A promo video for Zero to Ten are all my Friends - my little book for little readers :-)

 Dear Friends,

I'm happy to share that my new book is out on Amazon as both a print and ebook.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NRBTHNC/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1639820517&sr=1-1

Zero to Ten are all my Friends is a delightful introduction to numbers and counting for little readers. It is a charming book with lovely illustrations to help little readers make friends with numbers. Written in a series of rhyming verses, from zero to ten, each verse explains the concept of a number. There is also an introductory and a concluding verse to reinforce the idea that numbers are our friends and once a child is familiar with them, there’s so much more fun that one can have playing with them. This book would be of interest to parents, teachers, playschools, schools – and little children, of course!

 

Dear Friends, I’m happy to share that I have a new website with information about my books and other trivia and pictures that may of interest. It also has free learning resources and downloads for parents and children.  Do check it out at: https://kepriyamvada.com/

 Dear Friends, I’m happy to inform you that ‘Animal Antics’ is now easily available as a print book in the US, from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MSQ41ZR...

It would make a great gift for children or the New Year. If you would like a fun, educational and informative book about animals and birds for your child, as a gift for your friends’ children, or indeed for readers of all ages who enjoy humorous verse or reading about wildlife, then this is the book for you!

Happy to share that my next book Grubbipus Maximus and the Magic Mirror is out as an ebook on Kindle.

Grubbipus Maximus and the Magic Mirror is the story of a grubby and unfriendly creature who faces a strange situation. He wakes up one morning to find out everyone around him thinks he's no longer with them and that's when he realizes what they really think of him. It makes him look back at how he's lived his life till then. Does he undergo a change of heart? You'll have to read it to find out. This book would be of interest to young readers (age 8 and above), parents and teachers. Younger children (6+) could enjoy listening to the story being read out aloud to them. The story highlights the values of kindness and caring for others. It details the events of a few days in the life of Grubbipus Maximus (Grubby). In the course of his work as a grasping pawnbroker, Grubby comes across a magic mirror. The mirror shows him the reality of his life and the values that matter in the end. Written in a humorous vein, the story and its characters are likely to stay with you long after you've read it.

 

Grubbipus Maximus and the Magic Mirror

 

 

A poem that I entered in the All India Poetry Contest 2016 has won a prize :-)
The house is more than 120 years old...

My Grandmother’s Home

      A red hibiscus flower peeps through 
                                    a rusty iron gate,

It creaks as I swing it open and walk down the narrow sandy   path.

Lantana bushes lean over the parapet on either side,

Their colourful flowers, splashes of yellow,

Orange and pink amidst the green foliage.

Tall coconut trees rise behind them, reaching up to the sky.

A plum-headed parakeet peers out of a tree hole, looking for its mate.                                                                                              

Ahead, the sandy path opens into a courtyard that surrounds the house,

Low steps lead up to the long cool veranda,

Where two kittens play in the shade of the                                                ochre-tiled roof,

That slopes down from the second floor,

Where mama cat lounges nonchalantly on the sun-warmed tiles.                                                                                                                                

I walk past the rows of potted plants on the steps along the veranda’s  edge,                      

And around the corner of the house, where the well,                  

With its brown laterite walls covered in green moss,

Waits for someone to break the silence with a splash,

By letting down the iron bucket and chain,

Into the cool depths, where small black fish circle amidst the water weeds.       

Around the back and there’s the kitchen garden,

Where papaya trees line the compound wall.                

A curry tree near the open kitchen door, 

Provides fresh leaves for memorable meals;

Cats wait outside the kitchen door for leftover bits of fish.

Squirrels run over the gnarled old mango and jack trees,

And the smell of ripe jackfruit hangs invitingly in the air;

At night, fruit bats enjoy the sweet taste of succulent mangoes. 

Around the corner and in the shade of the rear porch,

A stack of coconuts waits to be eaten,

Along with heaps of dried palm leaves to be burnt,

As fuel in the old kitchen hearth.

I turn another corner and behind a green thicket of cannas,

The memorial stones of my great-grandparents lie in peaceful rest.

Having come full circle, I turn and climb up the steps to the veranda,

Where we young cousins studied and played in its cool shade.

Watched over by my grandmother on her easy chair.

I hear the echoes of our childhood laughter…

I sit on her chair and look out at the green vista,

Where bee-eaters and sunbirds chirp as they flit among the flowers.

Hidden amidst the trees, a crow pheasant calls,

Its deep booming interrupts their twitter.

I look up and see an owl perched beneath the eaves,

Sleeping peacefully under the roof.

I try to pen down my thoughts on paper,

And find myself able to write just a line—

‘All of us found shelter here…’

Fireflies

 As the dusk deepens,
And the light fades away,
All of a sudden,
There are sparkles at play;

 

Flickers in the darkness,
Pinpricks of light,
Brief bursts of radiance,
Light up the night.

 

As a pair of fireflies,
Flash their lights off and on,
Intermittently twinkling,
Now they’re here, now they’re gone…

 

There’s a biological reason,
For their luminescent light,
As one signals to its mate,
‘Come hither, tonight!’

 

And the other replies,
‘I’m coming, I know.’
Responding to its partner,
With a flash and a glow.

 

And the poet in me,
Sees their flickering display,
As a game of passion,
That two lovers play…

 

Alight in a gleam,
That teases and burns,
Now restless, now still,
As a lover yearns.

 

Aglow in the heat,
Of a fervid fire,
Seeking the warmth,
Of love’s ardent desire.

 

With a flash and a gleam,
They swoop through the air,
Signalling to each other,
‘I’m here, are you there?

 

As fireflies dance,
And light up the night,
I wonder when our love
Will burn so bright…?

 

This poem was placed 3rd in the All India Poetry Contest 2015, conducted by the Poetry Society of India: http://www.indianpoetry.org/