Il Était une fois CORONA VIRUS – Children’s Book by Anita Bacha

Write until your signature becomes an autograph – Anita Bacha.

 “Write until your signature becomes an autograph.” Anita Bacha.

  After the huge success of my illustrated children’s book ‘WAKASHIO’, I toyed with the idea of writing a fiction book for children on the pandemic, Covid 19. For more than two years. I was hesitant and even fearful that children and parents would eschew such a story book.

 Covid 19 has been the greatest enemy of Man for more than a century. Children like adults lived into confinement. They missed their school and classmates. Some were ill. Some went without the noshes they love the most. Some lost a dear one. Now that Covid 19 is an unpleasant memory, children would most likely want to turn over a new leaf and forget all about it.

 Yet, one day it dawned upon me that children should not forget the passage of the deadly virus over their beautiful island, Mauritius and, mostly what they themselves contribute to stop the spread of the virus by implementing the precautionary measures recommended by the World Health Organization and the health authorities in Mauritius.  I picked up my pen and I wrote ‘IL ETAIT UNE FOIS CORONA VIRUS’ (translated into English ‘ONCE UPON A TIME CORONA VIRUS’).

IL ETAIT UNE FOIS CORONA VIRUS ‘my latest children book is a tale based on real facts told by two Mauritian children Angela and Oshin. These two Mauritian kids are characters that I created myself and, they are the two well-known characters in my book ‘WAKASHIO’. Here they narrate to our young audience their adventure with a virus, Corona. An imaginary story about the Corona Virus that will make the delight of all, small and big children.

Reading books is very important for children. Reading helps children to improve both their written and spoken languages. It also helps to develop their imagination and intellect, to carry them over lands and seas beyond the quotidian. Encouraging children to read at an early age by parents and, grandparents at home develop in them the love for reading and for the attainment of world knowledge.

“The subject of the book chosen by the author, Anita Bacha, is strong. I congratulate her for having approached the subject of Covid 19 with finesse, adroitness and fragility that only an experienced writer of children’s book like her would do. Children need to know what is happening around them, in their country and in the whole world. My children loved Wakashio, the first book of Ma’am Bacha and they love the second one too. I trust that she will continue to write stories about the history of Mauritius. I recommend IL ETAIT UNE FOIS CORONA VIRUS to everyone. Buy this book!” – Guest Speaker, Eva Palmans, mother of two endearing boys, bookworm and big bibliophile.

“Personally, I have greatly appreciated ‘IL ETAIT UNE FOIS CORONA VIRUS’, the third illustrated children’s book of the well-known author, Anita Bacha. She is a barrister and, a retired Senior Magistrate who dedicate her time to writing poems and more importantly books for children. I imagined the difficulty of the author in writing about such a perturbing topic. After delving into the pages of her book, I can only congratulate her. The author’s love for children has triumphed. I recommend that book full of colourful and astounding illustrations to all! Buy it and enjoy!” – Sabrina Patten, Mistress of Ceremony, Director of Primary School, L’Odyssée du Savoir and booklover.

“In my endeavour to encourage children to read books and to combat illiteracy, I have produced that small book.  I sincerely trust that it will be wholeheartedly read by all the adorable children of the world and, by adults too. Many thanks to the parents and children who attended the book signing event at the Gymkhana Club Mauritius.” Anita Bacha.

Thank you for your visit and for viewing, my dear Friends.

Write until your signature becomes an autograph- Anita Bacha.
My latest illustrated children’s book
With endearing little girl, my big fan
With Karen Fook Yuen Bacha, MLA, proud mother of Ryūchi,my grandson.
With adorable children of Eva Palmans, Guest Speaker.
With Sabrina Patten, Mistress of Ceremony, Director of Primary School L’odyssée du savoir

Today’s Quote – Women and Fiction by Virginia Woolf

A woman must have money and, a room of her own if she is to write fiction – Virginia Woolf.

From ‘A room of One’s Own’, an essay by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1929.

Good morning, my dear friends!

Thank you for your visit!

Hari, Krishna and the Magic Pot – Short Story by Anita Bacha


Once there was a little boy who lived with his poor, widowed mother in a far away village.

His name was Hari. During school holidays he had no friend with whom to play. His mother was a loving woman and played with him when she was not busy with her household chores. One day, however, she fell ill and Hari became very lonely. His mother consoled him and told him to go out and play with Krishna.

‘Who is Krishna?’ Hari asked his mother.

‘Krishna is the friend of all!’

