In this issue - Dimdima · 2020. 4. 29. · PETERS ROAD, ROYAPETTAH, CHENNAI–600 014. EDITOR:...

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May 2020Vol. 4 Issue 12

Bhavan’s

DimdimaBring out the Winner in You

Comics

8 Teasers & Puzzles

Hall of Fame18 Foucault’s Earth Turn

Quest24 Q & A

Stories10 The Scared Ghost

20 Whatever Happens,Happens for the Best

32 Blackcat Blues

Brain Power

India File28 Remembering Kurdi

Fact-o-Meter42 Zany Festivals

Cover: Abhijeet Kini

First & Foremost7 The Doomsday Clock

Birds in My Backyard26 Be a Birder!

Activity41 Choo Mantar Jadoo Mantar

Life in Faraway Places

Chef’s Corner47 Pudding and Ice

Turning Point43 The Super Star

In this issue:

6 The Frog Who Almost Burst

14 Ruku and Sheru

21 Treble Trouble

25 Somantics

29 Haddiraj: Superfood

37 Tom Bahadur: The Alien

44 The Red Tag

Book Look

34 The Flamingos and My Family

22 MathMagic

Fun with Math

49 It Happened to Me

50 Jokeshop

51 Contest

45 The Magic Storeof Nu-Cham-Vu

4 DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4

—Niyati Joshi, Std. 9,Shantiniketan School, Kolhapur.

LAUGH PARADE

The next time you buy shoes, etc., don’t throw awaythe carton. Colour it brightly and convert it into abirdhouse.

Find out how much time youtake to shower. So, if you taketen minutes, you will get anidea of how much time youhave the water running. Savewater by reducing yourshower time or better still, bytaking bath with bucketwater. Letting the water runas you shower or brush yourteeth negatively impacts ourworld. Before a water warbegins, let’s all try sincerelyto reduce our waterconsumption and make thisworld a better place to live in.

Birdhouse from Scrap

—Neeta Agarwal, Std. 8-A,Agarwal Memorial Public Higher School, Kanpur.

Keep a stool against a wallin your balcony. Put some grasson the stool (a window ledgewill also do), and then place thecarton over it so that its openend faces the wall.

Now make an opening inthe centre of the side of thecarton that is facing you. Thisis for the birds to enter. Belowthis hole, make a small hole toinsert the handle of a woodenspoon.

Your birdhouse is ready. Putsome bird food in the spoonand place a small bowl of waternext to the birdhouse.

Word PuzzleArrange the letterscorrectly in the grid to getthe word that describesthe process of caring forchildren like a mother.

Hee Haa!

Crack This

After a visit to thecircus, Monu andNonu werediscussing the thrillsand marvels theyhad seen.

“I didn’t think muchof the knife thrower.Did you?” askedMonu.

“I thought he was superb!” said Nonu.“How can you say that?” said Monu. “He

kept chucking those knives at that girl anddidn’t hit her even once!”

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 5

HappyHolidays!

—Kirit Patel, Std. 7-A, Christ Church Boys’Secondary School, Jabalpur.

G M OT EN I R

H

There’s a hummingbird in a largewire cage. The cage weighs 3kgand the bird weighs 200g. If thecage is weighed while the bird ishovering in mid-air inside thecage, how much will it weigh?

During my piano recital I was on thestage and very scared. I looked at all thepeople watching me and saw mymummy waving at me and smiling. Shewas the only one doing that, and Iwasn’t scared anymore.

Mamma, I love you. Happy Mother’sDay to you!

A Message to my Mother

Send youranswers to [email protected] fast as you can before 31 May

if you want to be among the five lucky

winners whose names will bepublished on this page.

Check this outThere is a message contained in the jumble ofincomplete and incorrect sentences below. Readthem carefully.

This is this puzzleThis is is puzzleThis is how puzzleThis is to puzzleThis is keep puzzleThis is a puzzleThis is person puzzleThis is busy puzzleThis is for puzzleThis is forty puzzleThis is seconds puzzle.

Did you get the message?

The third word of each line, when put together, reads:This is how to keep a person busy for forty seconds.

Answer: 3kg.

How many tales will a tallteller tell, when a tall tellertells a tall tale? A tall tellerwill tell all the tales he tellswhenever he tells tall tales.Oops! That's got yourtongue all knotted up,right? Now, say this thrice,loud and clear: Tie twineto three tree twigs.

Tongue Knots

—Cindy D’Souza, Std. 4, Mother Mary’sConvent, Uttam Nagar, Delhi.


The Frog Who Almost Burst Story: LuisIllustrations: Marina

A YOUNG FROG RETURNED TOTHE SWAMP HE LIVED IN AFTERA DAY-LONG OUTING-UNCLE, I SAW THE

BIGGEST ANIMAL INTHE WORLD OUT THERE!

WAS IT BIGGERTHAN ME?

OH, YES! VERY MUCHBIGGER, UNCLE!

UNCLE FROG PUFFED HIMSELF UP-

BIGGERTHAN THIS?

MUCH, MUCHBIGGER!

BIGGER?

A HUNDREDTIMES

BIGGER!

HE’LL BLOW HIMSELFUP AT THIS RATE!

UNCLE,STOP!

!I’VE A

PICTURE OFHIM ON MYCELLPHONE…

SEE!

PSSSSSSSSSSSST I COULD NEVERBECOME AS BIG

AS THAT!

HIS PRIDE ISHURT, BUT YOU

SAVED HISLIFE.

GOOD WORK, SON!NOW GO HOME,YOUR MOTHER IS

WAITING FOR YOU.

MORAL: ONE PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS.

COMICS

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 7❊❊❊❊❊ Most kangaroos are left-handed.

FIRST & FOREMOST

THE Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is ajournal started by a group of scientists andengineers who participated in theManhattan Project. The Manhattan Projectproduced the bombs dropped on Hiroshimaand Nagasaki in 1945.

In June 1947, the cover design of thejournal displayed a clock whose hands werepositioned to show the time as sevenminutes to midnight. The editors (scientists)of the journal wanted to convey to readershow close the world was to total destructionwith the development of nuclear weapons— midnight being the symbol of doom.

The graphic became known as theDoomsday Clock because it appeared in allthe subsequent covers of the journal, andthe time shown on it reflected the anxietylevel of the scientists who lived inanticipation of a nuclear war. If two nuclearpowers made warlike moves as it happenedin 1953 when both the US and the SovietUnion tested hydrogen bombs, the minutehand of the clock edged closer to midnight(11:58 in 1953, the closest the handhas moved towardsdoomsday); if therewere peace movesbetween the superpowers as in 1991when the ColdWar came to anend, the minutehand wouldretreat (17 minutes tomidnight in 1991, the furthest thehand has retreated).

The journal went digital in 2009,and the clock can be seen on itswebsite. The decision to move (orleave in place) the minute hand ofthe clock is made each

year by the Bulletin’s science and securityboard.

Today, as nuclear war is not the onlythreat to the existence of mankind, thescientists and experts on the board alsokeep watch on the level of danger posedby climate change and cyber technology ofthe sort that can produce and spread fakenews. Fake news can provoke people andlead to conflict and war.

The Doomsday Clock showed twoand a half minutes to midnight

after Donald Trump waselected president in

2017, and inJanuary 2020,because of the twinthreats of nuclearwar and climate

change, the minutehand advanced to show the

time as just 100 seconds to midnight.The carefully done assessment of

danger by scientists and thinkers hasmade the Doomsday Clock auniversally recognized indicator of

the world’s vulnerability tocatastrophe.


Teasers & PuzzlesBRAIN POWER

Quick Think1. There are 20 men in a square room.

Each man can see the entire roomand everyone in it without turninghis head or body, or moving in anyway. In such a scenario, where canyou place an apple so that all butone man can see it?

2. Which of these words is the oddone out — mite, bite, time, emit,item?

Lucky chooses a password for hiscomputer. It contains sevencharacters including letters andnumerals. He writes down this crypticsentence on paper to help himremember it: ‘You force heaven to beempty’.

Can you guess Lucky’s password?

What’s the Password?BB

AA

3. Raghav: I can make the number 7an even number without adding,subtracting, multiplying ordividing.Meghna: That’s impossible!Can he? how?

4. A mother has named her childrenSarika, Rekha, Gagan, Manav,Palak and Dhanush. What will shename her next child — Manisha,Aayushi, Nidhi or Lavanya?

5. What is black when you buyit, red when you use it andgrey when you throw itaway?


Answers on page 47— Beena Menon

Mr Sharma employs two men, Soman and Bomanas helpers in his office. He offers both a salary ofRs.20,000 per year. He decides to pay them theirdues every six months. He promises to raise theirsalary either by Rs.3,000 per year, or Rs.1,000 everysix months giving them the choice.

