Gripping and heart – warming!
The Little Rainmaker by Roopal Kewalya (Published by Penguin Random House in 2018)
It is the year 2028 and it hasn’t rained for nearly ten years. People drink a chemical version of water, called as H2O.
Ten year old Anoushqa has never seen the rains. She loves listening to her grandpa’s stories about the rain and a colourful arc in the sky called a ‘rainbow’. Sometimes, she even wondered if the rain is even real or just a part of grandpa’s imagination!
A few days after Anoushqa’s tenth birthday, her grandpa is on his death bed and the poor man’s last wish is to see the rain for the last time. As a loving granddaughter, Anoushqa wants to fulfil his last wish. But how? Can she really battle the sceptics and do the impossible?
The little Rainmaker is a story of love, hope, power and determination of a little girl. It makes a joyous read, rekindles our faith in the power of children – our favourite superheroes! The ending is moving and heart-warming.
The protagonist, Anoushqa’s greatest superpower is that she believes that she can – her immense faith and unshakable determination is worthy of appreciation. She is a change maker, intelligent, passionate, enterprising, resourceful, imaginative and determined.
The other important characters in the book include Samaira, Anouskqa’s best friend who helps her raise funds for the rainmaking miracle. Anoushqa takes the help of Gargi, the scientist and the magician, both of who promise her that they would deliver rainfall.
The book aims at making its readers mindful of environmental preservation. The characters in the book, the world at large, suffer the consequences of vandalizing the environment. This book would surely make the readers conscious and revaluate their relationship with the environment and the ecosystem and urge them to make personalized efforts in setting things right.
Roopal Kewalya, the author, is a screenwriter and also a story teller and a performer for children. This is her first book.
I enjoyed reading this book as it reminded me of the good times I had with my own grandpa who sadly passed away a few years ago. It was a heart-warming story that made me feel hopeful of a better future. I would recommend this book to those who love a combination of a good science fiction and fantasy. This book would take one to a completely different and a new world of the future. The ending is both happy as well as sad.
Title: The little Rainmaker
Author: Roopal Kewalya
Genre: Science Fiction
Price: Rs. 250
Rating: 4/5
Age Group: 8+
By Sreemayi Ramesh, Grade 5, EJPN
“Mesmerizing Iceland – Land of Fire & Ice”
On the night of 21st December 2018, my parents and I left for the airport for our vacation in Iceland. When we landed in Iceland, it was the evening of 22nd December. When we got off the plane, it was so cold that I was shivering!! After we got our bags, we left for the Blue Lagoon in a local taxi!
Blue Lagoon is a place where there is hot natural earth water!! When we reached there, we changed into our swimsuits and we were ready to go! But first, we had to walk to the water!! There was a long pathway!! Since we were wearing only our swimsuits, it became extra cold!! But finally, when we jumped into the water, it was very warm! After we finished swimming in the water it was time to go to our hotel.
We went to our hotel on Laugavegur street in Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik. Reykjavik is a clean and beautiful place. Laugavegur is the most famous street in Reykjavik
Reykjavik City & Laugavegur Street
Iceland gets only about 5-5.30 hours of sunlight during the end of December! We used to leave our hotel for the tour at 8 am. But when we finished our breakfast and came outside, it was like we were traveling in the night!! It was so dark!! Sunlight would appear only by 10.30-11 am. Again by 4-4.30 pm, it would start getting darker.
On the second day of our trip, we went to the Pingvellir National Park, where the country’s parliament Alpingir was founded a thousand years ago. It is also a site of geological wonder as it has a rift valley between two tectonic plates – Eurasian and North American plates. It was so cool that we went between the border of two tectonic plates !! Also, that was the place where I experienced snowfall for the first time!!
Pingvellir National Park - Parliament Pingvellir National Park - Rift Valley
Next, we visited two main places which represent that Iceland is indeed a place of ice and fire - Jokulsarlon and Hverir!!
Jokulsarlon is a super awesome glacier lagoon. The nearby place “the diamond beach”, seemed totally out of the world! There were so many huge chunks of ice crystals all over the beach!!
The “Black Sand Beach” was amazing with black sand and huge columns of basalt rocks. But this beach was scary!! It almost pulled me over to the water due to strong winds! It is always extremely windy at this place!! Iceland is considered the second windiest country on this planet.
Diamond Beach
Hverir, a geothermal field is filled with bubbling hot springs and gaseous fumaroles, in contrast with the cold Icelandic weather. It is a very smelly place and we were advised to stay away from super-hot mud fumaroles!
Iceland also has many beautiful waterfalls like Gullfoss, Skogafoss, etc. But we sadly could not play in the water as it was super cold.
During this trip, I tried something which I had never done before – “Glacier hiking”!! It was so cool! My guide said that I was the youngest hiker to go on this journey! My guide said that if the ice is colored dark blue, then it is very deep, and if the ice is light blue then it is hollow. We wore these special shoes called crampons, so we do not skid on the ice.
Glacier hiking with my guide
While we were hiking, we saw pieces of ice that looked like glass, they had rainbow reflections!!
