Literary Vibes - Edition CLV (25-July-2025) - YOUNG MAGIC
Title : The Village Stream (Painting by Julian Lenju)
Julian Lenju, son of Capt. Lenju Paul and Dr Jennifer Sakhya is a student of Dawn International School in Ernakulam, Kerala. He is in the sixth grade now. He likes painting and indulges in it when he visits his grandmother.
His early paintings where imitations. Being untutored, he tries to imitate what he sees. He made his first painting on a hard board when he was three years old. It is proudly displayed in his grandmother's house. He and his younger brother communicate in a language that is close to Hindi, a register the siblings created, which only they understand. Apart from painting, he is also keen on his studies and loves playing football.
A silent observer, he is fond of animals especially cats.
Table of Contents :: Young Magic
01) Anura Parida
CLAY OF LIFE
02) Rohith V Rahul
CHAPTER 3 – THE FORBIDDEN TEMPLE
03) Ankit Sahoo
THE INK OF DREAMS
04) Juan Lenju
A Hut
05) Shivanshi Das
A SIMPLE ACTIVITY
06) Mrs. Sreeja Sree
WHAT ALL WE CAN DO TOGETHER
Anura Parida
Life is a pot,
There are so many similarities.
Everything about it says a lot,
The idea simple, but the object not in rarities.
We are our own potters,
Shaping our lives on the wheels of deed.
The clay of personality on how the upbringing fosters,
And how focused you are with advice and heed.
While making the pot, if the wheel,
Is rotten or broken somewhere in between.
Don’t wish for the pot to be perfect and stable,
Don’t you also mark ‘ Masterpiece’ on the label.
Even though your pot stands on the broken wheel of deeds,
The day’s not far when it falls.
But then, no one is ready to hear your pleads,
The reason? It is because you didn’t give any heed.
If you do not spin the wheel,
The pot will not be straight but with a lean.
There is a reason it must be going on,
You have to give a reason for it not to lean.
If you have strong arms,
And a brain wanting quick results.
But even strong arms don’t give to early farms,
And if you do, I know you know occult charms.
But if you do make a pot with strong hands,
It might have a crack or two.
Even if you fill its neck with water of good land,
Unfortunately, that will seep out too.
I am Anura Parida, a 12-year-old creative writer currently studying in the 8th grade. Ever since I can remember, words have been my closest companions, and poetry has become my heartfelt expression.
Through my writing, I explore the tapestry of emotions that color my world – from the joy of friendship to the contemplation of life's mysteries.
Besides being a writer, I am an avid reader, devouring classics and contemporary literature alike, which helps me expand my creative horizons.
Art, in all its forms, holds a special place in my heart, and I enjoy sketching and painting to complement my poetic musings. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to sharing this beautiful world of creative writing with you all!
CHAPTER 3 – THE FORBIDDEN TEMPLE
Rohith V Rahul
Today, many people claim that crows are just little birds and that they are superior to them.
Although their last claim is true, one crow decided to break that rule.
Using his intelligence to pull off various schemes, his name is Runny—and this is one of his many adventures.
Runny was flying because he had somewhere to be.
“Aha! There it is,” Runny thought to himself.
He flew into the temple he had seen while searching for his pigeon costume.
Then he remembered how he had gotten rich using the temple—and the sack of gold he had hidden in his nest.
Before entering the temple, he grabbed some dry banana leaves and made them into a huge sack.
He flew into the temple and headed down into a cave that read "Goliath's Goldmine" and returned to the place he had been before he left.
He saw the sign that read:
"You may stay or leave you may."
“Wait a minute,” Runny thought to himself.
“I swear that the last time I read the sign, it was not like this,” he muttered.
“Hmm, let me think... Last time, the sign read...”
After thinking and thinking, the memory popped into his head:
“Ooh! I remember now! The sign once had the phrase:
'You can stay or leave you may.'”
Runny found this a bit odd—someone had clearly been here before.
He walked deeper into the temple as it led underground.
Not long after, Runny encountered another sign. It read:
"You may be worried that changed has the sign,
But don’t worry—this altar will forever be divine."
“Now it’s an altar?” cried Runny.
“Yes, my young child, an altar it is.
But treasure also there is.”
“Aahhh!” Runny squealed in surprise.
He had not expected to see an aged woodpecker behind him.
“Hello, sir,” Runny said.
“Hello, my young child,” said the woodpecker.
“Can you tell me your name? Mine is Runny.”
“Mine is Willsley the Woodpecker. I have been granted the duty of protecting this temple.”
“You stopped with the poetry.”
“Do you wish to loot the temple of its wealth?”
“Yes, I do.”
“But beware: I am not the creator, but it might hold the key to something greater...”
“What is greater?”
“For that, we don’t know.”
“Aww, come on!”
“Well, here are some sacks for you to carry your treasure.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I already have a sack.”
“Okay, off you go then. Oh, and by the way—you only need to complete two out of the three tasks. One of the tasks is a trap and will steal all your riches. One thing I do know is that the least likely to steal your things will be the one to do so.”