Soman opts for a raise of Rs.3,000 per year, whileBoman says he will accept the six-monthly increaseof Rs.1,000.

At the end of the fourth year, who do you thinkwill gain more?

One of the ships from no. 1 – 7 doesnot have a pair. Can you spot it?

Rohit's family goes for a picnic. His father takesalong a crate of soft drinks, placing them onblocks of dry ice.

When they reach the spot, Rohit helps inremoving the food hampers, the cans of waterand the crate of soft drinks from the boot.

“Oh, no!” he exclaims. “There's a big poolof water here. It looks like all the ice hasmelted!”

Is this possible?

Odd One Out

Who Gains?CC

Spot the Mistake

EE

DD

❊❊❊❊❊ India is the world’s largest milk producer.


STORY

RAM MALPANI, being the only nephew,inherited all his uncle’s propertieswhen the latter died. Ram wanted to

convert his uncle’s palatial mansion into ahotel. “We can have the lounge here, theatrium there, knock down those side stairsand build a grand one from here,” he toldthe architects.

“Who wants to build what?” creaked avoice from the upper storey. It was UncleMalpani, that is to say, his ghost. UncleMalpani floated down the stairs lookingvery ghostly. The architects fled.

“I wish you wouldn’t keep doingthat,” said nephew Malpani,irritated.

“Doing what?” askedhis uncle.

“Appearing anddisappearing,” saidhis nephew.

“In case youhaven’t noticed,”snapped Uncle, “Ihappen to be aghost. And that’swhat ghosts do.”

“What?” asked hisnephew, muttering,‘lounge, atrium, presidentialsuite’, under his breath.

“Pay attention here,” snappedUncle querulously. “I am a ghost. I deservesome respect.”

“I know you’re a ghost. That’s why I toldyou not to appear so suddenly. Look whatyou’ve done. I have to get a new set ofarchitects again.”

“I shall keep appearing and disappearingif and when I want to. No hotel will be builtin my house,” said Uncle, hands on the hips.

“Aha, so that’s what this is all about,”said nephew. “You can’t prevent me.”

“Of course I can.”“You can’t.”“I can.”“Can’t.”Every time the argument ended in a

bitter fight. Ram Malpani went away,disgusted. His uncle floated up thestaircase, sneering. Ram hired priests,

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 11❊❊❊❊❊ Every year, more than 1000 letters arrive in Jerusalem,

addressed to God.

godmen, tantrics, voodoo specialists, but noone could do anything.

“You’re just wasting my money,” UncleMalpani would scold. “I thought I taught youbetter than that.”

“It’s my money,” Ram would say.“It’s mine,” Uncle would insist and the

fight would start again.“This is too much,” said Ram one night

to his wife. “I am humiliated and insulted atevery turn. Everyone is laughing at me. I wishI were dead.”

“Don’t say that,” said his wife. “Whatwould happen to me if you were dead?”

That night Ram’s wife thought andthought. The next morning she asked Ram,“How did your uncle die?”

“He died of a heart attack. And now he’strying to give me one.”

“But why did he get the heart attack?”“His aunt nagged him to death,” said

Ram, laughing.Ram’s wife was still not satisfied. She

went to visit Uncle.“How are you, Uncle?” she began with

an ingratiating smile.“I’m dead,” snapped Uncle,

folding his arms across his chest.“How do you think I am?” He

glared at her. “If you’ve come to plead mygodforsaken nephew’s case, you can forgetit. I’m not leaving...in capital letters.”

“But why do you want to stay here?”asked Ram’s wife plaintively. “There’s thatproperty of ours...er...yours in Laldongri.”

“What!” roared Uncle. “Thatgodforsaken place! Lallu...O Lallu, take meaway from here, please!” And Lallu silentlyappeared at the head of the staircase. Lalluhad been Uncle’s personal servant andconfidante when he was alive and was stillseemingly employed in the same position inthe afterworld.

Even when he was alive, Lallu had alwaysmoved around in ghostly silence. Now, witha reproachful glance at Ram’s wife, he gentlytook hold of his master’s arm and with asoothing murmur of words, glided away withhim through the keyhole into the masterbedroom.

Ram’s wife sat down at the bottom of thestaircase with her head in her hands. Whenshe had collected herself sufficiently to leave,she got up and went towards the door.Before she could open it, she felt a slight tugon the pallu of her saree. She turned to see agrave and an unsmiling Lallu.

“Why Lallu,” she exclaimed, “what’s thematter?”

Lallu put a pale hand on his lips. “The


COMICS

STORY

master is sleeping,” hemurmured. “The master getsvery upset if anyone mentionsLaldongri. That was where histerrible Aunt Dolly lived.”

“Don’t you ever get tired, Lallu?” Ram’swife suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for theold servant. “You’ve looked after him all yourlife. Now you have to look after him all yourafterlife. Isn’t there something else you’drather do? Don’t you have some ambitionor something?”

“It is kind of Madam to ask me that. Noone asks a mere servant his wishes anddesires.” Lallu sighed a chilly sigh. MrsMalpani shivered.

“My greatest wish anddesire is to spend the rest of myafterlife in peace and quiet,reading the Mahabharata,”murmured Lallu.

“But how will youever get to do that?”askedMrs Malpani.

“I can read theMahabharata,” said Lallu gravelyas if she hadn’t spoken, “though Imay not read the Other Book,” hesaid significantly. “Will you buy methe red rexine bound edition with thegold embossed lettering, if I help you?”

“Yes,” said Mrs Malpani, a little budof hope flowering in her breast. Lallu thenbent forward and whispered something inMrs Malpani’s ear.

Next week, Mrs Malpani paid a quietvisit to Laldongri. She did not tell herhusband, for he was sure to blab it to Uncle.And when she came back, she had a guestwith her.

“Uncle!” she called after entering theMalpani mansion. “Look, who’s here!”

An enormous lady, dressed fussily in frillsand lace and ribbons and with ringlets ofgreasy hair escaping from her untidy bun,came behind her, clucking, “You’re sure he

won’t mind, dear?” Then in the next breath,“Wrap your shawl around you nicely, dear,this place is so cold,” she fretted, as sheadjusted the shawl around Mrs Malpani’sneck, “The throat, you know — be careful —the third stair is a little crooked. Great auntPinky, you know, once fell and broke herhead, and she never was quite the sameagain, you know!”

All this talk had given Mrs Malpani aheadache, but she gritted her teeth.

“Uncle,” she shouted from the bottomof the stairs.

“Who is it?” came a querulous voicefrom upstairs. “Disturbing my sleep at thishour!” And Uncle Malpani slowly appearedat the head of the stairs.

Mrs Malpani didn’t have to say anythingmore. “Raghu, my darling baby Raghu,”cried the enormous lady and glided up thestairs with her arms outstretched.

“Aunty Dolly,” Uncle Malpani’s voicecracked and he became pale green.

Great Aunt Dolly flung herself on Uncle

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 13❊❊❊❊❊ Multiplying 21978 by 4 reverses the order of the

numbers: 87912.

Malpani, lace and ribbons and all, and weptcopious tears on his breast.

“Oh Raghu, I thought you never wantedto see me again. When you sent me on thatpilgrimage, and I died, people told me thatyou were throwing parties because I wasdead. I just couldn’t believe it.

“So I came back to see you again.And when you saw me and had thatheart attack and died, I thoughtthat you were being very rude.

“It was as if you didn’t wantme around anymore. Boo-hooo!

“I’m so glad you called forme. Otherwise, I was so miserable,I had hidden myself away inLaldongri and I had vowed neverto meet you again. I have mypride, you know.”

She raised her head a little to look intoher ‘baby’ Raghu’s face and suddenly gave asharp squeal, “Naughty Raghu! Where’s thatsweater I knitted for you? You must wear it,otherwise you’ll catch your death of cold!”

As Mrs Malpani watched in amazement,Uncle Raghu allowed himself to be shooedinto his bedroom meekly, without even abackward glance.

The next morning, Uncle Raghu haddisappeared.

A note was found on his pillow. “Do notsearch for me,” read the note, “for I refuseto be found.”

Aunty Dolly threw hysterics. “I knew hedidn’t want me here. He hatesme!” she wailed. “I’m goingoff to Laldongri. And nobodycan ever get me out of there.”She threw Mrs Malpani avenomous glare before she,too, disappeared.

Mrs Malpani heaved a sighof relief. “Get a ghost to get ridof a ghost,” she muttered toherself.

That evening, shedescended the stairs into

the cellar of the mansion-soon-to-be-a-hotel,and handed Lallu a brown paper wrappedparcel.