This trip was unique as I got to visit a huge ice cave and walk through a lava tunnel as well!! The ice cave was cool!! We had to wear crampons there as well so that we do not fall while walking on the ice. We went with protective helmets so that we do not get hurt. While walking inside the cave, there was a huge chunk of ice that was about to fall on my head!! Luckily, I moved towards the other side and did not get hurt one bit. The ice cave tour was a wonderful experience.
Ice Cave Tour
On the last day, we visited an old lava tunnel! It was super dark, so we went with torches. Our guide showed the actual darkness of the tunnel by switching off all the lights!! It was super scary! The lava tunnel was created due to a volcanic eruption a long time ago. The dried lava was very colorful, mainly shades of red, and formed many interesting shapes and structures. Guide told us that there were special bacteria in the lava tunnel feeding on minerals present in the lava. They looked like crystals and it seems that NASA Scientists are studying these bacteria.
Inside Lava Tunnel
The most memorable day of my Iceland trip was the early hours of 28th December 2018. At around 1 am while we were fast asleep, the hotel reception gave us a Northern Lights alarm call. We woke up immediately, wore our warm clothes, and ran downstairs!! We saw it! We saw it!! It was the Northern lights, also called Aurora Borealis!! The Northern lights initially started as green colored light and later so many rare colors like purple, red and yellow also appeared with so many amazing patterns, as if the lights were dancing!! And it lasted for more than half an hour! Then when it stopped, we went back to bed. I was super thrilled!!
Northern Lights
After finishing our 10-day tour of Iceland we returned home, back to India :) That was my favorite trip and a very memorable one as well!! I suggest you plan and go on a trip to Iceland!! That place is truly awesome, with no doubt!!!
By, Siri Sharma, Grade 5, EJPN
Deep Dives with Shriram
Who Am I? #introduction
M.V. Shriram is my name;
I play football which is my favourite game.
I am very tidy and clean;
please don’t think to others I am mean.
I love games a lot,
Always stay happy is my thought.
I talk with people gently,
I am also strong mentally.
With a sandwich I like sauce,
with my friends, I don’t act like a boss.
I love my family and friends;
I know learning is the only thing that never ends.
Football – #Coolgame
Football is my favourite game,
because in football I can gain a big name.
In future if I become a footballer I would like to play for Barcelona,
I want to be a great footballer like Maradona.
My favourite footballers are Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi,
for a good vacation I would like to visit New Jersey.
In football it doesn’t matter if you are very rich and wealthy,
it matters about you being healthy.
I would first try to get selected in the Indian team,
and then I would like to go for other schemes.
When I become a famous footballer others would look at me and say “M V SHRIRAM PRAJWAL is his name,”
and “football is his passion and favourite game.”
Nature – #OurFuture
I want everybody to not destroy nature;
instead I want the world to be full of greenery in future.
I would like small children to not only play with toys and play stations,
but also plant trees and increase afforestation.
I want the Earth to be the best place in the whole space,
decreasing the amount of greenhouse gasses from destroying nature is a big case.
We should not only spend all of our time in playing and studies;
we should also spend time with nature who is our permanent buddy.
Due to pollution there is a large amount of greenhouse gasses releasing,
there are lot of people in the world who are coughing and sneezing.
The nature is getting destroyed like strong wind blowing,
so we all should contribute to save the world from polluting.
Friends for life - #Bestfriends
Best friends are those who always stick till the end;
they are like a straight line which will never bend.
Best friends are those who play with you from the heart,
they can never be drawn apart.
True friends are not those who are from your religion or caste,
true friends are those who will stay with you till the last.
Friends aren’t those who help you move a cart,
Friends are like the different colours which blend and form a beautiful art.
India - #Beautifulsubcontinent
India is a land full of greenery;
there are many beaches here which have very good scenery.
India is a home to many rivers;
it is a great land which is cultivated by farmers.
As I come from the land of spices,
Indians are particularly good at handling crisis.
The protectors of India are the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force;
the borders of our country, they constantly reinforce.
India is a country which is independent,
for Asia, India is like a very expensive pendent.
Narendra Modi Ji is India’s prime minister;
India is a country which is well governed and administered.
In Hindi, we call the Indian Flag as Tiranga;
from the Himalayas flows the holy river Ganga.
You can see the Almighty being worshipped by all
either in temple, mosque, church or gurudwara.
Superstitions are not uncommon in this location;
you don’t want to break the laws of the Indian constitution!
A land filled with various beliefs, cultures and languages spoken,
to my country and to my people, I pledge my devotion.
News flash – #COVID 19
Covid 19 is a virus that kills people’s immunity;
we can beat this virus by staying at home and increase unity,
if the virus has affected you make sure you don’t go in the community.
Everyone is suffering from this virus,
Wearing a mask should be your only focus.
We need to stay at home and make ourselves immune,
small children will be happy as they can sit at home and watch cartoon.
We should be thankful to the doctors and nurses for their treatment;
they can’t live in their own house, neither on the floors nor in the basement.
All doctors and scientists are trying to find the vaccine;
all elders can sit at home and read a newspaper or magazine.We shouldn’t go out in public places even if we are very brave,
so I request all of you to stay home and stay safe.
By, Sriram Prajwal M.V, Grade 5, EJPN
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