Kullu’s Curious Kollu
a book by Karan Vohra
Kullu’s Curious Kollu Guide: Prof Alka Hingorani Layout and Book Design: Ruchi Shah, Karan Vohra Written by: Alka Hingorani, Aarti Latkar, Karan Vohra Photographs: Alka Hingorani, Aarti Latkar
Learn English Through Stories This book is part of an ongoing project called LETS at IDC, IIT-B, Mumbai, in association with the Tata Centre for Technology and Design. It was conceptualized after an initial field trip to G.S.S.S Khun, and Government Primary School, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, in November 2014. Illustrated using drawings and sketches the students made then, and photographs that were taken during the trip, the book draws from the familiar and personal experiences of students to facilitate English language learning in remote rural areas.
Meet Kollu. The cutest Sloth bear ever!
Kollu lived in the beautiful valley of Kullu.
He loved eating and always knew where to find food. A travelling fruit vendor, a beehive full of honey, or a fruiting shrub. He knew where to go when he wanted some grub.
What Kollu did not know was how he knew where to find food. “How do I know?�, he wondered. Kollu was a curious bear. Not knowing troubled him. And knowing that he did not know troubled him more. He had to know.
As he approached Khun along the way, he asked the villagers, “Would you know how I know where to find food?” “We don’t know the secrets of the animal kingdom”.
“Why don’t you go to the temple, and ask the pundit?”
So Kollu went to the temple and met the pundit. “Would you know how I know where to find food?” “I wish I knew, or had a clue. But I really don’t know. Perhaps the Ocean of Knowledge has pearls of wisdom for you.”
Kollu was puzzled. No ocean he knew was called Knowledge. But he also knew no Ocean. And he was not really looking for pearls, though wisdom sounded about right. So he took a chance, and turned to a friend for help. Karan, he thought, Karan would know. “Umm... an ocean called Knowledge? I don’t know. But there is a river near here. Could that be the place to go?”
Kollu’s eyes lit up. He found the river and jumped in.
Swimming in the river, he came upon a cloud of octopi.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here? I was under the notion that octopi lived in the ocean.”
“Aha ! And a Sloth bear during the day! That is supposed to be okay? Or is the world going astray?”, said an irritated octopus.
“I have been going round and round, so my head is turned around, trying to find the answer to this simple question: How is it that I know where to find food?” “And what made you think you would find the answer here among hungry octopi who have never tasted a bear? You do smell nice! Perhaps letting you go would be unwise.
By now Kollu was sad and scared. The Octopi had been rude, which completely spoiled his mood. He jumped out of the river and felt a shiver. “I am never going to know!�, he sadly thought...
“I am never going to know!”, he sadly thought, when his eye was drawn to a shining rock. It was not water; that would have run. It was light, but not the Sun. “How strange!” He thought, moving nearer, and found himself staring in a mirror. “Apples! There are apples somewhere near,” he could tell, he had caught the smell.
And then in the mirror he saw his nose. The nose in the mirror was sniffing and twitching. “Oh, my! It’s my nose! My nose, it knows.” And that’s how Kollu knew.
Acknowledgements. We would like to thank the teachers and principals at G.S.S.S, Khun, and the Government Primary School, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.
And our artists: From Kullu (9-11 year olds)
From Khun (12-15 year olds)
Anjali Ansh
Anjali
Daleep
Chand Kumari
Karan
Deganand
Kawyansh
Dinesh
Payal
Dupendar
Rishu
Gaurav
Ruchika
Gopal Soni
Sather
Lalit
Tamana
Manisha
Tanisha
Manju Soni
Urmila
Mayabanti
Urvashi
Minakshi Neha Nirmala Pooja Pranjal Pushpendar Rahul Rakesh Raksha Rinku Shalu
Learn English Through Stories This book is part of an ongoing project called LETS (Learn English Through Stories) at IDC, IIT-B, Mumbai, in association with the Tata Centre for Technology and Design. It was conceptualized after an initial field trip to G.S.S.S Khun, and Government Primary School, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, in November 2014. Illustrated using drawings and sketches the students made then, and photographs that were taken during the trip, the book draws from the familiar and personal experiences of students to facilitate English language learning in remote rural areas.
Learn English Through Stories This book is part of an ongoing project called LETS (Learn English Through Stories) at IDC, IIT-B, Mumbai, in association with the Tata Centre for Technology and Design. It was conceptualized after an initial field trip to G.S.S.S Khun, and Government Primary School, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, in November 2014. Illustrated using drawings and sketches the students made then, and photographs that were taken during the trip, the book draws from the familiar and personal experiences of students to facilitate English language learning in remote rural areas.