“Here it is,” she said. “All red rexinebound as you wanted. And I’ve told thearchitects that they cannot disturb the cellars,all their building-shilding has to be donearound it. You can stay here for as long asyou wish.”

Lallu bowed deeply in gratitude. “Thankyou madam,” he said in a voice choked withemotion.

—Paushali Ganguli


COMICS

Story: Luis FernandesIllustrations: Pradeep SatheColouring: Snehangshu Mazumder

THAT DONKEYIS LUCKY OUR

STOMACHS ARE FULLAND WE’RE IN NOMOOD TO CHASE

HIM.

BUT LET’SHAVE SOME FUN...START ROARING.

WATCH HIM RUN...HEE HEE HEE!

HOO HOOHOO!

HEE HEEHEE!

HOO HOOHOO!

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 15❊❊❊❊❊ During the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia,

masters would switch places with their slaves.

SHERU, LOOK!BOOGY HAS FOUNDA HONEYCOMB...

...AND A SWEETDISH IS JUSTWHAT WE NEED

NOW.

YES. BUT I DOUBTBOOGY WILL SHAREHIS HONEY WITH US.

WE WON’T ASKHIM. WE’LL GRAB THE

HONEYCOMB ANDRUN. COME ON!

HEY! STOPTHIEF!


COMICS

...ER,THIEVES!

COME BACKWITH MY

HONEYCOMB!

I WON’T LETYOU GET AWAY,YOU RASCALS!

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 17❊❊❊❊❊ Licence plates in the Canadian Northwest

Territories are shaped like polar bears.

WE DID ITSHERU! WE...

AAAAH!

HYUK-HYUK!


HALL OF FAME

In 1851, LeonFoucault, atalented Frenchscientist whoabandonedmedicine forphysics, causeda sensation inParis andacross Europewith anexperimentdemonstratingthat the Earthrotates about itsown axis.

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 19❊❊❊❊❊ Sunset on Mars looks blue due to fine dust scattering the

red light from the sun.

SINCE Galileo’s days,scientists had been trying todemonstrate Earth’s rotationby dropping objects andmeasuring how far eastwardthey would land. However,none of these measurementswere accurate enough todraw a definite conclusion.

Then, in 1851, JeanBernard Leon Foucault hada brainwave. He made use ofa pendulum and successfullydemonstrated the Earth turn.Encouraged by Frenchpresident, Louis Napoleon,who was also a science buff,Foucault went on to hang a28kg brass bob on a 67mlong wire under the hugeroof of the Pantheon in Paris.He placed a woodenplatform with a thin layer ofsand on the marble flooring.As the pendulum sweptthrough the air, the pointer,attached to the bottom ofthe sphere, traced outpatterns in the sand,indicating the movement ofthe Earth.

Though Foucault hadn’tdiscovered anything new, hisexperiment was the firsttangible proof of Earth’srotation. The experimentbecame so popular thatFoucault pendulums wereseen hanging in the biggestcities in Europe and in theUnited States, attractinghuge crowds.

Jean Bernard LeonFoucault was born in Parison 18 September, 1819. Inhis school days, he was frailand rather timid. He didn’tstand out academically but

was good at making simplegadgets. At his mother’sinsistence, he joined amedical school but droppedout almost immediately asthe sight of blood filled himwith dread.

While working as a labassistant, Foucault cameupon the daguerreotypephotographic processdevised by Louis Daguerre, afamous Frenchphotographer. He spenthours improvising theprocess with his old schoolbuddy, the French physicistArmand Fizeau. In 1845, theduo took out the first clearphotograph of the Sun.

With Fizeau, he went onto devise a way to measurethe speed of light by usingrotating mirrors, and in1850, he showed that lighttravels more slowly in waterthan in air. After he haddemonstrated how Earthmoved on its axis, heinvented the gyroscope, adevice that uses Earth’sgravity to help determineorientation. He also carriedout many experiments in thefield of astronomy andperfected the construction oftelescopic mirrors and largelenses for astronomicaltelescopes.

In 1860, Foucaulttravelled to Spain tophotograph a solar eclipse.He showed people therehow they could view the Sunwithout injuring the eye,simply by placing atransparent silver film on theouter corner of the object

glass of a telescope.In recognition of his

remarkable work, he wasawarded the prestigiousCopley Medal by the RoyalSociety and was given therole of physicist in theImperial Observatory, Paris.More awards anddistinctions came his way inthe next seven years.Unfortunately, he becameseverely afflicted withmultiple sclerosis, and on 11February, 1868, Foucaultbreathed his last. He wasonly 48.

Memories of Foucaultlive on, not just in thependulum he made famous.The 5668 Foucault is anasteroid named after himand his name is one of 72names inscribed on thebeams that make up the EiffelTower in Paris.


STORY

ONE evening a Jewish rabbi, Akiba,arrived at a small village, anddecided to spend the night there.

But to his astonishment and dismay, hefound that the villagers were extremelysuspicious of travellers. No one would givehim shelter.

“It is hard to believe that any peoplecan be so inhospitable,” thought the rabbi.“But after all, God is just, and whateverhappens, happens for the best.”

He had only four possessions besidesthe clothes on his back: a book, a lamp, arooster that would wake him at dawn withits crowing, and an ass on which he rode.On being refused shelter by the villagers,he went some distance ahead, and settledhimself under a tree. He lit his lamp andopened his book so that he might read afew pages before going to sleep. He hadread only a page when a gust of wind blewout the light.

“What!” exclaimed the rabbi. “Am I not

permitted even to read? But God is just, andwhatever happens, happens for the best.”

He stretched himself on the cold, bareearth to try to get a few hours’ sleep. Just ashe was dozing off, there was a cry of alarmfrom his rooster followed by a loud flappingof wings. A wolf had caught the bird.

“My faithful companion gone!”thought the rabbi. “And in such a ghastlymanner. But God is just, and whateverhappens, happens for the best.”

Later that night, a lion pounced on theass and carried it away. Once again therabbi told himself that whatever hadhappened, had happened for the best. Aftera sleepless night, he went back to the villageto see if he could obtain a horse to carryhim the rest of the way, but to his horror hefound that all the houses had beenplundered and their inhabitantsslaughtered by robbers, during the night.

“Had these people not turned me away,I would have perished with them,” thoughtthe rabbi, “and had the wind not blownout my light, the robbers would havedetected my presence, and had wild beasts

not carried away my animals, the noisesthey made would have betrayed my

presence to those marauders,and I too would have lost my

life. God is just, andwhatever happens,

happens for thebest.”


TREBLETROUBLE

Script:Meera Nair

Illustrations:Goutam Sen

A MAN CAUGHT FOR STEALING A BAG OFONIONS, WAS TAKEN BEFORE A JUDGE-

YOUR EXCELLENCY,THIS MAN HAS

STOLEN MY BAGOF ONIONS!

THE JUDGE GAVE HIMA CHOICE OF THREEPUNISHMENTS-

YOU MAY EITHEREAT THE ONIONSYOU HAVE STOLENOR SUBMIT TO AHUNDRED LASHES

OF THE WHIP.

...OR PAY A FINE! BUT AFTER EATING ACOUPLE OF ONIONS-

I CAN’T EATANY MOREONIONS!

PLEASE GIVEME THE LASHES

INSTEAD!

ALL RIGHTTHEN. GIVETHE MAN AHUNDREDLASHES!

BUT AFTER HE HADRECEIVED A FEW STROKES,HE BEGAN TO TURN ANDTWIST TO AVOID THE WHIP-

AH!

I CAN’TBEAR IT!

I’LL PAY THEFINE!

SO BE IT.

THE MAN PAID THE FINE ANDWAS LET OFF BUT HE BECAMETHE LAUGHING STOCK OF THECITY FOR HAVING TAKENTHREE PUNISHMENTS FOR THESAME CRIME.

I’LL EAT THEONIONS, YOUR

EXCELLENCY!

COMICS

❊❊❊❊❊ An earthquake in 1811 caused parts of the Mississippi Riverto flow backwards.


THE Math teacher wasasking students theirage and teaching a

math equation by usingthat date or number. Shehad an interesting andinnovative method ofteaching math, which wasloved by all students.

“How old are you,Shubh?” she asked.

“Three years older thanmy brother, Ma’am.”

“And what is that?” sheasked, expecting a date.

“Last year I heard mybrother say that I was twoyears older than him. A yearhas passed, that means I am

numbers to take?”Immediately the studentsbegan to call out all thenumbers from 1-10.

The teacher smiled. “Ican see I do not have aRamanujan in my class, but Ihope these exercises willinspire you to become one,”she said. Then going up tothe blackboard, she wrotethe number 9.

