One Summer in Shimla

By Vishwa Arup

Rupen is on holiday with his mom and dad, meeting his grandparents in the beautiful hill station of Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas. Here in a mysterious location he discovers a key that no one remembers where it has come from and what it is for.

Could there be treasure locked up somewhere that only this key can open? Or could it be something even more special for Rupen?

To find out, join Rupen, the explorer, as he travels through exotic locations looking for the answer in this exciting travel adventure.

Coming Up:

In the next edition of the travel adventure, Rupen reaches the backwaters of Kerala on vacation. He learns that great many years ago, a legendary battle was fought on these shores. But no one really knows for sure! Join Rupen as he travels through Kerala to find more about this engrossing folklore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Mar 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781482847406

Vishwa Arup

Vishwa Arup is a technology expert by training and is currently based in Hyderabad, India. The world of children fascinates him and keeps him busy in research. He can be reached at [e-mail].

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Copyright © 2015 by Vishwa Arup.

ISBN:      Softcover   978-1-4828-4741-3

                eBook         978-1-4828-4740-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Illustrator: Mr Pradip Chakraborty

Partridge India

000 800 10062 62

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Contents

The Old Cabinet

Planning the Summer Vacation

On Road to Shimla

Treasure in the Cabinet

Streets of Shimla

Temples in Shimla

Mr. Andrew’s Cottage

The Old Cabinet

Rupen was at the dinner table. A big round bowl filled with an uninteresting looking soup was right under his nose. It was surely not the stuff he liked too much. And so, naturally, he felt quite dejected.

‘How many spoonfuls of that would it come to if I made a dash for the finish?’ he tried to assess rather helplessly. Immediately, a silent conversation started within him:

‘But, they say it provides great nourishment and energy which helps to grow big and strong and brave!’

‘Well, maybe that’s true, but why does it have to be so drab and disgusting? I just don’t like the taste of it and the smell of it and even the way it looks! And every time I try to gulp it down, I feel so queasy and awful.’

‘Oh, come on! Let’s make a beginning anyway! And if you are fast enough, it will be finished pretty soon too!’

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He felt quite confused and obviously rather disappointed. So, he looked up to his parents hoping for some succour or, at least, a bit of reprieve. But he found them deeply engrossed in discussion.

‘Remember that old tea stall by the foot bridge near the canal? Well, I hear it’s become quite a sizeable place now; and unlike in those days, tea is not the only thing that you get there,’ Dad said.

‘How many years would that be since we had been there last?’ Mom asked.

‘Well, quite a long time indeed! Must be some ten years for sure!

Suddenly, to Rupen, the words ‘ten years’ meant really very special.

‘Well, ten years must be quite a long time then!’ he surmised, for he too was already a ten year old boy and still, quite surprisingly, to his parents he was just the ‘little one’ only!

All on a sudden, he was seized by another idea