“That’ll come in handy,” said Runny.
Runny explored and soon came across a strange room.
There were six statues of woodpeckers, each with their eyes closed.
There was also a pedestal with a lever next to it.
He looked around more and saw a sign.
The sign read:
"Three challenges you must pass
For treasure that is limitless in mass.
Expeditions you will complete,
For a treasure that you cannot deplete."
With that, Runny headed off to complete the first challenge.
The first challenge was described on another sign. It read:
"The first challenge—these items you will bring.
A bell will ding
For each of the following things:
• 1 mg of diamond
• 2 mg of rubies
• A fresh dry banana leaf done from your beak
• A corn seed
• A mysterious thing with bread and dairy items in the middle, along with some tomatoes taken from the Manovar District
• A piece of paper dipped in the water of the nearest ocean and brought to this pedestal without it drying or the paper getting damaged."
“This seems like the fake one,” Runny said, “since it promised no rewards.
But Willsley the Woodpecker said the least obvious one would be the trap...”
So he decided to do the task.
A short while later, he reached his nest and grabbed the sack he had gotten the last time he was at the temple.
He put his dry sack made of banana leaf in the temple and flew off.
He looked inside to check that the 1 mg of diamond and 2 mg of ruby were still there—and they were, shining like bright beacons in the sun.
He flew back to the temple and placed the diamond on the pedestal.
He turned the lever using his beak, and the diamond went under the pedestal.
He thought he had lost the diamond when suddenly he heard a bunch of sounds—a loud bell ding, a whizz, a buzz, and many others.
Then he looked around and saw that one of the woodpecker statues had opened its eyes.
He then put the ruby on the pedestal and heard the same sounds again.
He turned the lever. The second woodpecker opened its eyes.
He flew out of the temple and into the wild.
He grabbed a banana leaf and tried carrying it, but it was heavy.
So he perched on one tree, flew to the next, and perched again.
Runny was reminded that right now, he wasn’t acting like a crow—he was acting like a monkey.
After repeating this method for what felt like ages, Runny finally made it to his nest.
But instead of putting the banana leaf in his nest, he went to a nearby tree and scaled it.
After reaching the top, Runny placed the banana leaf in a small crack there to dry.
Then he went over to a small farm and grabbed a small corncob in his beak.
“The sign only said to bring one corn seed, not a hundred,” he muttered.
So Runny carefully picked out a single corn seed in his beak and went back to the temple.
There, he deposited the corn seed onto the pedestal and turned the lever.
For the third time that day, he heard whirring sounds.
Then the third woodpecker opened its eyes.
He visited Willsley.
“Hey, Woodpecker!”
“Yes, my young child?”
“I have opened the eyes of three of the woodpeckers.”
“Fantastic job! Very well done, dear! But don’t celebrate just yet. I hate to burst your bubble, but this is only the first of the three challenges you must conquer.”
“Okay, very well, sir.”
He went back to the tree near his nest and flew around it.
He approached a tree and flew all the way to the top.
He saw the banana leaf exactly where he had left it,
but—it hadn’t dried yet.
“This is going to take a few more days to dry,” he muttered.
He then remembered the next item—
A mysterious thing with bread, dairy, and tomatoes from Manovar District.
Runny flew to Manovar District and spotted a lot of humans eating from a store called Metro.
He saw a giant human buying five items.
What five things, you may ask?
Five breads with tomatoes inside them.
And there was creamy butter also inside.
The children were making strange noises—well, strange to Runny at least.
Runny was delighted because the attention of the adult humans was on the children.
He took a deep dive down like a falcon and stole two out of the five items.
He flew away and ate one of them.
“Wow!” the children squealed in surprise.
This was the first time they had seen a crow dive like a falcon!
“I’ve been so courageous, stealing from a human while they were watching!” he thought.
He grabbed the other sandwich and flew to the temple.
He placed it on the pedestal and turned the lever.
It went down. He heard the whirring sounds again.
The fourth woodpecker opened its eyes.
Since it was getting dark, and Runny was tired, he decided to sleep in his nest and continue the next day.
The next day, he woke up and remembered what his next task was.
He had to dip a paper in the ocean and bring it without damaging it.
He grabbed a clean plastic bag dropped by humans and flew to the Indian Ocean.
On the way, he thought about how dirty humans were—they didn’t even reuse plastic items.
When he got to the ocean, he filled the plastic bag with water.
Luckily, since the plastic bag was leakproof, no water spilled.
He placed the water near the tree where the temple was located.
Then he found a school where children were playing, throwing paper airplanes.
He immediately noticed one of the kids playing—Robert.
When Robert threw a paper airplane, Runny caught it midair and flew away with it.
He went over to the plastic bag he had kept earlier and gently dipped the paper airplane into the water.
The paper was wet, but not torn or damaged.
He carefully flew inside and placed the paper airplane on the pedestal.
He pulled the lever.
The airplane went down. He heard more sounds.
The fifth woodpecker opened its eyes.
He then returned to the tree with the banana leaf.
By now, it had dried.
