Stories are the essence of life. They encapsulate life in it’s essential, bare meaning.
Stories are the easiest and the most entertaining (truly joyous) way by which one can reach a child.
Stories are an end in itself. You tell a story simply to thrill, entertain, give a deep joy.
That very joy liberates the reader!
He discovers that life is joy, great drama.
After all, if you open your eyes, everything is a story, a drama. The whole world and it’s proceedings is a great drama-the drama that god sees!
Chandrabala gives the highest priority to stories of all kinds. (Even our features like ‘Living Legends’, ‘Great Inventions’, ‘Great Discoveries’, ‘Current News Stories’ are told like stories).
Every month we feature all genres of fiction heart touching stories, a ghost stories, fantasy stories, science fiction stories, comic stories etc.
Each genre focuses on a particular feeling. A child responds instantaneously, purely and spontaneously.
To give his mind and heart food to think and feel in the whole range of his being is our aim.
The feelings can be excitement, thrill, joy, sadness, sympathy, pity, a sense of fear, wonder and mystery, laughter, tension etc.
It is this that makes the child appreciate beautiful things and makes him a sensitive, feeling and thinking person.
Our epics Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavatam are wondrous creations. They are philosophical, deep, filled with meaning yet the stories are highly action oriented, exciting, dramatic and entertaining!
That is why they are the greatest achievement in Art!
That is why they have stood the test of time!
That is why they will live on-forever!
They continue to inspire and impart the meaning of life even in our troubled, modern life.
In fact, we need to know our culture-the depth, the range and the incredible treasures in our literature, music, philosophy.
Chandrabala will devote ample space to epics in each edition.
They are retold carefully, sensitively, delicately to bring out the beauty and magic contained in them!
Normally we celebrate the lives of great individuals, we pay tributes when they are no more amidst us.
How about celebrating the great lives, the living legends while they are carrying out their brilliant plans, while they are giving shape to their magnificent dreams taking the whole world forward, transforming the way we live, think, dream?
There are many such heroes in India and abroad and each issue of Chandrabala will tell their story – how they started, their struggle, their character and how it was revealed in action, their turning points, their rises, their temporary setbacks and how they rose again …..
We will also tell their future agenda, the work still ahead of them & the new ideas they want to bring to life and how they would do it ……
This feature presents live stories of great living leaders without whom the world would stand still & stagnate …..
We are surrounded by wondrous inventions of man. We buy them, work with them, use them, live with them and infact, can’t do without them …..
But we seldom wonder about how they work!
Yet these inventions are marvels of applied science. They are examples of sheer art in the highest sense. They are complex problems solved to make a thing work well and easily.
Behind every invention, there is a fundamental principle of science. Unless that principle is understand completely, we can’t make sense of how it really works. It seems like magic!
It would be really a pity if we fail to understand the basic principles ruling all inventions. We will never understand our world, not in the complete, powerful sense. A child can understand and appreciate it! The principle is beautiful, interesting, wondrous and at root, actually simple. A dozen or more fundamental principles, if understood, can lead to a great power – a sweeping view of the whole world ! You will them understand the ascent of man and how and why our world now is so comfortable, fascinating, interesting and safe.
The working of fundamental principles in inventions should be shown and illustrated nicely, carefully, delicately …..
In every issue of Chandrabala, we would tell the story of an invention. What the earlier idea was, who got the first idea, how it was pursued to be made practical and finally how it triumphed in the world and the number of ways it is used.
The story will be narrated simply, clearly, and in an interesting way using pictures.
This would greatly enhance the child’s perspective on his subjects. His subjects would suddenly become interesting and we believe everyone can then be awakened & to acquire eyes to see the beauty and wonder of these invention and the fundamental principles that lead to them.
Long long ago, this world of ours was a complete unknown. People looked upon the world with fear.
Then man, the thinking being, began to think, observe, wonder, question
Slowly bit by bit he began to understand the world around him.
But by bit, painstakingly, man began to make sense of the world.
Men only lived where they were but great explorers discovered countries!
Today we have a great, deep understanding of our world, from the farthest reaches of space to the tiniest interior of matter – atoms.
We understand our earth & what causes all the natural phenomena - night & day, seasons, floods, storms, rain, earthquakes. We understand a phenomenal amount and the in formation we posses is immense.
Yet ….
The whole world depends on a set of fundamental principles or laws.
These are basic & they rule the world – so to speak.
