Julia smiled when she saw a red rose stuck in her latch. “Who would have thought of sending me a rose on Valentine’s Day?” she wondered. “I’ve been such an unlovable person these last three years that people actually shun me.” Julia was once a charming young woman much sought after in social circles. Her […]

On a hot summer’s day, a goldsmith was travelling from his village, to a neighbouring town. He had to cross a stream. At this time of the year, the water wasn’t deep, so the goldsmith hitched up his mundu , and stepped into the water. As he did so, he saw a tiger upstream. It […]

Mother Duck was proud of her eight little ducklings. They were just a few weeks old and still looked like yellow balls of wool. “I must take them to the pond,” she thought, “I want to teach them to swim.” “But Mama, we have just learnt to walk. How can we swim so soon?” asked […]

Uma sighed as she went about her work. Vijay her last child was causing her much worry. He was so different from her other children. Whenever she asked him to do a job he would say, “Later Mother. I promise I’ll do it.” But the work never got done. If she continued nagging him, he […]

Tom and Jerry were enjoying their summer vacation. “Where shall we go tomorrow?” asked Jerry, “I was thinking of the Red Hill. We’ll climb to the top and have a picnic lunch there.” “Have you seen the papers lately? Almost every day there’s something about a mysterious monkey attacking people in some slum,” said Tom. […]

In the village of Honnur , there once lived a farmer. He had six sons who were all hard working boys, except for Subbu the youngest. Subbu did not like work of any kind. He loved to loiter in the shady groves behind his house. Here he learnt to imitate the call of birds and […]

It was peak hour in the morning, and vehicles moved at snail’s pace bumper to bumper. At this rate, I would never reach in time for my crucial business meeting. Before I reached SantaCruz, I decided to park my car somewhere, and take the train to Churchgate. This brought no joy either. Even the first […]

On the monstrous black rock that jutted into the sea, Jay lay sprawled on his tummy. He watched in fascination as the greenish blue waters piled up into giant breakers and took a roll and tumble, before frothing into nothingness on the yellow sand. “How I wish I could swim way out, and come riding […]

The minstrel was not completely blind. He had hazy vision that helped him go on his rounds. He left the village at dawn, with his musical instrument a dry pumpkin with a handle, over which were strung a few wires. He returned before sunset. We children loved Thejappa. He lived alone in a hut, under […]