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Cocoa Island is located in the South Malé. Pic. courtesy: Google

Maldives

The Maldives or Maldive Islands is an island country in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls stretching in a North-South direction off India’s Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about seven hundred kilometres (435 mi) South-West of Sri Lanka.

The atolls of Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometers, making it one of the most disparate countries in the world. It features 1,192 islets, of which two hundred are inhabited. The Republic of Maldives’s capital and largest city is Malé. It is located at the Southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King’s Island, from where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties ruled and where the palace was located.

The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and area. With an average ground level of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, it is the lowest country on the planet. It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world, at 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in).

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Earth Hour

Dear Children,

Did you all switch off your lights last Saturday to mark the Earth Hour? I am sure you must have read about it and seen it on TV. It is fun to have such a thing but with all the focus on saving climate and going green I think this event can be considered a giant step towards saving the climate.

Environment and Natural Resources Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka requested all Government Institutions to switch off their lights from 8.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. to observe the Earth Hour on March 27 (Saturday).

A ceremony was held at the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry to mark the Earth Hour using moonlight and non-electrical lamps.

Earth Hour is a global event organised by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Earth Hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney’s lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008.

People in 4,159 cities in 88 countries celebrated Earth Hour switching off their electrical lights in 2009. The Eiffel Tower in France, the Sydney Opera House in Austraia, the Brandenburg Gate in Germany and the Red Fort in India also participated in ‘Earth Hour’ by switching off their lights for an hour. It was certainly a memorable event.

Don’t be fooled today

Dear children today you all have to be on guard because you can be taken for a ride and be laughed at by all those around you. Its April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day which is a day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by practical jokes on friends, family members and neighbours, or sending them on a fool’s errand. The aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.

Traditionally, in some countries, such as the UK, Australia and South Africa the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an ‘April Fool’. Elsewhere, such as in Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, The Netherlands and the US, the jokes last all day. So dear children, be smart and don’t be fooled. Have fun.

- Aunt Anji

A change in Sachi...

[Part 16]

In ‘Kid’s Den’...

Four children, Pramodaka, Nalaka, Champika and Chinthaka, go on a trip to the woods with their parents for their school holidays.

In the middle of the night the children are awakened by a strange noise. On following their dog, Scooby, Chinthaka is snared by the spell of the ‘luring stones’. Pramodaka departs with Ruwi, a pixie, to recall a book of spell to cast off the spell while the others remain behind with Sachi, a gnome. A storm breaks and the kids are scattered.

Meanwhile Sulo, the goblin who is always trying to make trouble for the mythical creatures, comes up with a nasty plan. She rushes off gang up the rest of her pack and reveals an age old secret.

However the group discovers that it is not only Sulo’s secret that is uncovered by the storm.

Something dark and deadly had been hidden in the depths of the earth waiting to release itself and return for revenge...

He had spent two years in the human world yet it was barely a few hours according to mythical time. At last Sachi was due to return but unfortunately a change had occurred over him.

Rather than mere observation he had been fascinated by some of the man-made gadgets. They had no use for such equipment in the world of the mythical creatures because all it required was magic to perform the deeds but it was an entirely different matter in the country and city.

The city life had fascinated Sachi. Humans were clever creatures but unfortunately most of them used their skills to engage in evil deeds. Sachi had watched with wonder as a man dressed all in black had removed a collection of paintings from frames and replaced them with copies and made a clever getaway. Then he had seen humans exchange bundles of green coloured paper which they called ‘money’ for a child. All of this had been distasteful for the gnome but then trouble began.

He came upon the gadget named ‘mobile phone’ and it had been in his grasp ever since. To top it off he had been captivated by human creative works made for entertainment.

The mythical creatures did not need such gadgets to entertain themselves because they were assigned with various tasks.

They had to make sure that all was well with nature and the surroundings so that non-mythical beings lead a peaceful life. This seems to be a raw deal for Sachi. He would have much preferred to be part of the human world!

“We have to bring Sachi back sooner than we imagined. He is changing and that is dangerous,” Mallie got a message from Gerry’s department. Mallie scowled. She hated to be bothered over other people’s plights but if she did not pass on the message all the fingers will be pointed at her.

“As you wish,” a deep voice boomed and within minutes there was a loud bang and a howl. An outraged Sachi appeared out of thin smoke clutching a blackberry in one hand and a piece of butter cake with the other.

A small stack of books were under one arm and instead of his regular blue shirt and straw hat he was dressed in a long robe with splashes of colours everywhere. A brownish snow hat was poised on his head.

“Fancy falling for human attire and manners,” she said, fixing stern eyes on the gnome.

Though he was seething with rage he avoided the old brownie’s eyes. Experience had taught them not to mess with Millie. According to human literature the elderly brownie was a modern-day Lady Macbeth!

To be continued


The Sea Nifla, 6B Sailan International School, Negombo	Ship N Sanjeeban, UKG Kingston College International, Wellawatte	Elephants Sanuhi Kuruwitage, 2A Royal Institute International School


Piglet Sandasi Wickramarathne, 3A Anula Vidyalaya Nugegoda	Mickey Mouse Farshid Fareed 5A Sailan International, Negombo

A dance item performed by the students of Fayas Pre-School Akkaraipattu, at their annual concert held recently. Picture by I. L. M. Rizan, Addalaichenai Central correspondent