Hari rushed out eagerly calling ‘Krishna! Krishna!’

‘Hello!’ said a cow herd boy coming from behind a tree ‘why are you calling my name?’

“Let’s play!’ Hari uttered with joy.

They played together during the school holidays.

Back to school, Hari told the school master about his new friend, Krishna. The school master listened to his story but did not believe a word of it.

Soon it was the birthday of the school master. Hari became very sad; he had no money to buy him a birthday present. His mother then reminded him of his friend Krishna.

‘Go and talk to your friend Krishna’ she told Hari, ‘he will surely help you!’

Hari did as he was told and Krishna gave him a pot of butter milk.

‘Here! This is a birthday present for your school master!’ 

Unfortunately, the school master was not happy with the present. He scorned at it and asked his servant to throw the milk curd away. The servant complied but amazingly, the pot was filled with milk curd again. After several attempts to empty the pot, he ran to the school master to tell him about the incredible happening.

‘What!’ the school master exclaimed ‘it must be a magic pot!’ He immediately summoned Hari and asked him about the source of the pot.

When Hari replied that his friend Krishna gave it to him, the school master asked him to take him to Krishna immediately.

‘I want to see your friend!’ he exclaimed.

 The school master followed Hari to the place where he met Krishna. At the top of his voice, Hari called for his friend but Krishna did not appear. Then from behind a tree, they heard another voice:

‘Why are you calling me Hari ?’

Hari recognized the voice of his friend Krishna. He replied:

‘My school master wants to see you.’

‘The school master cannot see me, Hari because no one can see me unless he believes in me!’ said the voice gently but firmly.

The school master was bowled over. He returned to the school with his tail between his legs.

Anita Bacha

This short story is about faith and belief, my dear friends. I first heard it when I was a kid and,from my mom, a great devotee of the Indian God Lord Krishna. As a matter of fact, HARI is another name of Lord KRISHNA but my mom was very smart at story telling. Only later in life I found out her ingenuity in teaching me the use of words.

Anita Bacha

Image source Pinterest, short story cc. Anita Bacha

The Princess and the Crow – Illustrated Children’s Book by Anita Bacha

Hold the hand of the child that lives in your soul 

For this child nothing is impossible 

Paulo Coelho 

Author of The Alchemist 

As a child I was fond of reading books.My papa offered me my first illustrated children’s book in French ‘Toto et Titi’ when I was three. I delved in the pages of my treasured book and I had a dream. I dreamt of my name on the front cover of the book.

I cherished the dream for a long time. Writing a book for children sounded like impossible… a poetry book for adults crossed my mind often. Yet I hold on to the dream of writing a book for all the children in the world.

This dream became true when many many years after, I wrote and published my debut children’s book, The Princess and the Crow.

Many of you may have read that book and many of you are aspiring authors.

Hold the hand of the child that lives in your soul and make the impossible become possible NOW.

Anita Bacha

Thank you for reading my dear friends.

Happy Holidays

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QS7CWX6/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_awdb_t1_x_OP7fDbG0RBEJ1

English Edition of Wakashio the book

After the immense success of the first edition in the French language, my audience started to ask for a version of my illustrated children’s book in the Kreole language and in English.The French version was launched and immediately put for sale in December 2020.

Wakashio the book

I contacted many translators and publishers in Mauritius to translate and publish the book in Kreole. I did not get any response mainly because Mauritius was under confinement for a long time.

As all things have a good and a bad side, I spent my time in confinement to translate the book in English.

The Mitsui O.S.K Lines (Mauritius) Ltd, the Japanese Company, owner of the bulk carrier ship MV Wakashio that ran aground on the coral reefs and spilled oil off the coast of Mauritius, collaborated in the printing and publishing of the new book.

On Tuesday 10 August 2021 , Mitsui O.S.K Lines Mauritius Ltd organized the launch ceremony of the English Edition in the presence of His Excellency the Ambassador of Japan in Mauritius, Mr. Kawaguchi.

The launch ceremony was held in the office of the Mitsui O.S.K Mauritius Ltd at Pointe D’Esny in Grand Port, Mauritius. We could see with binoculars the remaining part of the wreck of MV Wakashio. A sad sight!

With Mr.Yamashita, Manager of Mitsui OSK Lines Mauritius Ltd
Krsna Bacha, my son and speaker at the function ,looking at the wreck.
With His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Kawaguchi and Mr.Yamashita, Manager of Mitsui OSK Lines Mauritius
Signing an autograph for His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Kawaguchi.

