camp at grandparents’ during the summer with Paati (grandmother in Tamil) vowing to fatten him during his stay with her lip-smacking delicacies and Thaatha (grandpa in Tamil ) regaling him with stories from the Indian mythology. So when his grandpa narrates the story of Bakasura and his defeat at hands of Bheema, Bala finds himself encountering another monster at Navneet uncle’s Thotadaan (house with a garden) with an insatiable appetite for books! Bala is then constrained to feed the monster many of his favourite books, with a “pun-intended” choice of titles!  But before he runs the risk of having to give up all his books, he thinks of a one-of-a-kind ploy to outwit the book-eating monster, whom he believes to have a striking resemblance to his book-eating baby sister!  Besides being brilliantly written, the author delves into the mind of a young boy  like no one else and showcases the myriad shades of Bala’s world with an indigenous charm that makes it all the more relatable. The book touches upon so many aspects, albeit in a subtle manner -  changing family dynamics with the arrival of a new baby, parents’ paranoia over exposure to television and its transference to the child,  the undivided and no holds barred attention from grandparents, impact of stories on a child’s imagination in turn instilling a passion for reading and books! Priya Kurien’s playful illustrations present a perfect visual context to this original plot that is sure to entertain and engage your young reader this summer! After reading this…don’t blame me if your young reader turns a Bookasura ………..eager for more adventures of Bala! As far as Abhay was concerned, it made him think about only one thing.... I hope the new baby in our house does not eat up my book!:-)