Narrating the tale and trajectory of Gobar Times—of how it evolved into a new avatar and gained new characters. ************************************* My association with the Gobar Times will be incomplete without Piu & Pom. We were once working on a comic strip for the magazine. Piu is the name of my daughter so it was easy to decide the name of one of the characters. But for Pom, there’s an interesting story. 

What can you do at home to pump up the oxygen levels in your surroundings? Read this motivating account of some ordinary but nature-friendly activities. ************************************* From the past few years, my family has been undertaking certain chores which have helped us in connecting with nature in a better way. For instance, we make compost from raw fruit and vegetable scrapes, using the three-tier pot method. At first, we gather a lot of green and brown waste from the kitchen. (Green waste means anything organic that can be composted...

An interview with Deepak Bhati and Gauri Arora, Programme Officers in the Sustainable Food Systems team of the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, simplifying the complicatedness of antimicrobial resistance for our young readers. ******************************************** Hi Deepak and Gauri! We’ve been hearing about this complex and scary thing, ‘Antimicrobial Resistance’ (AMR). Can you please unpack it for our kids?...

At the outset, I want to thank the United Nations of Humans for giving us this opportunity to address all of humankind. I speak on behalf of the quintillion microbes of our planet. I know that we are speaking to you in a time of great distress. Each of you present here has faced personal tragedies. We convey our deepest condolences...

Navdeep Salam, a teacher at the Government Primary School, Nathukonha village, Dhamtari district, Chhattisgarh, redefines the grim ground reality by creating a room-to-read where none existed. The road leading towards Nathukonha, the only one connecting it with the rest of the world, is undoubtedly its most recent and significant development. Nathukonha is a small, remote village of the Gond tribe. 

Reeta Mondal, a teacher at the PG Umathe Upper Primary Government School, Raipur, volunteers to colour the doomsdays of lockdown with her bag of crayons. When the countrywide lockdown was imposed last year, we witnessed three kinds of people. The first were those who locked themselves inside their houses. The second were those who couldn’t afford to do so like, the migrant labourers. And the third were those who had no option, like the doctors, medical staff, and police...

(Yes, I teach... Will you learn?)Story of an inspiring teacher who sets up classes where most desired but none took the initiative. Friends, this story belongs to the period when corona had stretched its arms wide across our country. The way this pandemic spread worldwide, it seemed as if this planet was welcoming it willingly. Gradually, it spread into the nook and corners of our villages as well. On 21st March 2020, the lockdown was imposed in Uttar Pradesh. We were asked to beat our ‘taali aur thaali’ (claps and plates) to destroy this airborne virus...

“You got the vaccine!?” Babbi screeched excitedly. She was talking to her 13-year-old cousin, Manu, in the US. “Did it hurt? Did you get fever? And did you get the clot?” Babbi could barely sit still during that video call. “Nah… nothing happened,” Manu assured her, behaving like a responsible older brother. He didn’t experience any major adverse effects after the COVID-19 vaccine. But he understood why Babbi was worrying. He too had been scared of the vaccine and had read up extensively about it. Not wanting to lose this chance to show-off, he offered to explain how the …

Attend classes, study, eat, sleep, then rinse and repeat. Sounds peaceful, doesn’t it? It sure did to me, at least in the first few weeks of lockdown. Though now, instead of the noisy interruptions by many loud students, my classes are punctuated by silence.

‘All’s well that ends well.’My lockdown experience is the exact opposite of this commonly used quote from the famous play by William Shakespeare. My first reaction:When I got to know about the lockdown in the entire country, I got excited thinking that I will get more time to spend with my family, more time for TV, and no more school! Most of my friends felt the same way.