“Tell me the numbers onthe clock,” said the teacher.

The students called outall the numbers from 1 to 12.

“Shubh,” said theteacher, “by using thenumber 9 how can we get 1o’clock?”

Shubh thought for a fewminutes, and then said, “9divided by 9 is 1, Ma’am.”

“Very good,” said theteacher, gently throwinghim a chalk. She did thiswhenever she praisedsomeone. At the end of theclass, the students wouldcount the number of chalksthey had received and theone who got the maximum,would proclaim himself asRamanujan.

“Next, how do we get2 o’clock from 9?” theteacher asked.

“18 divided by 2 isequal to 2,” said onestudent.

older by one more year. Likethis one day, I will be oldenough to be hisgrandfather!”

The class burst outlaughing and couldn’t stopbecause the teacher herselfwas going haahahaa……..

“Well, well,” she saidfinally, and then pointing tothe clock on the wall,continued, “Today, we willdo an interesting exerciseusing only one number.Mind you, only one number,and by applying that onenumber to various formulaeand applications, we willconstruct a clock.”

“Do you know which

FUN WITH MATH

❊❊❊❊❊ Coffee is the world’s second-most valuabletraded commodity after petroleum


“18?” said the teacher, raising hereyebrows. “I said use 9. You can divide,multiply, add, find the square root.....doanything but only with number 9.”

Immediately Saloni raised her hand.“Ma’am, 9 plus 9, divided by 9 (9+9÷9).”

“Brilliant!” said the teacher, throwingher a chalk, which she deftly caught in herpalm.

“Oye, you can be a good fielder in acricket match!” said Samarth withadmiration.

“That’s only if I want to,” replied Saloniwith her nose up in the air. “And I want tolaunch rockets.”

“All right, let’s take 3 next,” saidthe teacher. “Who can work out thenumber 3 by using 9?” she asked. “I willgive you a hint — make use of the squareroot.”

Laavanya raised her hand and said,“Square root of 9: ( 9).”

“Excellent, Lavanya!” said the teacher,and threw her a chalk.

“Ma’am, give me a bigger chalk!” saidGajendra. “I have worked 4 out.”

“Okay, if your answer is right, I will giveyou 2 chalks,” replied the teacher.

“4 is square root of 9 plus 9 divided by9: ( 9+9÷9).”

“Well done!” said the teacher, throwingtwo chalks to him.

The students busied themselves with theother numbers on the clock. They could doall, except 5 and 7. So the teacher gave theanswer. “7 is :: 9 - (square root of 9) +.9.”

“But ma’am,” said Saloni, “it is not 7exactly. It comes to the nearest decimalpoint.”

“Exactly,” said the teacher, smiling. “It’sthe same with 5 :: Square root of 9 + (9divided by 9) +.9.”

“How about rest, ma’am?” Shubh asked.“The rest are straight answers,” she

replied.“No, no, I am asking how about some

rest?”

All the students laughed.“Yes, take rest, and do the rest by yourself

at home, as the period is coming to a restnow,” chuckled the teacher.

Just then, the bell rang.“Ma’am, I have worked out 12 o’clock!”

cried Shubh. “Please declare me Ramanujanbefore the rest!”

“You mean before taking a rest?” theteacher asked

“No, I mean, in front of the rest of theclass,” said Shubh with a grin.

The teacher laughed. “Okay, work out12.”

“It’s :: 9 + (9 upon the square root of 9).”“Good!” said the teacher, and threw him

a chalk. And then she threw another to him.‘’This one is for playing with words! BesidesRamanujan, you can also try to becomeKalidas. But I think you may end up as CharlieChaplin.”

And the class burst out laughing.

—Sniggdha Jauhari

—Vaishnavi Singh, Std. 6,Bhavan’s Prism School, Satna.


QUEST

Nobody knows for certain why bats hangupside down while they’re resting orsleeping. One reason often given is that theygot used to living in caves in the distant pastand as sleeping on the floor of the cavesmade them vulnerable to attack frompredators, they began to suspend themselvesfrom the ceiling. In course of time theirbodies adapted to these conditions.

To hang upside down, the bat flies intoposition, grabs hold of a projection with itsclaws and then lets its body drop. The weightof the bat’s limp body causes the claws to

Why DoBats HangUpsideDown?

clench and lock into position. This meansthe animal does not have to exert anyenergy to hang on to its perch and it canstay suspended for as long as it wants towithout tiring. Even if it dies while in thatposition it will remain hanging for severaldays.

Another reason given for why bats hangupside down is that they can launchthemselves instantly into the air from thatposition. Being mammals and heavy of body,they cannot take off from the ground likethe birds.

Q & A

Guano is the accumulated excrement ordroppings of seabirds or bats. It is valuable

as manure as it has a high content of

What is Guano?nitrogen, phosphate and potassium — keynutrients essential for plant growth. Beforefertilizer began to be made in factories (thefirst such factory came up in Germany in1913), countries competed to captureislands populated by seabirds so that theycould have access to large deposits of

guano. Economies of somecountries like Peru flourishedthrough the export of guano. Eventoday, Peru is the largest exporter

of guano which is in demandagain because of the growingpopularity of organic farming.

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 25❊❊❊❊❊ The world’s oldest dress, 5000 years old, was found in Egypt.

COMICS

S O M A N T I C S

WE READ FROM LEFT TO RIGHT,

ARABS READ FROM RIGHT TO LEFT.

THAT’S

INTERESTING.

MAYBE THAT IS

WHY THEY’RE

SO RICH.

THEY READ

FROM LEFT TO

RIGHT BECAUSE

THAT IS HOW

ARABIC IS

WRITTEN. WHAT

DOES READING

HAVE TO DO WITH

BECOMING RICH?

YOU CAN

SAVE MONEY

BY READING

FROM LEFT

TO RIGHT.

HOW?

IF YOU READ THE MENU CARD

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT YOU SEE

THE PRICE BEFORE THE NAME OF

THE DISH SO YOU CAN ORDER

THE DISH THAT COSTS THE LEAST.

WHY DID YOUBUY THAT

CHEAP SOAP?

I AM A SMARTSHOPPER,

THAT’S WHY.

JUST BUYING THE CHEAPESTTHING DOESN’T MAKE YOU A

SMART SHOPPER. YOU SEE MY BELT?I BOUGHT IT FOR 300 RUPEES.

IT IS BLACK ONONE SIDE AND

BROWN ONTHE OTHER, ANDYOU CAN USE ITBOTH WAYS. IT’SA TWO-IN-ONE

BELT, WHICHMEANS I GOT

TWO BELTS FORTHE PRICE OF

ONE. THATMEANS…?

THAT MEANSYOU’RE A SMARTSHOPPER, BUTI’M SMARTER…

THIS IS A THREE-IN-ONE SOAP.I USE IT FOR BATHING, SHAVING

AND WASHING MY SOCKS!

— ARITRA


BIRDS IN MY BACKYARD

When you wake up in the morning or go out to play in the evenings youperhaps hear birds call and chirp. You see them on trees, wires and on buildingtops. But do you observe them keenly? If you do, you will notice how differentthey are in size, in the colour of their feathers, in the shape of their beaks, etc.Bird watching or birding is a great hobby. It makes you more connected toyour surroundings. You will need a pair of binoculars to help you see a birdclosely to observe its features and identify it.Let’s explore…

Take a look at the scales on the feet of this Asian Koel.The scales resemble the skin of a reptile. The bird usedto have scales on its body too but they have evolvedinto feathers.

The body temperature of a bird varies from 38°C to 44°C.Their feathers retain heat. Therefore the birds canwithstand and survive the extreme temperature of a desertor frozen lands as long as they get food. However, whentemperatures are extreme, it is difficult to find food andthey migrate to cooler or warmer places to survive.

The goose here is standing on one leg. It has hidden itsother leg under a wing. Birds do this to keep their barelegs warm in winter, and cool in summer.



Birds don’t sweat. To lose heat, they depend upon evaporationof water from the surface of their lungs and air sacs that are allover their body. The air sacs also make the birds light enoughto fly. When they fly, the flapping of their wings creates an aircurrent which fills the sacs and makes them light enough to fly.Their thin and hollow bones also make them light and enablethem to fly swiftly away from predators and to migrate to far offlands for food or better climate.

Birds, like some reptiles, lay eggs. They lay their eggsinside nests, on rocks, behind bushes and even on theground (where they cover them with mud for safety).The eggs you see here belong to an Ashy Prinia, whichhad built its nest in my backyard.

Birds communicate with each other through the pitchand tone of their calls. They are able to convey pleasure,fear, threat, etc., in this manner. Birds like the myna andparakeet can imitate the human voice and also learnto talk like us.

