The Cuckoo Movement for Children

Gokul “Nalla pudichikkonga” called out Gokul from the front seat. Seated on his cycle carrier and holding his little shoulders for support, I wondered if I should ask him to stop. The sun was at its peak that afternoon in Uthukuli. Gokul was taking me for a ride in his bicycle. The little guy pedalled hard against the wind. Suddenly, the handlebar wobbled and I almost jumped – but Gokul regained his balance. The wind was on our faces and we laughed aloud for no particular reason. “Pathingala, naan nalla doubles-adippen” he said as the road came to an end. Pressing the brakes hard, he jumped off the cycle like a billy-goat. Huffing and panting, he looked at me and smiled, sweat dripping down his brow. It’s a sight I will never forget. The sun. The lonely road. The bicycle. The little guy in front of me. I was in love with them all.  Thirumeni She kept me company the entire day, talking about her school and life in general. She’s a sportswoman who’s doing her bes...

Photo: Vinodh Baluchamy Hello. Forgive my grimy hands. I’m just back from the forest. There is a stream there. On its banks is a rock that’s shaped like an elephant. I was sitting on it with my friends all morning. We played a lot of games. We made animals and birds with clay from the bank and released them into the forest. We drew clouds on the ground using red earth, we also drew the sun. We wrote a story in which the moon goes for a swim one night. We collected seeds which we will plant near our homes. We read a book under a tree when it drizzled. And when the sun came out we danced for a song we wrote. We then…oh my, we’re late. The seeds! We have to plant them right away. See those grey clouds floating towards us? They hold precious water drops that will give life to the seeds. We have to go now, there’s so much to do. Good-bye. No, wait, do you want to come along? Now you might be wondering what we do. Let me tell you more about us. We are from the Cuckoo Movement fo...