Gulmohar Park
The New Swing Has a Queue, and a Rule
KHILKHILAPUR · Tuesday 29 September
Gulmohar Park got its new swing on Monday. By Tuesday it had the longest queue in Khilkhilapur.
The children made the rule themselves: you count to twenty out loud, then you get off. The counting is done by whoever is next, so some turns last a very fast twenty and some last a very slow one.
Buggu noticed a boy standing by the fence who hadn't joined the line, and walked over to ask if he wanted to go after him. His name is Raju. He now has a turn, and a friend.
Records
Fourteen Blocks High
KHILKHILAPUR · Wednesday 30 September
Buggu and Raju built the tallest block tower Khilkhilapur has ever measured, using the living-room rug as the official ground.
It reached fourteen blocks before it wobbled. Papa Babloo measured it with a wooden ruler and wrote the number on the fridge. Then Raju sneezed.
The tower is no longer standing. Both builders agree the falling down was the best part, and plans for fifteen are already under way.
Sandpit
Two Trucks, One Sandpit, No Fighting
KHILKHILAPUR · Saturday 26 September
There is one red dump truck and one blue dump truck in the sandpit behind the community hall. On Saturday there were two children who both wanted the red one.
Buggu held on to it for a long time. Then he tried something new. He loaded the red truck, drove it over to Meeku, and Meeku tipped the sand out with the blue one.
They called it a delivery service. It ran until lunch and moved, by Buggu's count, a hundred buckets of sand.
Music
Matching Violins at the Music Morning
KHILKHILAPUR · Sunday 27 September
The Sunday music morning at the Gulmohar Park bandstand had a surprise act: Buggu and his cousin Guddu, in matching mint onesies, playing two small violins at once.
They did not play the same song. Nobody minded. The audience of eleven clapped, Papa Babloo clapped loudest, and a pigeon left halfway through, which Guddu says is a compliment in pigeon.
Kitchen
Pizza Night Gets a Face
KHILKHILAPUR · Sunday 27 September
At Sunday pizza night in the Babloo kitchen, Buggu got his own small base and was told he could put the toppings anywhere he liked.
He chose mushroom eyes, an olive nose and a smile made of sweetcorn. He would not let anyone cut the face, so Papa Babloo ate around it.
The face was eaten last, very slowly, starting with the left eye.
Community Hall
Papa Babloo Plays the Old Piano
KHILKHILAPUR · Wednesday 23 September
The old piano in the Khilkhilapur community hall has three keys that stick and one that goes clunk.
On Wednesday evening Papa Babloo sat down and played it anyway: two fast songs, then a slow lullaby his grandmother used to hum. By the end of the lullaby, two babies in the front row were fast asleep.
The hall committee says the piano will be tuned before Diwali. Papa Babloo says he will miss the clunk.
Mystery
The Case of the Kitchen Lollipop
KHILKHILAPUR · Friday 25 September
A large red-and-white lollipop was found on the kitchen counter at four o'clock on Friday. Nobody would say where it came from.
Buggu investigated for most of the afternoon. He checked under the table, behind the fridge and inside Papa's slipper.
At dinner the mystery was solved. It was Papa Babloo's surprise for after the vegetables. The detective ate all his peas.
Garden Fair
Best Smile at the Garden Fair
KHILKHILAPUR · Saturday 19 September
Khilkhilapur's garden fair gives prizes for the biggest pumpkin, the tallest sunflower and the nicest roses. This year the judges added a new one.
Papa Babloo didn't grow anything that won. He did spend the whole afternoon showing children how to hold a ladybird without squashing it. The judges gave him a paper medal for Best Smile, and it is now pinned to his red cap.
Neighbourhood
The Night Light Club Meets for the First Time
KHILKHILAPUR · Tuesday 22 September
Five children who are a little bit scared of the dark held the first meeting of the Night Light Club on Tuesday.
Each member brought one thing that helps. Buggu brought Mulmul, his soft blanket. Meeku brought a torch shaped like a fish.
The club agreed on one rule: you can say you're scared, and nobody laughs. The next meeting is on the full moon, and everyone is bringing a snack.