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 27—Madhusudan Reddy, a scientist turned entrepreneur, teaches

innovation and entrepreneurship and is a keen bird enthusiast.

Phot

ogra

phs:

M M

Red

dy

Sunbirds are commonly found in all gardenswhere flowering plants bloom. You can seethem hovering over flowers. They have longbeaks curved downwards so that they canpush them deep into flowers and lap up thenectar with their brush-like tongues.

These birds can be seen as soon as the sun’srays come out, as that is when flowers start secretingnectar to attract birds to pollinate them. Hence thename.

Sunbirds are tiny, measuring about10–12cm. They are of varied colours and lookbeautiful with purple, red, crimson, green, blue,orange, mauve, yellow and brown shades offeathers. Only the males sport these colours. Thefemales are generally drab olive green or dullbrown. The males are also bigger and havelonger tails.


KURDI is a village in Sanguem, South Goathat can be seen only for a month in a year,between May and June. The remainingeleven months, it remains submerged in thewaters of the Salaulim, a tributary of the RiverZuari.

When the village emerges, the displacedKurdikars return to pay homage to the deityof Shiva at the still intact 18th centurySomeshwar temple, and to the rebuiltSacred Heart of Jesus Chapel. The villagethrobs with life then as Kurdikars preparefor the annual temple feast, which takesplace on the third Sunday of May at theSomeshwar temple, and for the annualchapel feast, which takes place on the fourthSunday of the month.

Hardly anything remains of the oldvillage. Close to the temple is the broken-down ancestral home ofKurdi’s classical singerMogubai Kurdikar, themother of the well-known classical singerKishori Amonkar.

INDIA FILE

Kurdikars pay their tribute to the greatsinger by playing bhajans that were sungby her during the temple fest.

Most of the houses are in variousstages of ruin, some even reduced tomere mounds of mud. Despite this,nostalgic Kurdikars spend entire days inthe broken remnants of their homes. Theygo back in the evening with a heavyheart and haunting memories of casheworchards, jackfruit trees and fragrantbabuli flowers that had grown in wildprofusion.

Kurdi was once a lush green villagewith nearly 3000 inhabitants. In the early1980s, a dam was built across Salaulim.The dam and the unusually heavy rainsof 1986 are said to have beenresponsible for Kurdi going under water.

In 2016, the village wasimmortalized in the documentary film,Remembering Kurdi, by film directorSaumyananda Sahi.

Someshwar temple

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 29❊❊❊❊❊ The inventor of the chocolate chip cookie sold the idea to

Nestle in return for a lifetime supply of chocolate.

COMICS

Haddiraj Superfood Ashwin &Abhijeet

YOU LOOKWORKED UP,

WHAT’S WRONG?

EVERYTHING!I THINK

ROMI HASDUMPED ME!

WHAT MAKESYOU SAY THAT?

NO SIGN OF HER FOR THE LASTTEN DAYS. NO CALLS, NO

RESPONSE TO MY MESSAGES, NORESPONSE TO MY CALLS. SHE HAS

CUT ME OFF FROM HER LIFE.

MUST BE BUSYWITH SOME RURAL

PROGRAMME,WITH NO ACCESS

TO NET ORPHONE.

NAH! SHE WOULD’VETOLD ME. SHE HASDUMPED ME AND IFEEL LIKE CRYING…

BOO-HOO-HOOO!

GET A HOLD ONYOURSELF, BOB!

WE USED TO EAT FROM THESAME ICE CREAM CUP, WE

USED TO SIP FROM THE SAMEGLASS, AND NOW….!

YOU’LL GETOVER IT.

EAT DAHI INSTEADOF ICE CREAM FORTHE TIME BEING.

DAHI?


COMICS

I READ SOMEWHERETHAT MICE FED WITH DAHIIMMEDIATELY SHAKE OFF

THEIR DEPRESSION, WHILEMICE FED WITH CHEESE

REMAIN GLUM ANDGLOOMY.

WHO WOULDFEED DAHITO MICE!

SCIENTISTS IN LABS. THEYFIRST INDUCE DEPRESSION IN

THE MICE AND THEN FEEDTHEM ALL SORTS OF STUFF TO

SEE WHAT THEY WILL DO.

WELL, I’MNO MOUSE!

I’LL THINK OFSOME WAY TO GET

ROUND THIS...

GOOD LUCK!

MICE! HADDI’S NOUSE WHEN IT COMESTO SOLVING LIFE’S

GREATEST PROBLEMSOF…OF…

SQUEAK!

I’VE NEVER SEEN MICEPLAYING SO HAPPILY. WONDER WHAT’S GOT

INTO THEM!

WHAT’STHAT YOU’RETHROWING,

BALDEV?

DAHI.I LEFT IT UNATTENDEDAND SOME MICE FELL

IN AND GORGED ON IT.

MICE!

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 31❊❊❊❊❊ The mandrill baboon has a red nose, blue cheeks

and an orange beard!

THEY ATE DAHI AND BECAMEPLAYFUL. HADDIRAJ WAS RIGHT!DAHI IS A MOOD LIFTER. I’LL

HAVE SOME STRAIGHTAWAY!

ROMI AND I HAVE COMETO THIS PLACE SO OFTEN

FOR ICE CREAM AND NOWHERE I AM, EATING DAHI.ALONE. HOW I WISH SHE

WERE HERE WITH ME.HELLO,

HONEYBUN!

ROMI!WHAT…HOW…?!!

WHAT’S THATYOU’RE EATING?

DAHI!I THINKIT’S A

SUPERFOOD,MAKES YOUR

WISHESCOME TRUE!

TRY.

MMMM…MMM….(SLURP)…GOOD!

BZZZZZ….ZZZZZ

BOB, I’VEFOUND ANOTHER

FOOD THATLIFTS THEMOOD…

NO NEED,BRO, NONEED…

YOUR MOUSES DIDTHE TRICK. I’VE GOT

MY MOJO BACK!!!

???!


Italk to cats. I can tell what they are thinking, by atwitch of the ear, a flick of the tail, half-shut eyes.Body language. I do it back and they get dead

worried. Cats like their secrets. Some secrets are bigones.

I had read stuff about black panthers in the wild.I didn’t think much of it. So when I crossed a field onDad’s farm and saw a big black cat fifty metres awayI reckoned it was a moggie (a mixed breed cat). ThenI realized it was two hundred metres away and itwasn’t a moggie. Cool, we had a leopard in theneighbourhood. I nearly ran home to tell everybodywhen I had a thought. Dad keeps sheep and goats.Bad news.

Next day I went to the field for another look,nothing there. I trudged along the hedge. Nothing.Then I saw something dirty white in a bush. A heapof wool. The rest of the sheep was lying underneath.I looked around.

“Come on,” I said quietly. “I know you’re there.It’s all right.” Suddenly he was in front of me. Blackand shiny with fierce yellow eyes.

STORY



“Hi, puss,” I said, lowering my head andhalf-closing my eyes. He made a rumblingnoise.

“Look,” I said, “I guess you’ve got toeat, but this is real bad.” He sniffed the deadsheep. I heard the sound of Dad’s LandRover bumping across the field. He jumpedout.

“You’d better be careful with the cat,”he said. “Don’t know how safe he is.”I couldn’t believe it.

“You knew?”“Yeah, I don’t miss much on this farm.

We’ve got a deal, him and me. If a sheepdies I chuck it under the hedge and he eatsit. Otherwise he eats rabbits or he’s introuble.”

I was stunned. “You didn’t say.”“Nobody must know or he’ll get shot.

He’s scared already, frightened of beinghurt, miserable because he’s alone. You keepquiet and keep away from the field. Nowget in and let’s leave him alone.”

“But how would you know all this?”Dad flicked a lever into the four wheel

drive and we slithered through themud.

“You’re not the only one who cantalk to cats,” he said.

I kept away for a week then wentfor another look. Dad had put a deadlamb under the hedge and I leantagainst a tree watching. I saw the catcoming this time, low in an overgrownditch. It stopped, ears back, snarlingand showing its teeth.

“Easy boy,” I said. “You knowme.” I did the head downsubmission bit. The cat startedinching towards me, swinging itstail, the pupils of its eyes large,back legs shuffling for grip. Avoice in my head told me to run;another voice kept saying don’tmove.

“It’s all right, you know me,”

I whispered. Then I realized. This one wassmall, a different leopard. That was myonly thought as it charged. I just sort ofstood and watched. It was so quick. Butnot as quick as the other cat which hit itin midair as it leapt. The force rolled themaway into the bushes. They crashed down,spitting, snarling, growling. Then it allwent quiet. The big one got up and stoodover the little one which was calmingdown. Then very gently he began to lickits face. He looked up at me and half-closed his eyes. I did the same.

