North, South, East, West

Dear Class 4B, Priya Miss must have told you that I won’t be coming to school for the next five months. I’m travelling across India with Amma and Appa.

They will teach me history, geography, science and maths.

But I’ll be back next year.

I miss you all and hope you miss me too.

Hi everyone, You won’t believe where I am!

I’m way up north, at the Thajiwas glacier in Kashmir. The glaciers are white and blue and we have to wear four layers of clothes. Appa and Amma love it here, and they like throwing snowballs at each other. But they say there was much more snow last year.

I also like the snow, but my hands are shaking from not wearing gloves, so I don’t think I can write any more.

Send my love to PT Miss and Library Sir.

Dear Class, We took another train yesterday and reached Himachal Pradesh. It is very quiet, and we can see so many mountains from our cabin. Colourful birds wake me with their chirping when the sun rises in the east.

August 15, 2019

I also think I hear bears growling in the west when it gets dark. But Amma says that’s just Appa snoring. I would love to meet a bear and give it a hug.

With love from your best friend, Shaana

Hi everyone, Did you know that Arunachal Pradesh is far away from Himachal Pradesh? Himachal is in the north but Arunachal is all the way in the east. I thought all the Pradesh states sat next to each other.

We took two trains and drove a long time to get here. This morning, we walked through a forest to reach our treehouse. The forest here is so thick that if you blink or stop to tie your shoelaces, you will get lost.

I love Arunachal the best so far and am beginning to enjoy myself. I hope we get to see red pandas.

Dear classmates, It did not take any time at all to travel south west and get to the

Sundarbans in West Bengal. Today, Amma and Appa took me out onto the river in a small boat. Amma tells me that places like the Sundarbans are called wetlands. I never knew such a place existed, and that it was possible for trees called mangroves to grow in seawater! But Amma is sad about how much this place floods today.

We also saw crocodiles and a lonely snake while boating. I hope they don’t follow us home.

How is everyone? Are you missing me yet?

Hi everyone, We travelled across the country, all the way from east to west, from West Bengal to Gujarat, and it took us two and a half days!

I don’t know why my Amma and Appa brought me to the middle of the desert.

It’s hot, dry, and there’s sand everywhere.

It’s like a beach without the sea! But I do really love the clothes here. They’re so pretty and colourful.

I am sure you’re all studying hard for your half-yearly exams. Amma gave me a test today, and I passed with 88 per cent.

Dear class, Today was the best day ever! We drove east from the desert to the Narmada river, which flows all the way to the centre of India, and it only took us six hours. In the afternoon, Amma, Appa and I went rafting in the river and you won’t believe how wild and scary it was. I always thought rivers were calm, but up close they’re really fast. Appa says that there used to be a lot more water, and rafting was much scarier then.

I was fully wet by the time I was done, and Appa was so scared that he swore never to go rafting ever again. I love the water so much and can’t wait to go back.

Dear classmates, Amma and Appa are fast asleep, and I should be sleeping too, but I just love looking out the window. I think we’re in the southwest part of the country, in Goa, and you won’t believe how nice the plateaus look. There are so many hills here, and beaches too.

There are also a lot of tunnels that the train goes through. I used to be afraid of tunnels, but I’m not any more. Someday, I wish we could all go on a tour of the plateaus. Maybe when we’re in class 11.

Dear friends, I can’t believe we’re in the same state again! We travelled south, and I will be home soon.

We reached Chennai yesterday, and on the way to Puducherry, we decided to learn how to surf. I think I’m good at it now because I only fell down twice. Amma and Appa splashed water on each other and behaved like children. It’s a good thing I was there to control them.

The beaches here are not like the ones we have on our island.

The waves are a lot rougher and the water is browner, but

I still like it here.

Hi everyone, I just crossed the Pamban bridge.

I could see the ocean on both sides. How amazing that a train can travel across the sea like this!

I’m almost home, and I can’t wait to give you my final letter in person.

Dear classmates, I thought Amma and Appa would be tired from all our travelling, but we made one last stop at the Olaikaadu beach before we reached home. And I’m so happy we did.

Amma wanted to teach me how to dive, but they did not have diving suits my size, so I spent the day floating and looking at the fish while my parents dove below me.

We found all sorts of pebbles on the beach, and I can’t wait to give them to you in person tomorrow.

Dear Amma and Appa, I can’t believe we travelled across the whole country! I know we’re going to miss visiting the forests, glaciers, deserts, wetlands, plateaus and mountains. And we are going to miss hearing all those new languages and meeting all those different people.

But we’re finally home now, and we can join our friends again.

I hope we get to travel like this again, and maybe next time we can take our friends with us.

*Map is not to scale and only for the sake of representation