R.K. Narayan:

He pleaded for abolition of the heavy school bag

THE 100th birth anniversary of R.K. Narayan fell on October 10. He was India's greatest writer of the 20th century. He wrote in English.

Malgudi Days which later was made into a film series was his most famous work. Do you know that Malgudi is only a fictions name of a village that never was. Malgudi Days gripped the imagination of millions of readers and television viewers around the world.

R.K. Narayan's story "Swaminathan" partly based on his childhood days, was published as 'Swami and Friends' in Englland. Thereafter he wrote a number of books including his biography. R.K. Narayan was once a member of the Rajya Sabha - Parliament of India.

The subject of his inaugural speech at the Rajya Sabha was children. In the speech he highlighted the issue of the "crushing burden of the heavy school bag."

He said "I have investigated and found that an average child carries strapped to his back like a pack-mule, not less than 6-8 kg of books, notebooks and other paraphernalia of modern education in addition to lunch box and water bottle...... I am now pleading for abolition of the school bag by an ordinance, if necessary... so that childhood has chance to bloom."

Man's best friend mummified

MODERN humans are not the only ones to pamper their dogs; ancient Peruvians also seem to have held their pets in high esteem. Peruvian archaeologist Sonia Guillen and her team discovered the remains of more than 40 mummified dogs in a cemetery near Lima, Peru.

The team was looking for remains of the Chiribaya culture (900-1,3500 AD), which flourished just before the time of the Incas. The dogs had plots near that of the humans and the graves also contained items for the afterlife like food and blankets.

The 43 mummified remains included adult dogs and puppies. According to Guillen, the discovery shows how important the dogs, which were used to herd Ilamas, were in the culture. She is also trying to find links between these ancient dogs and their more modern descendants.

Young Scribes:

How could we help build peace

WHAT can we help as an instrument for peace? First we have to do the following things:

Plant a tree at your house, or school, or temple as a symbol of peace and hope for the future generations.

Make a new friend and regain your friendship with a friend, or family member.

Share your dreams for peace with everyone who is willing to listen to you.

Keep your environment clean.

Peace is something that many people in the world wish for, yet there are many places in our world where there is no peace.

We can also promote peace by doing some programs like publishing in the Internet, organizing music concerts, debates and etc.....

There were and are people who promote peace all around the world. Alfred B. Nobel, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Chief Seattle, Harry Truman, Mohandas Gandhi are some great persons who worked for peace in the world.

And also there are some organizations which help make peace. They are United Nations (UN), Peace Corps, Amnesty International, Nobel Peace Prize, The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Centre and The Carter Centre.

Shamy KIRITHARAN, Gr 9 - Kingston College International, Colombo - 15

Folk tales of Sri Lanka:

Andare challenges a giant

Retold by R. S. KARUNARATNE

A young man who claimed himself to be a giant entered the Kandyan kingdom and threw up a challenge to anybody who wished to fight with him.

The people who knew of his bodily strength did not come forward to challenge him. Instead they went to the palace to complain of the new problem in the kingdom.

"Your Majesty, we are not safe now in our own kingdom. A giant has come here and he is challenging everyone of us to go and fight with him. We dare not accept the challenge as we know of his strength.

The king gave his humble citizens a kind hearing. Then he summoned his ministers and asked them for their advice.

The ministers too were mortally scared of the giant and did not know what to do in such a difficult situation. As usual the king looked at the court jester. Without so many words from the king Andare understood the gravity of the situation.

"Your Majesty, I am prepared to challenge the giant, if I'm permitted to do so."

"By all means, fight with him and save the dignity of my kingdom. I'll give you anything you ask."

"Your Majesty, please put me and the giant in two adjoining rooms without allowing him to see me. You may also feed the giant and me with the choicest foods for one month. At the end of that period I'll fight with the giant and defeat him."

The king was so pleased that he made arrangements to keep the giant and Andare in two adjoining rooms separated by a wall. He also ordered his ministers to provide the best of foods to the fighters.

While spending his time in isolation, Andare used a small instrument to remove the plaster around one brick in the wall that separated him from the giant's room. As the wall was very strong he had to remove the plaster for a number of days.

At the end of one month's in isolation Andare called his rival and asked for a small favour.

"Brother can you give me some betel and lime because I've finished my stock?"

"Yes, I can give you what you want. But the problem is that we are separated by a strong wall."

"Don't worry about it. I'll now break, the wall with my fist and you can pass the betel and lime through the hole."

Andare pushed the brick he had earmarked and the giant gave him what he wanted.

On the following day, the king's men announced that Andare would fight with the giant at the royal park. They also sent out a drummer asking the people to witness the event.

On the appointed day Andare came out of the room and proudly walked to the royal park. The king, his ministers and the people were waiting impatiently to see the fight.

Andare waited for a long time but his rival did not make his appearance. Then a security guard came running to the royal park and informed the king that the giant had vanished.

The king thanked Andare profusely and showered him with many valuable gifts.