“Thanks,” I said. “That was brilliant.You’ll tell her about the deal with Dad,won’t you?”

—Peter Stockwell


“Once there lived a beautiful pink and whitemother flamingo on the shores of Lake Nakuru.She lived with her little baby flamingo whowas too little to fly… ”

I sit under an acacia tree, and watchthe shimmering flamingos, pink andgolden in the sunset, over the silver water

and pale wet sand. My name is JosephineTanui. I am 12 years old. Every evening, Icome to Lake Nakuru to watch the flamingosand make up stories about them. I likestories. My father used to tell us many storiesbefore. Not any more though, not since mymother died.

LIFE IN FARAWAY PLACES


We used to live in the Mau forest bythe Njoro river, my mother, father and I.We are Ogiek, and our tribe has lived inthe forests of Kenya since the beginningof time. Our ancestors were hunters andgatherers of honey, but we had a farm.Each family had cleared a patch of landin the forest and worked on it. I used togo to the primary school that had beenset up for Ogiek children nearby.

FLAMINGOS AT LAKE NAKURUFlamingos are graceful, long-leggedbirds famous for their shimmeringpink plumage. They live near saltylakes and feed on brine shrimp anda blue-green algae that thrive in thesalty waters. These two are thesource of the flamingos’ gorgeouspink colour. There are many speciesof flamingo and Lake Nakuru isfamous for its large colonies of tensof thousands of Lesser Flamingo.

Lake Nakuru lies in Africa’sGreat Rift Valley and is some160 kilometres northwest ofNairobi, the capital of Kenya. It is asalt-water lake. Its main source ofwater is in the Eastern Mau area,which feeds the lake through riverssuch as the Njoro.

In recent years, however, LakeNakuru has become increasinglypolluted, due to wastes thrown intoit from factories in Nakuru town,etc. Eating toxic wastes from thelake’s waters has killed thousandsof flamingos. Further, the severedrying up of the lake has caused itssalt content to increase, reducingthe brine shrimp and algae in thelake. This is causing colonies offlamingos to migrate to other partsin search of food.



STORY

— Urmila Nair

Then one day in 2006, soon after mybrother was born, the government sent itspeople and they told us to leave our homes.They burnt down our homes and the schoolbuilding. They said that we could not livethere because they wanted to re-grow theforest. They said that creating farms inforestland was a bad thing. They said ifthere was no forest there, then the Njororiver would slowly dry up, and if the Njororiver dried up, then Lake Nakuru would dryup as well, and then the flamingos wouldall leave Lake Nakuru.

That was when my mother fell ill. Myfather had no money to take her to thedoctor in Nakuru town, and she died.

Now he has got a job at a resort nearLake Nakuru. He works very hard and whenhe comes home in the evening he is tooweary to tell us stories. We live in a cabinbehind the resort’s kitchens with two otherfamilies.

I stay at home with the baby during theday. I cook and clean, I wash the baby, feedhim and play with him. In the evenings theother children take the baby to play, and Igo down to the lake. There, I watch theflamingos and think many thoughts.

I think about my family, and I make up

stories about the flamingos. Sometimes Ithink that if the government had let us stayin our home in Mau forest by the Njoro river,my mother would not have died, and myfather would have continued to tell usstories at the end of each day. I would havegone to the primary school for Ogiekchildren and my mother would have stayedat home and looked after the little one. Butthen, the government people said theNjoro river would have dried up slowly, andLake Nakuru would have dried up, and thenthe flamingos would have had to leave theirhome by the lake. The flamingos are mydearest friends, and that is a sad thought.It is hard to know which would be a sadderstory. Would it have been sadder if we hadstayed in our home in Mau forest and LakeNakuru had dried up and the flamingos hadlost their home?

But the sun is setting and I mustcomplete my new story before returning tothe cabin, so I can tell it to the baby when Irock him to sleep, so that he does not disturbmy father when he comes home to sleep.

“… The baby flamingo hopped about onits legs like matchsticks, but it could not fly. Atsunset its mother said gently, ‘It will be a whilebefore you can fly my little one’…”

There are some 45,000 Ogiek in Kenyatoday. Traditionally, they were forest dwellersin the Mau forests, some 250 kilometres from

The Ogiek People Of KenyaNairobi. They were famous for their skills ashunters and honey gatherers. Today a fewof them practise subsistence farming in theMau areas. The majority, though, have beendisplaced and are homeless or live illegallyin forest areas that are officially listed asprotected forest lands, reserved for wildlife.

The Kenyan government claims that ithad to evict the Ogiek from their traditionalhomelands to protect the forests, andthereby protect the wildlife and the riversthat feed Lake Nakuru, home to theflamingos.

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 37❊❊❊❊❊ Scientist Donald Unger cracked his knuckles for over

50 years to prove that this doesn’t cause arthritis.

Tom Bahadur

The AlienStory:

Luis Fernandes

Illustrations:Goutam Sen

COMICS

TOM,DOOMAL HERE.HAVE YOU HEARD

THE NEWS? A FLYINGSAUCER HAS BEENSIGHTED OVERNARSINGHPUR!

A FLYINGSAUCER?

LET’S GOTO THE TOPOF THE HILLAND KEEP AWATCH FOR

IT.

I CAN’T COME,PROFESSOR.

MY WIFE’S NOTAT HOME, AND I’M

EXPECTING GOPU, MYNEPHEW, ANY MINUTE.

ALL RIGHT,WE’LL WATCH FROMYOUR HOUSE. IT’S

HALFWAY UP THE HILLANYWAY.

FLYINGSAUCER,

PAH!

DOES HE THINK I’LLCLIMB UP AND DOWNHILLS JUST BECAUSE

SOME FOOL THINKS HESAW A FLYING SAUCER?!

WHAT’STHAT!!!


BEEEP!

BEEEP!

COMICS

GOOD GOD!!!IT’S A SPACEMAN!!!

THE FLYINGSAUCER

THE PROFESSORWAS TALKING ABOUT

MUST HAVELANDED HERE!

THAT ALIENLOOKS DANGEROUS!THERE’S NO TELLINGWHAT HE MAY DO!!

HE MAYEVEN TRY TOKIDNAP ME!

I’LL SLIP OUTOF THE BACK

DOOR AND GETTHE PROFESSOR!

WHY DIDHE HAVE TO PICKMY HOUSE OF ALL

PLACES!

THAT’S MYMOBILE.

SHANTI HERE…HAS GOPUARRIVED?

NO, HEHASN’T…..


WAIT A MINUTE!SHANTI HE MAY HAVE

COME, I’LL PHONE YOULATER, BYE!

I SHOULD HAVE USEDMY BRAINS INSTEAD OFRUNNING LIKE A MADMAN! WHY SHOULD AN

ALIEN COME TONARSINGHPUR OF ALL

PLACES?!

HE’S COMEHERE BECAUSE HE’S

MY DEAR NEPHEW GOPU!HE’S ALWAYS PLAYING

PRACTICAL JOKES… I’LLSHOW HIM THAT IT’S NOTEASY TO FOOL HIS OLD

UNCLE!

AH, SO WHATDO WE HAVE

HERE?

GLOOP…GLOP…GLOOOOOP…

NOW LET’SSEE WHAT YOU

REALLY LOOK LIKE,MR ALIEN!!!

HEY, THIS MASKSEEMS TO BE

STUCK!

GLOP….GLOOOOP….GLOOOOP!

I’LL PULLIT OFF! GOOD HEAVENS!

TOM HAS CAPTURED ANALIEN FROM THE

SPACESHIP!!EH!

TOM!

❊❊❊❊❊ The Pentagon has a plan for combating a zombie apocalypse.


AND SO -

COMICS

WHAT ARE YOUDOING!

THIS HAS GONETOO FAR, GOPU!!!

I SAW YOUGRAPPLINGWITH THE

ALIEN, TOM!

YOU MUST BE THEMOST COURAGEOUSMAN I’VE EVER MET!

OH, THAT’SNO ALIEN!HE’S MY...

THERE HEGOES!

OH, MY GOD!HE WAS A REAL

ALIEN!

HOW DIDYOU FEEL WHEN YOUWERE GRAPPLINGWITH THE ALIEN,

TOM SAAB?

HOW DIDI FEEL?

I FELT AS IFI WERE GRAPPLINGWITH MY NEPHEWHERE, HEH-HEH!!


Here’s an easy trick you could play on your friends!

What You Need: A bottle cap, a small piece of card paper, water colours,brush, glue and two one-rupee coins.

Preparation:

1. Trace the outline of a one-rupee coin on the folded card paper and cut itout so that you get two card paper coins. Paint them alike.

