One of  our most popular writers, Uma Iyer  has dreamt of Molu, a mischievous six-year-old for almost a decade now.  She shares with the young readers of Unboxed Writers, ‘Meet Molu,’ a yet to be published first book of hopefully what would turn out to be a Molu and Tushka series. Agni, or ‘Molu’ as she is commonly referred to, is a six year old girl whose life revolves around her parents, her friends and her puppy, Tushka. The book is a view of the world around her, through her eyes and consists of 12 chapters.

Main Characters:

Molu: Six-year-old girl. Brown skin, big black eyes that shine and sparkle, curly hair, extremely curious, chatter-box, loves chips, ice-creams, water and Tushka, usually dressed in shorts and t-shirts, occasionally considers wearing summer frocks.

 Tushka: Approximately five-month-old puppy, black as the night with brown eyes, of indefinite lineage, tends to cock her head to one side when Molu speaks with her, loves chips, ice-creams, water, balls and Molu, wears a neon green belt around her neck with a bone medallion

 Etc. Characters:

Amma: The mother

Appa: The father

Bibi: The maid

Coco: The cat next door

Binny: The boy next door

Meet Molu

Molu means little girl. My name is Agni but everyone calls me Molu because, well, because I am a little girl. My Appa calls me Chikku sometimes. I don’t like it. I think that is why he does it.

 I am six-year-old. My birthday was last month, April 15th but we celebrated on 17th because it was a Saturday and I didn’t get to wear my new ‘Monster Kid’ T-shirt because Amma said it did not fit the theme – Sea World. I had chosen the theme because I like the little mermaid, but I don’t like all those frilly skirts. They get in the way all the time. The cake was good, looked like a beach with shells. And we had ice-creams. Vanilla and strawberry and chocolate. I had three bowls. One vanilla and two  strawberries and lots of potato chips. We had some games also, but Amma said I couldn’t win all the time because I was the host. I don’t like being the host. It is silly to let others win when you can win a glitter pen set.

 My hair is like noodles. I don’t mind it much, but Amma spends a lot of time trying to “tame it.” I tell her it is not a lion or something. She says it is even worse. I like noodles. No vegetables in them please.

 I like blue colour and orange colour. I like colouring and drawing. Crayons and water colours are my favourites. I got two new colouring sets for my happy birthday, many books, two new shorts and a cycle. It is an awesome big cycle. It has two extra wheels which Appa will remove once I learn to ride it on my own. And then I can go and buy vegetables and fruits alone, Appa said! I am six-years-old!! I am a big girl!

 I go to Sunrise Global School and I am in the second standard. And I am very sleepy. If I don’t sleep now, Bibi will come and scream in my ears and make me cry in the morning. Then I will miss the bus. Then Amma will be upset. Then Appa will drop me to school on his bike.

 I think I will not wake up on time. I like Appa best in the world. And Amma also. But Appa bestest.

He sings loudly with me and tickles me when I am sad.

He also buys me jello-bello triple ice cream sundaes with sprinkles. Before dinner. He eats almost half of it, but that is ok.

 Goodnight…

Uhm … I forgot to brush my teeth again. Should I just tell yes if Amma asks?

Ok, I should go, brush, or else an army of bacteria will camp in my gums and my teeth will fall out one by one and when I learn to whistle; only air will come out.

To be continued…

Uma Iyer is a writer, a mother and a freelance consultant for marketing communication to several organisations. She was raised in Mumbai and currently lives in Delhi. Her retirement plan includes two dogs, many books and a shack by the sea.