When Chikoo was very bitter...

                                                         An Excerpt

   

      Chikoo was the only one who was studying in an English medium school in Tilaknagar, a small town, 50 kilometres away from the ‘aamrai’ which had about 15-20 shanties of houses. These were thatched with coconut leaves and tin roofs and had walls made from mud, fortified by cow-dung cakes and crude plaster. Jute bags had been ripped apart and hung as cool curtains for the shanties.

      When it became too hot in summer, water from a natural spring nearby, was liberally sprayed on the ‘curtains’ to provide an air-conditioned comfort for the simple and hard-working residents. Sturdy twigs and branches of babul trees were used to act as bars on the small windows, which effectively prevented thieves from pilfering their meager, yet well-earned belongings; with their sharp thorns. The floors were the solid earth, smoothened laboriously, with a daily smattering of soft cow-dung.

       

                                                      End of the Excerpt

      

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The copyright of this story is with Mrs.Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

You can read this story in my book at Amazon. It is the first of my "Chikoo Series". 

Eagerly awaiting your reviews as well as wholehearted participation in "Chikoo Champion's Challenge Reading Event" presented by Priya's Vision Academy.