2. Stick one card paper coin inside the bottle cap.

3. Stick the othercard paper coinon one sideof a one-rupee coin.

Choo Mantar Jadoo MantarACTIVITY

❊❊❊❊❊ Cotton candy was invented by William Morrison, a dentist.

And Now For The Actual Trick!Tell a friend that you can produce two coins froma single coin.

Show him the one-rupee coin in your hand.Also show him the bottle cap (in which you’veplaced the other one-rupee coin with the paintedside up).

Now tell him that you are going to place thecoin that’s in your hand inside the bottle cap.

Then turn the capround and roundchanting abracadabra orchoo mantar jadoo mantarchoo, choo choo. Finallywith aflourish turnthe capupside downon yourpalm.

Watch hismouth openwide in surprisewhen he sees twocoins fall out from thebottle cap. —Anshu Koppula, Bhavan’s NTPC

Vidya Mandir, Nagpur.


Take a look at these amusingly unconventional and idiosyncratic festivalsthat take place across the world.

During theHari-Kuyo festival, Japanesewomen place their used or

broken needles in a piece oftofu and display them on a

temple altar. After thanking theneedles, they wrap the tofu

in paper and immerse itinto a river.

A day after theUgadi festival, Andhra Pradesh’s

Kairuppala village holds the‘Pidakala War’, which involves twoteams hurling cow dung cakes ateach other. This is a re-enactment

of a mythical marriage disputeand is said to bring health

and prosperity!

On the second day of thefive-day Diwali celebrations,

During the Zhongyuanor Hungry Ghost Festival,

the Chinese lay out tables ladenwith food outside their homesfor wandering spirits and theyalso burn special paper moneyfor their deceased ancestors to

use in the afterlife!

An exciting UFO Festival takes placeevery year in July at Roswell, New

Mexico, known as the UFO capital of theworld, where the costume contest for

humans and pets steal the show.

Nepal observes Kukur Tihar,a festival where dogs are

worshipped for their loyalty.After a ceremonial puja,the dogs, adorned with

garlands, tilak or gulal arefed scrumptious food.

FACT-O-METER

On Shrove Tuesday, ladies ofOlney town in England compete

in the Pancake Race. Dressedas traditional housewives,

they run a distance of380 metres with a fryingpan, flipping pancakes!

TURNING POINT

TTTTTheheheheheSuperSuperSuperSuperSuperStarStarStarStarStar

This is the story of a turnaround, of apoor girl from a village in Haryana, whodefied convention and emerged a hero,and how abject poverty didn’t stop herfrom becoming one of the world’s best.

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 43❊❊❊❊❊ Iran arrested 14 squirrels for spying in 2007.

performances and was soon part of the FIHAll Star Team. A regular member of the teamsince she made her debut, she led India tothe Asian Games silver medal in 2018 (in2014, India had won the Asian Gamesbronze), and in 2016, she was conferred withthe Arjuna Award. This year she was awardedthe Padma Shri.

Rani Rampal is now the hero ofShahabad Markanda and many young girlsfrom that village, inspired by herperformances, are taking up hockey as acareer.

—Austin Coutinho

IT is the story of Rani Rampal, one of the finestforwards in the world and an aggressiveleader who will lead the Indian hockeyteam at the Olympic Games in Tokyothis year.

Rani was born in ShahabadMarkanda, in the Kurukshetra districtof Haryana, in December 1994 to a poorfamily that led a hand-to-mouth existence.The people of her village believed that girlsshould stay at home and not be seen inpublic.

Despite the poverty and social pressures,Rani’s father sent her to a hockey academyin the village. Though she failed to impressthe coaches there at first, Baldev Singh (latera recipient of the Dronacharya Award) sawa spark in her. He presented her with ahockey kit and planned a training regimenfor her that had her playing the juniornationals when she was still an adolescent.An NGO, impressed by her talent, providedher with a monthly stipend and in 2009 atthe age of 14, Rani became the youngestplayer ever to be selected for the seniorIndian women’s squad.

In 2009, Rani helped India win theChampions’ Challenge Trophy with stellar


COMICS

IT WAS A LITTLE PAST MIDNIGHT. THEREWAS A LITTLE GIRL WITH ME IN THE LIFT.

THE LIFT STOPPED ON THE 3RD FLOORWHICH WAS THE MORTUARY...

WHYDIDN’T YOULET HIM IN?

BECAUSE HEHAD A RED TAGON HIS WRIST!

A RED TAG IS ONLYPUT ON THE WRISTOF DEAD PATIENTS.

I KNOW.I HAVE ONE.

SEE!

I SCREAMED… WAKE UP! YOU’LLBE LATE FOR YOURMORNING SHIFT AT

THE HOSPITAL!

I QUICKLY PRESSED THE‘CLOSE DOOR’ BUTTON-

TTTTThe Rhe Rhe Rhe Rhe Reeeeed Td Td Td Td Taaaaaggggg Meera &Abhijeet

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 45❊❊❊❊❊ The world’s oldest hotel, Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan

in Japan, has been operating since 705 AD.

Book Look

Author: Shreekumar VarmaPublisher: Puffin (Penguin BooksIndia 2009)ISBN: 978-0-14-333050-9Price: Rs 175/-

Excerpt:Even if Nu-Cham-Vu wasn’t such a big hit with the adults ofAnchan Bay, its children admired the creature! They adoredhis toys, they loved browsing through his store, and they wereprobably mesmerized by his monstrousousness. When hescreamed and abused them, they froze in fear and fascination.When he refused to sell them toys, it was as if the world hadended. When he devised cleverly cruel tags for his toys, thechildren cribbed and cried but tried their best to be worthy ofthe toy they wanted. He’d become a sort of disgusting icon intheir minds. In fact, so disgusting was Nu-Cham-Vu that theycouldn’t imagine life in the village without him

BUT for Nu-Cham-Vu, thelittle seaside village of AnchanBay would have been perfectin every respect. Nu-Cham-Vu is a weird creature whospeaks in numbers andgestures, and dresses in thestrangest way possible. Theelders of the village can barelytolerate him. But the childrenof Anchan Bay cannot dowithout his little shop thatsells magical toys. How theelders work out an ingeniousplan to banish this monster,forms the crux of this fantasticbook.

Shreekumar Varmachooses a story-within-a storyformat to narrate a tale thatspans many generations.Once the structure becomesclear, the reader is in for awonderful treat. The magicshop, its merchandise and theway things are sold there, aredelightful. There is plenty ofhumour in the narration as

well as in the situations. Thereis mystery too, and the plot isvaried enough to keepreaders in a state ofanticipation. Nu-Cham-Vucomes alive even more in thefine illustrations by VinayakVarma, the author’s son. Thebook is great for readers aged

nine and above.Shreekumar Varma is a

professor of English inChennai. He has written manynovels for adults. He is theauthor of Devil’s Garden andseveral short stories forchildren.

—Dolly Pahlajani

DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 47DimdimaMay 2020 Issue Vol 4 47

CHEF’S CORNER

Puddingand IceMake this yummy puddingduring the holidays.

❊❊❊❊❊ India and Bangladesh had a dispute over the New Moore islandtill it disappeared due to global warming.

Answers to Teasers & PuzzlesA. 1. Place the apple on one man’s head. 2. Bite.

The other words are anagrams of each other.3. He dropped the letter ‘S’ from seven.4. Nidhi. She seems to follow the musical scaleof Indian classical music — sa, re, ga, ma…5. Charcoal.

B. u472bmt.C. Boman will gain more. He will earn Rs.33,000

whereas Soman will earn Rs.29,000.Soman’s raise after every six months:1st year: Rs.10,000 + Rs.10,000 = Rs.20,0002nd year: Rs.11,500 + Rs.11, 500 = Rs.23,0003rd year: Rs.13,000 + Rs.13,000 = Rs.26,0004th year: Rs.14,500 + Rs.14,500 = Rs.29,000Boman’s raise after every six months:1st year: Rs.10,000 + Rs.11,000 = Rs.21,0002nd year: Rs.12,000 + Rs.13,000 = Rs.25,0003rd year: Rs.14,000 + Rs.15,000 = Rs.29,0004th year: Rs.16,000 + Rs.17001 = Rs.33,000

D. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. It does notmelt but changes directly into gas.

E. No. 7; 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-f, 5-e, 6-b

For four people,you will need:12 slices of brown bread, butter, a tinof condensed milk, 2 eggs, vanillaessence, chopped dried fruits likealmonds, cashews, walnuts and raisins(kismis) and ice cream.

Here we go:◆ Butter all the bread slices.◆ Layer a bowl with four buttered

bread slices. Sprinkle chopped nutsand raisins over them. Form twomore layers of bread slicessprinkling chopped nuts betweenthem and over them.

