'Riddlespeak' with Nadine D'Souza

From: The 13th Riddle by Nadine D'Souza, with illustrations by Ajanta Guhathakurta

Chakrampur is a prosperous little town thanks to its smart mayor, Piloo Paheliji. He loves to show off how clever he is by asking riddles no one can answer, and even celebrates a Riddle Day every year. Whoever can answer his riddle that day stands to win a thousand rupees. But twelve years have gone by, and there have been no winners. The thirteenth Riddle Day dawns... 

Author Nadine D’Souza is a freelance writer, who loves to read and write stories for children. She also loves riddles and sent us some of her favourite brain-teasers! 

A tête-à-tête with the Mumbai-based author:

Do you like talking in riddles or do you just like riddles?
Like almost everyone else, I love a good riddle. They compel us to use common sense and the answers are always in plain sight, if we know where to look. However, I have to admit, like poor Paheliji, I do get a bit impatient with people who insist on talking in riddles all the time!

Do you know anyone in real life like Piloo Paheliji, Pammilal or the clever boy?

I've known a few Pammilals in real life. There's always that one individual in almost every classroom or workplace who loves to flatter the teacher or the boss, much to the amusement and sometimes annoyance of the others. As for the clever boy, he appears in one of my favourite stories - the delightful classic tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes. He’s the little child who can’t help pointing out that the vain emperor is not wearing any clothes at all!

Some of your favourite riddles are...?
What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and the beginning of every ending?
The letter 'e'

What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
A stamp

If there are three cups of sugar and you take one away, how many do you have?
You have just one - the one you took away.

Do you write for children or is this your first story? What inspired you to write a children's story?
I loved to read as a child and I always knew I wanted to be a writer. But I started writing children’s stories just for fun, to give myself a break from my regular work. This led me to re-read the books I loved from my childhood, and that’s when I knew that this was something I wanted to keep doing. I have previously written a picture book called ‘Revenge of the Puppets’ and at the moment I’m working on a novel for children.

What topics do you usually write on?
I used to write for a group of magazines which reported on the broadcasting, animation and music industry. Since then I’ve ventured into freelance writing, a job which allows me the space and time to indulge in that wonderful world of storytelling.

Order The 13th Riddle on our website.

Riddle Us Red: Winners

We announced the winners of the Riddle Us Red contest on March 15th on our facebook page.

From The 13th Riddle, written by Nadine D'Souza and illustrated by Ajanta Guhathakurta

For those of you may have missed the announcement, the winners are Vani Balaraman, Arthi Anand and Padma Visvanathan. They will each receive a free copy of The Thirteenth Riddle. 

Way to go!

And here's a sneak peek:

From The 13th Riddle

Riddle Us Red

It can speak, but doesn’t have a mouth.
It can travel, but doesn’t have legs.
It doesn’t have a nose.

But sometimes has ears.

And it definitely has a smell. 

WHAT IS IT?

A book!!

Piloo Paheliji from The 13th Riddle

Nadine D's Souza's Piloo Paheliji is scoffing at us. 

"Too easy-peasy a brain-teezee?" we ask.

"You're embarassing me, "he says, adjusting his spotted tie.

So we've got a real riddle for you. From our latest picture book The 13th Riddle (so it is Piloo approved). The first 3 people who send the right answer, get a copy of The 13th Riddle. Absolutely FREE.

Pammilal, Piloo’s faithful secretary, doesn’t think you can do it. 

Here it is:

Here’s a puzzle to rattle the brain,

A brand new mystery to solve again.

I always run but never walk,

I often murmur, never talk.

I have a bed but never sleep,

I have a mouth but never eat.”

What am I??

Send your answers to tulikabooks@gmail.com.

My Science Story: Winners and a round-up!

Thanks to all those who participated in the My Science Story blogfest. We enjoyed reading through your entries.

The winners are Vani Balaraman, Shruti Rao and Atula Gupta. They will each receive a copy of Why the Sky is Blue.Congratulations!

"We took pride that we never took tutions. Our tutor was at home. Armed with a B.S.C in Math, Physics, Amma took a keen interest in all  that was in our books. I remember Amma used to bring a bowl from the kitchen, hold it high and then loudly say: This is concave. She would pull another and show us what convex was," says Vani Balaraman about her favourite science teacher, her mother.

"The beautiful thing about getting children interested in science is that one doesn't even have to try," says Shruti Rao. "All you have to do is introduce a tiny seed of wonder in an already inquisitive mind, and the child will take it and run with it." Read about interesting conversations with her child in this post. 

"If 500 bacteria can cover just my palm, can you just imagine how many bacteria can cover an entire blue whale!” he said his eyes sparkling with the newly made discovery. Read the rest of Atula Gupta's animated discussion with her son in this post.

Ever talked to a bottle of Coke?? Read R's Mom's post on an incident from her childhood and the magic that is science. 

"I still remember being woken up in the middle of the night by my dad to see the Milky Way... It was like a bright river full of stars in the sky. No wonder it is called the Akashganga.For lovers of the night sky, here's a post by Lifesong on the pleasures of stargazing, sky watching and hoping to spot shooting stars.

Rattythegameworm talks about how she learnt to "make" a volcano erupt in this post and this blogger's child wants to know how the colours of a rainbow are formed. 

Finally, Arundathi Venkatesh talks about science fun with her son. "...the best of the lot has got to be our questions and conversations. This invariably starts with P in his headmistress voice declaring “let me look around in nature” and coming up with questions like why are leaves green, why are there different kinds of mud, and how were mountains formed? Since the point is for him to learn to think (good excuse for me not having answers, ha!), I reflect the questions right back at him."