The Secret Garden

I'm very pleased to announce the release of my latest book for children, The Secret Garden.



Published by Nature Science Initiative, Dehra Dun, it is a book about the Peepal tree (which is a Ficus tree), its inhabitants, and the fascinating story of the relationship between the Ficus tree and the Fig Wasp.  It is aimed at children between the ages of 8 to 14.

The book is a product of a collaboration between several people.  I "translated" the science produced by many researchers, including Soumya Prasad, Geetha Ramaswami, Mahua Ghara, Anusha Krishnan, Raman Kumar. Sartaj Ghuman contributed illustrations.

The superb cover and many of the cartoons in the book, are by the brilliant Rohan Chakravarty of Green Humour, and some photographs are by Pradip Krishen (of Trees of Delhi fame).

The beautiful layout and some pictures and illustrations are by Anita Varma of Graphic Alley, who's done a fantastic job with it.

It is truly a fabulous book and I'm proud to be associated with it.

You can order the book by emailing nsi@naturescienceinitiative.org.

The book was released in Dehra Dun, during a Peepal Walk organized by Been There, Doon That? with Dr. Soumya Prasad of Nature Science Initiative, who is an ecologist and my childhood friend.

A report of the walk and the book release in the Hindustan Times:

I Wonder - Science Magazine from Azim Premji University

My article "The Success of Costa Rica", where I speak about how the country of Costa Rica manged to run on 100% renewable power for 75 days, appears in the inaugural issue of "I Wonder", a magazine brought out by Azim Premji University.

It is aimed at middle school science teachers, but anybody with an interest in  science will enjoy this for sure. There are some great articles in the magazine. And it is free to download - here.

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything

I'm reading out Bill Bryson's "A Really Short History of Nearly Everything" to Puttachi.

I find the way she thinks fascinating. And the things that she thinks! For instance here are some of the things her brain thought up while we were reading about space.

When I told her that the light of the stars takes centuries to reach us:
"Looking at stars is like looking at history with our own eyes."

When talking about the possibility of aliens existing, given that there are so many galaxies and so many stars in each galaxy:
"Everything that we call imaginary is probably there somewhere; you have imagined it because some part of your head knows it is there. But consciously, we do not know it is there. "

We were reading about Pluto, and the text said, ".. with a NASA mission on its way and planning to arrive nearby in July 2015, Pluto won't be forgotten."
Puttachi said, "But July 2015 is now!"
I quietly opened a browser and showed her pics of Pluto taken by New Horizons, and she whispered, wide-eyed, "We are reading about it and it is happening now?"
And then the excitement overwhelmed her and she fell on the bed and thrashed about like a fish out of water. So much fun.
 

Rain in Brainwave magazine

Puttachi's arms make an appearance in Brainwave's July Rain issue.

I have two pieces in this issue - one is a comic on the Water Cycle, and in the other, I take the help of Puttachi's arms (Talk about "lending me a hand!") and teach you how to make a Rainstick.

 

Science Media Centre at IISc

A few months ago, I joined  The Science Media Centre at IISc as an intern. I've been doing some work for them, and it's been fun, challenging and educative. Here's a sample: SERIIUS: Leading the world into a solar-energy-based future.

Articles in Brainwave Magazine

Brainwave is a pretty cool magazine for kids. The articles are fun, the layout catchy, and the illustrations are attractive. And oh, it is quite informative!

I have a piece on the history of the atom in the May issue which is about Atoms, and a piece on what aliens are probably made up of in the June issue, which is about, well, Aliens.

Pick up a copy - chances are that your child will like it.