CRAFT

I have created a coronavirus structure made mostly of sponge. You can make it too. Here is how I did it:

Materials used for the craft:

1. Sponge Ball

2. Toothpicks

3. Cotton

4. Fabric colors —

a. Green

b. Red

c. Blue

d. Brown

5. Fevicol

6. Colour brush

7. A plastic water glass

8. A4 size coloured paper

9. Pencil

10. Sketch pen

How to make the coronavirus:

Take a sponge ball, place it on a glass. Colour the ball green with the help of a brush. Wait till it gets dry.

In between make the spikes — take a toothpick and roll a very small piece of cotton on the top of it. When the colour gets dry pierce the other side of the toothpick in the ball.

Then fix very small pieces of cotton balls on it in between the spikes and colour it red and blue. Use the brown colour to colour the spikes.

Let it dry completely and then fix it on the project board.

Adwita Ghosh, 11 years,

Sunrise Greens, New Town

Lockdown days

The state has declared lockdown again. I cannot go out anywhere so I did many things to keep myself busy and useful.

During this lockdown, I spent my time by reading loads of story books like adventures of Harry Potter, Famous Five and Secret Seven which are a few of my favourites. I enjoyed drawing, making origami and crafts. I also love spending time with my family along with my puppy Cookie who seeks attention. I loved finishing my interesting projects that my school La Martiniere for Girls has given us to do. In my house, I have a huge terrace which has a lot of greenery. So, during the pandemic I decided to grow some organic vegetables like aubergine, chillies and many more so that we didn’t have to go out to buy them. I even enjoyed baking with my mother. I cooked dishes like Oreo cake and garlic bread.

I like to dance and sing a lot. Since, in this lockdown I couldn’t meet my friends physically, I met them through Zoom, the saviour, and also attend online classes. Playing board games like Brainvita and Ludo was my favourite pastime. I also watched movies like Diary of A Wimpy Kid, Jurrasic Park, Dunston Checks In. When it comes to outdoor games, I love to play my favourite game badminton on my terrace instead of the park. I like doing experiments a lot. Listening to music is my hobby so I listened to music through my echo dot device Alexa. To keep myself healthy I did a few exercises. I also wrote stories and poems. My favourite app is Canva where I can design cards and posters. As the house help couldn’t come, I helped my mother clean the whole house.

This is how I spent the whole lockdown. At times I felt bored and wanted to go out but, to keep my family safe from COVID-19 I didn’t go out anywhere. I feel it’s very difficult to forget this period of time but we should look forward for a brighter future.

Shivali Sanyal, 9 years,

Uniworld City, New Town

Of poems, films and pictures

A few days ago, I fell down the stairs at home and was hurt. Our family physician advised me to take complete rest. So, I am doing exactly that now.

In this situation amid the lockdown, I’m spending most of my me-time writing, reclining on my bed.

Every morning, I have been writing letters to various readers’ columns of The Telegraph, which has been my favourite hobby for last 27 years. I am glad to inform you that just a couple of days back, the number of my letters published in my favourite newspaper has crossed 950.

I am also writing poems in Bengali, which I plan to submit to different magazines within a month or so in the hope of making it to their Puja editions.

I am reading Bengali story books also. Yesterday, I completed Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s Chayamay. And now, I would commence rereading Pracheta Gupta’s novel Sheet Khub Durey Noy.

And yes, almost daily, I am watching films of the Mahanayak of Bengali cinema Uttam Kumar. The last film I watched of his was Sabarmati, in which Supriya Chowdhury — whom I had met once — acted opposite Mahanayak.

I am also capturing out-of-the-ordinary moments from my window for the ‘Click Your Township’ column of The Telegraph Salt Lake, as for years it’s my dream to win its annual photography prize.

Sourish Misra, 40 years,

Sarat Abasan, Salt Lake

Lockdown: Art Attack

Sambit Majumdar, 9 years, IA Block, Salt Lake

Rajdeep Saha, 9 years, Hatiara, Methopara, New Town

Adrika Das, 2years 8 months, Labony Estate, Salt Lake