A New Experience

By: Adeesha Bhat

       In August, in the summer, my family and I went to India. But, there was a problem. My dad had to go to Hyderabad for work, and my mom had to help my dad’s mom (my grandma on my dad’s side) because she was sick. So that left me and my brother. We didn’t know what to do at first, but we finally decided. It was something new. My brother and I would stay at my mom’s sides, grandparents’ house. We stayed for five days. My little cousins were at school most of the time, so my brother and I didn’t have much to do. So, my brother and I played with a ball, and we went on our electronics most of the time. Once our little cousins got home, we played together, and we even went to a great restaurant with our aunt and uncle driving. We didn’t get bored of playing, and if we did, we would find something new to do. My grandma would cook food, and we would always wait for my grandpa to tell stories to us. Honestly, it was a very great experience, and I think I would recommend it to myself in the future. !!

By: Adeesha Bhat

11 years old

South Salem, NY

Car Street

By: Anika Bhat

       It was a cold morning in December and my family was waiting at a bus stop in a village near Udupi, India. Noisy motorcycles and cars zoomed past, hitting us with a blast of air. Large fish lorries (trucks) also went past us, leaving a smell of rotten (fresh?) fish. We had been waiting for about 10 minutes in front of the vegetable stand (which was the bus stop) when the city bus finally came. We managed to get on the bus before it sped away towards its next stop. I found a small seat next to a woman and had Thange sit on top of me. The bus was jam-packed with people. As the bus went along, the conductor shouted incomprehensible words to the front of the bus to let the driver know that a person had to get off.

       Ajja told the ticket collector that we were going to Car Street. Car street is a busy place crammed with all sorts of stands, booths, and small shops. In fact, car street was originally built for the Ratha (the vehicle used to carry God) to go on, but shops always found a space to set up on the side! Pretty soon, 2 seats got empty because their occupants got off.

       Appa quickly told us to sit on them. Turns out, we were sitting right on top of the wheel! When the wheels hit a bump in the road (which there were a lot of) we also flew up into the air along with the bus. Finally, Appa got off the bus in the middle of the trip because he had to do some serious bank business. Amma told me that we were going to get off at the next stop. Then, when the bus reached the next stop, the conductor told the driver to stop, and the bus stopped IN MIDDLE OF THE ROAD for us to get off. A moment after we had got off, the bus had already driven away.

       As I looked around, I saw thousands of cars and vehicles on the road. I saw a small slow in the flow of cars and a minute later we were crossing the road. No car stopped for us, so we had to somehow run and cross the road. Once we crossed the road, we began walking on the broken sidewalk. After 2 minutes of walking, we saw a car parked right next to a no parking sign. Ajja laughed and told me jokingly, “If you are seen following the rules in India, you will be the odd one out! In fact, an officer might tell you, “Why are you following the rules!”. As we walked along, I saw a fancy store (A store which sells all sorts of objects, from toys to keychains) and asked Amma if we could go in it. As Amma checked out the several types of bindis, I looked for something interesting to give to my friends. Suddenly, I saw a lipstick bottle. It made me think of one of my classmates because she is very much into fashion. I asked the shopkeeper how much one bottle was, and the shopkeeper said, “That lipstick is not good. Buy this lipstick instead. It is only for 200 rupees and is pink and safe for children.” I decided not to get lipstick for my classmate. Amma bought the bindis and we moved on. As we zigzagged along the main road, Ajja saw a familiar store that sold carved wood and metal objects. Once we went inside the store, we did not find anything we wanted. Then the storekeeper said that they had another store which had more sculptures, only a few minutes’ walk away. And so, we walked to that store and found out that there were a lot of beautiful objects. Ajja and Amma decided to buy pen/pencil stands for our teachers and elderly neighbors, and Thange and I decided to buy 3 little blue metal elephants. After the storekeeper had packed all our items in newspaper, we moved on towards Car Street.