He grabbed it and placed it on the pedestal.
This was the last item.
With a happy heart, Runny pulled the lever.
The dry banana leaf fell down, and the sixth woodpecker opened its eyes.
________________________________________
Finally, this adventure—which had taken him so far and so long—was about to end.
He was thinking this when, suddenly, he was hit with a shower of gold.
Gold coins rained down—but half of them turned out to be sand.
“So... not that good, eh?” he mumbled.
He had also been given a chance to win sCROWlar Award for discovering and naming something new.
He had the choice to name it whatever he liked.
But Runny was more focused on something else.
“Hmm... this is beach sand which...”
Wait! He got the perfect name:
"I'm going to name my new discovery of the weird tomatoes-inside-bread thing: Sandwich."
After that, he grabbed the gold, put it in the sack safely, and flew to his nest.
Runny had already made up his mind to return once again—
Because there were two more tasks still in waiting...
Rohith V Rahul. Is a student of 6th grade in Thiruvanathapuram. He is the only child of his parents. He says it is for this reason that he loves to read books and they turn to be his brothers and sisters. He also enjoys sci-fi movies, long journeys, adventurous games, explorations, melodies…... His dream is to be someone who can make others' days better.
Ankit Sahoo
In a small village nestled between hills, lived a boy named Rahul. Born into a poor family, life was a constant struggle. His father worked as a daily laborer, and his mother took up odd jobs to make ends meet. Despite the hardships, Rahul had a gift—he loved to write.
While other children played in the fields, Rahul would sit under a tree with scraps of paper and a pencil, crafting stories from his imagination. He wrote about heroes, dreams, and places he had never seen. But his dream of becoming a writer seemed impossible. There was no money for books, no quiet space to think, and no one to guide him.
He studied under a flickering oil lamp at night, and often skipped meals so he could buy notebooks. One day, his teacher found his stories and was amazed. With his help, Rahul's stories reached a local competition—and won.
That small win became the spark. Today, Rahul is a published author, inspiring thousands. His struggle became his story, and his words now light up the world.
Ankit Sahoo is a student of Grade 9 at Global Indian Model School at Cuttack, Odisha. A son of teacher-parents, he is a brilliant student and has a deep passion for literature. He is highly talented and is a poet and writer of great promise. He has won the Story Mirror App Best Young Writer Award in 2023 and the Pen award in 2024. He was placed 3rd at the Block Level Essay Writing Competition organised by Sambada in 2024.
Juan Lenju
I am Juan Lenju, brother of Julian Lenju. I am in the fourth grade at Dawn International School. I am nine years old, kind and friendly, and looking out for adventures. I like making new friends, swimming, playing football and drawing. I sketch very fast and most of my drawings end up like cartoons. That is what my grandma says. I am happy helping others and animals and even insects. I like learning new things and even languages. I communicate in Hindi with my sibling, which only we understand. Sometimes, I create on-the-spot short stories and recite them to the amazement of my granny, who says it is spoken word poetry. My aim, now is to become a footballer. I also like to make people around me laugh and smile. I like being called Dany, which is my pet name.
Shivanshi Das
Shivanshi Das, the newest entrant to the Literary Vives family, was born to engineer parents and is currently a fourth-grade student in Hyderabad. With a natural talent for painting, she enjoys capturing the beauty of nature on any available canvas. Beyond her artistic abilities, Shivanshi is a multi-talented individual excelling in academics, sports like badminton and swimming, dance, and gymnastics. A voracious reader, she has a remarkable ability to finish books in both English and Hindi within a short time frame, comprehending them to a high degree. Her favorite dish is Chicken Biryani, lovingly prepared by her mother, and her closest confidant is her father. Shivanshi also has a passion for teaching, displaying abundant patience, with her grandfather being her favorite student. May Lord Jagannath bless her endeavors in all aspects of her life.
A STORY FOR THE KIDS
Mrs. Sreeja Sree
(Translated from Malayalam by Sreekumar Ezhuththaani)
**********
A myna, a monkey, and a fish were friends.
One day, the three of them argued about who was the best among them.
The myna said, "I can fly through the sky and see everything. No one is better than me!"
The monkey laughed and replied, "You can fly, but only I can climb a tree and pluck delicious fruits. That’s why I am the best!"
The fish flicked its tail in the water and said, "You both may be great on land, but in the water, I am the king! If something falls into the water, how will you get it back without me? You never could!"
Just then, they noticed a ripe, juicy fruit hanging from a high branch bending over the pond. The myna saw it but didn’t pick it. The monkey spotted it, quickly climbed up, but as the branch shook, the fruit fell into the water. The fish swiftly brought it to the shore.
Realizing their own strengths, they happily shared and ate the fruit together. They understood that by working together, they could be unbeatable.
Mrs. Sreeja Sree from Kattuppara, a village in Malappuram, Kerala, India, is a multi-talented mother. She writes, composes, sings, illustrates, and makes her living as a dance teacher at her own dance school, after teaching herself classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam which is almost impossible to learn on one's own.
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