◆ Pour the condensed milk into avessel. Fill the empty tin twice withwater and add it to the milk. Mixwell.

◆ Blend with beaten eggs and add afew drops of vanilla essence.

◆ Pour the mixture over the breadslice layers and keep aside for a fewminutes so that the bread slices getsoaked with the milk mixture.

◆ Then place the dish inside asteamer or a pressure cooker(minus the weight), and cook forapproximately 30 minutes (youmight need an adult to help youdo this).

◆ After it cools, slice it and servewith a dollop of ice cream!

COMICS

COMICS

FILL IN THE COLUMNS, SCAN THE PAGE AND EITHER POST IT TO DIMDIMA, BHARATIYA VIDYABHAVAN, GORA GANDHI COMPOUND, 505 SANE GURUJI MARG, TARDEO, MUMBAI – 400034 OREMAIL IT TO [email protected] BY 31 MAY, 2020.

THE FIRST TEN CHILDREN TO SEND US THE FORMS WILL GET SURPRISE GIFTS!

NAME: __________________________________________________________________ STD.: ________

SCHOOL’S NAME AND ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

HOME ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________________________

PHONE NUMBER: ____________________________ EMAIL: _____________________________________

Subscription number (if a subscriber): __________________________________________________

What suggestions do you have for Dimdima?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FFFFFeedback Feedback Feedback Feedback Feedback FormormormormormDear Readers,We are eager to know what you think about Dimdima. Can you help us by filling up the questionnairebelow?

How do you rate Dimdima as a magazine?❑ Average ❑ Good ❑ ExcellentHow is Dimdima’s look (layout)?❑ Average ❑ Good ❑ ExcellentHow do you find the magazine covers?❑ Average ❑ Good ❑ ExcellentRank the following features from 1 to 10(1 being the highest).

❑ Q&A ❑ First & Foremost

❑ Let’s Experiment ❑ Nature Watch

❑ Turning Point ❑ Fun with Maths

❑ Picture Postcards ❑ India File

❑ Travel ❑ Fact-O-MeterRank the folowing features from 1 to 6(1 being the highest).

❑ Jokes ❑ Book Look

❑ Movie Watch ❑ Word Whiz

❑ Funzone ❑ Teasers & PuzzlesWhat kind of stories would you like to readin Dimdima (you can tick more than one)?❑ Adventure ❑ Mystery❑ Humour ❑ Classics❑ Folk tales ❑ Supernatural

Rank the following comics from 1 to 7(1 being the highest).

❑ Haddiraj ❑ Tom Bahadur

❑ Secret Agent Zero ❑ Boomslayer

❑ Folk tales ❑ Chota Chotu

How long have you been a subscriber ofDimdima?❑ Just started ❑ 6 months❑ 1 year ❑ 2 years❑ Over 2 years

For how long do you keep your copy ofDimdima?❑ 1 month ❑ Few months ❑ Indefinitely

Do you read Dimdima online?❑ Yes ❑ No

Do you talk about Dimdima with your friends?

❑ Yes ❑ No

What other magazines do you read?___________ ___________ _______________________ ___________ ____________


IT HAPPENED TO ME

ONCE, during the summer holidays my dad tookme for swimming classes. At the pool, I got scaredat first and refused to even give it a try. My fathertried to convince me but I didn't listen to him at all.Then my father got so irritated that he took me tothe edge of the pool and pushed me in!

I struggled to pull myself up by kicking myhands and legs, and slowly came up to the surfaceon my own. I realised then that there is nothingwrong in giving new things a try. Now I can proudlysay that I am a very good swimmer and can easilyswim in deep pools as well as in the sea!

—Anushka Shukla, Std. 8-C, Bhavan's MehtaVidyalaya, New Delhi.

Share your experiences with us.Send it to [email protected].

If it is published, you canwin a surprise gift!

❊❊❊❊❊ Kangaroo rats can live without ever drinking water,as they get the needed moisture from seeds.

My First Swim

MY cousin Jeevika is the biggest prankster ofour family. She has such an innocent face thatshe gets away with everything. All of us — mybrother Sathvik, my cousins Avanthika andAradhana and me — were vexed by her pranks.So we decided to play a prank on her.

One day in May, we were staying at aresort with our families. That night, Jeevikaplanned to frighten me by wearing a demonmask. Aradhana got to know of the plan andwe decided to turn the tables on her. Westuffed some pillows under my blanket and hidbehind a shelf. When Jeevika came to my room,she thought that I was sleeping and removedthe blanket, but there were only pillows.Jeevika turned around, scratching her head and

The Demon Maskfroze because she saw a zombie! (Actuallyit was me dressed up like one.) She fainted.

After that day, she stopped playingpranks. The funny thing is she still doesn’tknow that the zombie was me. We’ve keptit a secret!

—Manasa Visakai, Std. 5-E, Bhavan'sRajaji Vidhyashram, Chennai.

—Shreya, Std. 5, PSBB LearningLeadership Academy, Bangalore.



A lion was walking through the jungle taking a poll to determinewho was the greatest among all the wild animals. When hesaw the hippopotamus, he enquired, “Who is the king ofthe jungle?”

“You are,” said the hippopotamus. Next he met agiraffe. “Who is king of the jungle?” he enquired.

“You are,” said the giraffe.Then he met a tiger and said, “Who is king of the

jungle?”“Oh, you are,” said the tiger.

The colonel’s wife was walking her dog in thearmy cantonment. Two soldiers coming from theopposite direction snapped to attention andsaluted her. The colonel’s wife was impressed andfelt important until she heard them speak.

The first soldier whispered, “Who is she?”The second man replied, “I don’t know. But

that is the colonel’s dog!”

A police officer stopped a motorist who was speeding.“Officer,” the man began. “I can explain.”

“Be quiet,” snapped the officer. “I’m going to put you in the lock-up until the chief gets back.”

“But, officer, I just want to say..”“I told you to keep quiet! You’re going to jail!”A few hours later, the officer went to the lock-up and

said to the motorist, “You are lucky because the chief isat his daughter’s wedding. He’ll be in a good mood whenhe gets back.”

“Don’t count on it,” replied the motorist. “I’m thegroom.”

“I think it is true whenthey say that televisioncauses violence,” saidyoung Tunku.

“What makes yousay that?” asked Munku.

“Cause, every time Iswitch it on my Dadgives me a clout!”

Jokeshop

Finally he met an elephant. He gave hima good rap on the knee and said, “Andwho is the king of the jungle?”

Whereupon the elephantpicked him up in his trunk andswung him against a largetree. As the lion bounced offthe tree and hit the ground,he got up and dusted himselfoff and said, “You don’t haveto get so mad just because youdon’t know the right answer.”

51

TALENT SCOUTDear Principals and Teachers,

Is there a child in your school who is exceptionally gifted in some way…insports, music, chess, craft, dance, cookery, maths or anything else?

Tell us about him or her!

We will introduce the child through TALENT SCOUT, our new page in Dimdima.

If a child from your school makes it to our Talent Scout page, the profile of yourschool will feature in the adjoining (facing) page along with whatever informationyou want to give about your school.

Send us the information at [email protected] or post it to Dimdima,Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Gora Gandhi Compound, 505, Sane Guruji Marg,Tardeo, Mumbai–400034.

CONTEST

CompleteCompleteCompleteCompleteCompletethe Storythe Storythe Storythe Storythe Story

Last day for receiving entries:31 May, 2020

Ahungry fox was thrilledwhen he found a piece ofmeat. As he was going to

his den with it, he passed by afarm where three chickens weredigging for worms. His mouthwatered at the sight of theplump chickens. Just then ajackal came that way.

“Something bothering you,friend?” asked the jackal.

“Can’t decide whether to catch one ofthose chickens there,” said the fox.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” warned thejackal. “The farmer’s son keeps a close watchover those chickens.”

The fox made up his mind. When thejackal had gone he kept the meat down onthe ground and quietly crept under the fenceinto the pen. He was about to pounce on achicken, when the farmer’s son saw him andhurled a stick at him. Frightened, the fox

jumped up the fence and ran to the spotwhere he had kept his meat.

What happened then? Complete thestory and send it to [email protected] are THREE PRIZES for the THREE BESTANSWERS! So, get started!

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Registered with Registrar of Newspapers of India under RNI. No TNENG/2016/67791Registration No: TN/CH (C)31/2018 -2020 and WPP TN/PMG/(CCR)/WPP/549/2018 -2020

Date of Publication: 24th of previous month

In this issue - Dimdima · 2020. 4. 29. · PETERS ROAD, ROYAPETTAH, CHENNAI–600 014. EDITOR:...

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