       Once we reached there, all I saw was a large open space with shops and stands on the side. The air was smokey and unclear from the smoke from the temple. Ajja and the rest of us went along the long line of shops, stopping at the ones which we found interesting. Amma stopped at a store and bought some household items. Ajja meanwhile was talking to one of his many friends he met. After Ajja finished talking, we moved on and stopped at another store which sold pots, kitchen supplies, and other metal objects. It also sold conches. Ajja had taken the conch he had previously bought to return it. Ajja was going to exchange it for another one which Amma can blow. So Amma began looking at the spoons and pans while Ajja decided on a proper Shanka (conch shell). The storekeeper then showed Ajja a large conch with a flower etched in it. Amma tried blowing into it, and a beautiful sound came out from one end of the Shanka. Thange and I looked at the 3 giant Rathas which were parked at three different spots. One, the medium one, was parked in front of the shop we were currently buying at. The largest one was currently under construction, and the smallest one was parked in the far end of Car Street. After Ajja and Amma finished buying, we went to another fancy store. Thange and I began to look at the bracelets to give to our friends, while Amma began looking at the necklaces. Ajja, who was exhausted, sat down on a chair. Finally, Thange and I finished picking bracelets for our friends and went next to Amma, who was STILL looking at necklaces. Once Amma finally finished, we left the store.

       Ajja had to do some work in the bank, so Ajja went to the bank. However, Amma, Thange, and I went to a coin museum owned by the bank. Inside the coin museum, there were coins of all kinds, including coins from the early 16th century. There were Indian bills, coins, and other forms of money from all around the world. There was even an old-fashioned window and bench. They let us take a photo there. After that, we walked to the vegetable store and bought sweet corn and oranges. After that, we tried to board a rickshaw, but they said they would not take us home unless we pay 50 rupees more than what the meter says. Finally, we found a rickshaw who agreed to take us home. When we reached home, the meter already showed more than 100 rupees! I think that a fun, bumpy ride on a city bus is better and more entertaining than a rickshaw ride, where you can pay only 15 rupees instead of 100.

The Abode of Pele

By: Anika Bhat

       A car zoomed past us. Our car skidded into a wet parking lot. We stepped into a cool rainforest. I was at Volcano National Park, home of Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, active volcanoes, and hot springs. This was going to be the best vacation ever. It had to be.

       It was a humid, moist, morning in Hilo, Hawaii, and my family was hiking through a wet rainforest to go to the 500-year old Thurston Lava Tube. The rainforest was full of greenery, with Hāpu'u (giant Hawaiian tree fern) , gnarled trees, overgrown bushes, and even coffee berries. As we were walking to the lava tube, I heard several types of bird calls and insect sounds echoing around the rainforest. The entrance to the tube was nearly hidden with creepers and vines. Once we were inside the tube, it was nearly pitch dark. Flickering lights cast an eerie glow in the darkness. Rainwater dripped from the ceiling, forming ripples in puddles of muddy water on the floor. A steady beat of “drip, drip, drip,…” echoed throughout the cave as the water made it’s downward journey. I enjoyed the cool environment of the rainforest, but little did I know that my next stop would be nothing like it.

       In the late afternoon, we went to Sulfur Springs. Sulfur was everywhere, in the form of steam and small crystals. I even spotted some crystals in the background cliffs. Few plants grew in the steamy, baking habitat. In fact, the only two plants I could see surrounding me was bamboo orchid plants, which is a type of orchid that is invasive to Hawaii, and a type of tree called 'Ōhi'a lehua that survives in the extreme conditions of Sulfur Springs. I learnt that Bamboo Orchids tend to thrive in Volcano National Park, and that 'Ōhi'a lehua has pores that shut close when there is sulfur near them to prevent sulfur from entering inside the plant. The wildlife at Sulfur Springs all had interesting adaptions in order to survive. Without them, plants would have struggled to survive in the boiling heat.

       Towards evening, my family took a drive on a road called Crater Rim Drive. Living up to its name, Crater Rim Drive had many stops where we could park roadside and witness an unusual sight. Right next to where we were standing, huge craters lay merely a few feet away. This continued for the rest of the drive. At the very end of the road, there was a scenic viewpoint where you could see an arch of frozen lava entering the navy blue ocean. It was very windy there, so you had to be careful not to stumble on the loose porous rocks beneath our feet. If we fell, there would be nothing, except for a thin blue rope, to prevent you from face-first falling into the crystal-clear ocean. The spectacular view was a great way to end my trip to Volcano National Park with an unique “cherry on top”.

       My family takes vacations all around the globe, and we always come back home knowing something we didn’t know before. In this memorable trip to Hawaii, I learnt to always appreciate nature, to protect nature, to leave nature as is. I learnt that some people do wrong actions, such as collect lava drippings from century-old lava tubes, or even go off the trail only to get their leg burnt by scalding hot steam. I learnt to preserve nature for other visitors in the future.

By: Anika Bhat

10 years old

Los Angeles, CA