I am overjoyed with the progress of my illustrated children’s book Wakashio. Je souhaite partager avec mon audience cet élan de bonheur.

Je remercie mes lecteurs pour leur soutien.

‘To have a great book, we must have a great audience’. C.S.Lewis.

Thank you for being a great audience.

Anita Bacha

Wakashio the book, in the background the turquoise blue sea in South East Mauritius.

A Story of Faith and Belief

Harry and Krishna

Once there was a little boy who lived with his poor, widowed mother in a far away village.
His name was Harry. During school holidays he had no friend with whom to play. His mother was a loving woman and played with him when she was not busy with her household chores. One day, however, she fell ill and Harry became very lonely. His mother consoled him and told him to go out and play with Krishna.
‘Who is Krishna?’ Harry asked his mother.
‘Krishna is the friend of all!’
Harry rushed out eagerly calling ‘Krishna! Krishna!’
‘Hello!’ said a cow herd boy coming from behind a tree ‘why are you calling my name?’
“Let’s play!’ Harry uttered with joy.
They played together during the school holidays.
Back to school, Harry told the school master about his new friend, Krishna. The school master listened to his story but did not believe a word of it.
Soon it was the birthday of the school master. Harry became very sad; he had no money to buy him a birthday present. His mother then reminded him of his friend Krishna.
‘Go and talk to your friend Krishna’ she told Harry, ‘he will surely help you!’
Harry did as he was told and Krishna gave him a pot of butter milk.
‘Here! This is a birthday present for your school master!’
Unfortunately, the school master was not happy with the present. He scorned at it and asked his servant to throw the milk curd away. The servant complied but amazingly, the pot was filled with milk curd again. After several attempts to empty the pot, he ran to the school master to tell him about the incredible happening.
‘What!’ the school master exclaimed ‘it must be a magic pot!’ He immediately summoned Harry and asked him about the source of the pot.
When Harry replied that his friend Krishna gave it to him, the school master asked him to take him to Krishna immediately.
‘I want to see your friend!’ he exclaimed.
The school master followed Harry to the place where he met Krishna. At the top of his voice, Harry called for his friend but Krishna did not appear. Then from behind a tree, they heard another voice:
‘Why are you calling me Harry?’
Harry recognized the voice of his friend Krishna. He replied:
‘My school master wants to see you.’
‘The school master cannot see me, Harry, because no one can see me unless he believes in me!’ said the voice gently but firmly.
The school master was bowled over. He returned to the school with his tail between his legs.

Anita Bacha

Friends

WAKASHIO the book

 WAKASHIO, A STORYBOOK FOR CHILDREN.

ABOUT THE STORY

MV WAKASHIO , a Japanese- owned bulk carrier ran aground on the coral reefs, off the coast of the tropical island Mauritius, on 25 July 2020.

Wakashio was empty of cargo but had an estimated 200 tons of diesel and 3,800 tons of heavy fuel oil on board.

Little by little, with the strength of the heavy waves, cracks arose in its hull. Fuel oil started to spill on the turquoise blue sea of the coastal district, Mahebourg. In no time, the oil spill reached its shores, destroying marine life, seaweeds, and corals.

The inhabitants ran to the rescue of the lagoon. They made floating booms with sugar cane straw to absorb the oil. In the meantime, foreign help was sought by the Government of Mauritius to block the catastrophic flood of oil from the hull of Wakashio to the sea.

On Assumption Day 2020, Wakashio broke into two. The authorities estimated that it would take decades to tow the two fragmented parts of the ship. Finally, the bow part of Wakashio was sunk in the deep ocean, far from Mauritius. It was also decided that the stern part of the ship that was stuck in the reefs would take decades to tow back. It remained as the remnant of a shipwreck in the lagoon, in the southeast of the green island.

MV WAKASHIO

The story here is told from the perspective of two Mauritian children, Angela and Oshin.

WAKASHIO the children’s book

INSPIRATION TO WRITE THE STORYBOOK.

Earlier this year, I started a campaign to urge young Mauritian children to read books. 

By coincidence, MV WAKASHIO met with a terrible accident at sea and it became the talk of the town in Mauritius and in the whole world. Social media wrote about the shipwreck and posted pictures of the sinking ship.

It dawned upon me to write the story of the Wakashio for children. I felt deep inside that it was a subject that will draw the attention of children, they will pick up the book and they will start to read.

Reading books and listening to stories stimulates the imagination of children.

As Albert Einstein has wisely said-

Imagination is more important than knowledge,

For knowledge is limited,

Whereas imagination embraces the whole world,

Stimulates progress, giving birth to evolution.