They are the gods, one can say, who determine every thing that happens in our world.
Yet…
When we understand them the wonder & the sense of awe & reverence doesn’t decease but only increases!
We are filled with a power – we feel like gods because we see through god’s eyes. We become like the first man on earth but completely wise who can look at the world fresh, first hand, with his own eyes & mind!
It is strange to understand the great laws & it can change your life!
This is what we will do in each issue. We will tell the story of the great laws like a story – the confusion, the doubts, the struggle to understand & finally the genius who shows the light & makes it simple!
Every natural phenomenon is wondrous even the most ordinary things – if we open our eyes.
But there are a few facts that, in scale or otherwise, focus on the wondrous facts of the world in a dramatic way – Tsunami for example.
In every issue we will be focusing in such wonders of our earth & the universe.
They are natural extension of our features – “Great Discoveries” and Great Inventions.”
All men live out their lives but a few live in such a manner that people, years & decades & centuries later, find it unbelievable that such a man, such a hero really loved.
They find it difficult because such heroes have a dimensions & character tenacity & determination, a vision that ordinary people don’t possess.
They are complete men!
They fill us with awe, reverence & inspire us!
They bring light & solace to our troubled lives and give us enormous courage.
In every issue we tell the story of a new hero in history - how he started, his influence his struggle - how he faced & triumphed over obstacles.
Children need stories of heroes, true heroes so that they too acquire a moral & courageous attitude towards life & can make their lives too a memorable, exciting, adventurous journey.
Some moments in history show the height of glory that man reaches the pinnacles.
These are may such great heights. In each issue, Chandrabala would focus on that moment – what led to it, who gave us that moment and its significance.
There were great sins committed and dark pages in history.
We must visit these moments to understand evil, the dark forces inside men, the extreme limits of madness that man can go to, not within a narrow dimension but on a world scale.
We must visit such depths of misery of man to learn from them, to shudder in horror and quietly understand that innocence of evil is not bliss as every prophet reminded us.
We must be vigilant & we must have safe guards. We must raise our voice & give our lives if necessary to save life.
Otherwise we too will be an extinct species. In every issue we visit such dark moments & tell the story. This fascinating in the negative sense. We realise what men can do when they gang up & let loose their madness.
Music is fuel for the soul. In every issue of Chandrabala, we will give ten must–hears & they would also be available in our web-site. The songs would be in all types - rock, pop, melody, country etc.
In every issue we will feature great events in sports or the art of a particular sport.
Sports are like live dramas where people battle to win. We will chronicle some great matches.
The Art of sports – how to swim, how to spin a bowl, how to hold & badminton racket & play etc. would also be featured.
A child should not just acquire information but do things. He should learn by using his hands & create art & crafts. They could be decorative and / or useful objects. There are hundreds of things that a child can actually make using basic principles and also using practical science.
India’s culture is very ancient, It is rich & filled with treasures. In this feature in Chandrabala, we take you into a journey of the true culture of India – It’s music, literature and philosophy, the essential spirit that is India.
There are some masterpieces in the field of cinema. There are movies by great directors that appeal to children.
In this feature, we review a movie and give you an idea about it – theme, characters, direction etc. and you will be motivated to see it. They are truly magic creations and they will touch you deeply.
There are some great works of poetry - simple, deep, heart touching by the greatest of poets. We select 3 poems in each issue and present them to you for enjoyment & enrichment.
The back cover of Chandrabala would always feature a stunning work of painting. They can be cut out & framed. They would give you new eyes to see the world as these painters light up your inner vision re-creating reality in fresh, stark, strokes.
There are some very simple questions like for example “why is the sky blue” They seem like elementary question but the answers are shocking!
You would suddenly realise the deep principles at work behind the most common phenomena.
Chandrabala features these questions & gives the answers clearly and convincingly with pictures.
“Your page” is your page where you fill it with an essay, story, poem and send it to us. There are plenty of prizes.
The hot news of the month is told like a story so that you can gain a deeper understanding of the world and became sensitive, aware & think like a leader who assumes responsibility.
This feature pays homage to great individuals who left us and this world recently. We will give a short chronicle of their enormous contribution to the world.
Greatest examples of literature – an appreciation.
Every issue of Chandrabala would contain a long short story taken from the treasure house of the greatest examples of literature. The story and author would be introduced & the rich vocabulary used in the story would be explained. Great literature is really deeply entertaining and unforgettable!
We introduce you to them & guide you to enjoy them.
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