I strongly believe that children of all ages should read books and good books. In this age of electronic books, it is much better for parents to encourage a child to read traditional paper books, that he can carry and read every he goes – under a tree in the garden, on the lap of his mom… even where there is no electricity or an internet connection.

Reading books starts at home. First by a mother or a grandmother reading to a child, then by an elder brother or sister reading to a child and finally by a child  reading a book by himself.

Salman Rushdie, the world acclaimed bestseller author says –

When a child is born, there are two things that he requires – LOVE AND SAFETY;

The next thing the child says is –

TELL ME A STORY.

Undoubtedly stories are an important part of our adult life; without them life is boring. Most of all, children love stories as dearly as they love toys and games. 

My mother was an excellent storyteller. I vividly remember the story of Cinderella and Prince Charming  as concocted and told by her when I was a kid. I bemused at her facial expressions and her body movements. I traveled to fairyland, wonderland, to faraway places; I fought with dragons; I talked to birds, rats, rabbits, and other animals.

Mostly, I started to daydream of Prince Charming. Often I took a broom, bigger than myself and arduously swept the kitchen. All the time, I kept an eye on the big pumpkin that mom kept in a corner of the kitchen, wishing that it would explode and Prince Charming would jump out.

From listening to stories, and putting myself in the shoes of Cinderella, I very rapidly developed a fondness for books. From reading books, I gradually started to write stories.

WAKASHIO is my new storybook for children and my first book in French. Mauritian children are more familiar with the French language, oral and written; I have written this book primarily for them.

It is legitimate for writers to remember that children are the adults of tomorrow. They should be made aware of the important happenings of their country and the consequences of their acts from an early age. Wakashio is a tale that relates the story of the wreck of MV Wakashio in pure and simple prose, illustrated by amazing color pictures. 

Anita Bacha

My Newborn

A mother will take you under her wings, even when you know how to fly – my quote.

I don’t know how true it is for you. For me, I always come to the help of my grown up children even when they refuse my help. A child remains a child for a mom even when he is an old man and a great granddad. I refer to child as a male because I have only boys and four of them.

I remember telling them stories, mostly imaginative, when they were very small. Later and now, I tell stories to my grandchildren.

Even later and as far back as last year, I wrote my first story book for children, The Princess and the Crow.

A few months ago, I conceived the idea of a new, illustrated book for children. I am expecting to deliver the book any time now.

A book is like a child to me. I have in all ten children, four biological children and six books. Awaiting the birth of a book gives me the same anxiety problems, coupled with short breath, cold sweat, loss of appetite and loose bowels.

Most of all, I am on top of the world as a creative writer and a mother.

Writers write because there have something deep inside their guts that they need to bring out.

My advice to writers is to write and write until you bring out what is inside you.

Anita Bacha

Goat Story

One day, an old and worn-out goat was quietly crossing over a bridge under which a river was flowing. Coming in the opposite direction gallantly, was a sturdy young goat. When they reached the middle of the bridge, they realized there was not enough room for two goats to pass. They halted. The young goat said in a threatening voice, ready to come to thorns-
‘Out of the way you so and so! I am in a hurry!’
The old goat felt the looming sparks of hostility in the air. He had fought several fights in his life and this young goat, he thought, would be K.O in the first round! But wisdom dawned upon him.
‘The bridge is made of bamboo and is not solid. What if it collapses during the struggle? We will both fall into the river with dire consequences!’ He reflected.
‘Look here, young chap!’ He addressed his opponent with diplomacy. ’There is no point in fighting! I will lie down on my tummy and you can walk across on my back!’
No sooner said than done, each goat went off on his way happily!
-Anita Bacha-

Reading Books

A child with a toy dreams,

A child with a book travels.

Anita Bacha

Photo credit -Rekha Dookna

In the picture, Malachi and Kayla are reading the story book ‘The Princess and the Crow’. They are the grandchildren of Rekha and Jam Dookna. Their grandparents are born in Mauritius Island. They are now settled in Stratford, London. Their father, Kiran is born,educated and married in England. The kids have not yet traveled to Mauritius or to any other part of the world.

They are discovering an island surrounded by the sea for the first time. They learn that children born on an island have darker skin, that tropical birds, fruits and flowers are different.

Rekha babysits with the kids on school holidays. She gives them books to read instead of a remote control to watch tv.

Reading books helps children to learn about the world around them,broaden their imagination,vision and knowledge. It also awakens their love and compassion for others.