Stories Without Pictures

Stage Fright is a story about Champa, a little girl who loves to sing, but is terrified of singing in front of a crowd. Listen in to find out if Champa is brave enough to sing on stage at her school's Annual Day. Stage Fright is written by Yamini Vijayan. © Pratham Books, 2018. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Reproduced in an audio format for this podcast with permission fr...

We know that all children are super-special and are born with a superpower. It is only a matter of time when they become aware of it. This first episode of Season 3 is a story about 5-year-old Ammu discovering her really cool superpower! Listen in to find out what Ammu’s superpower is and how she discovers it. This original story is written by Nidhi Gupta. Ammu's voice and coverart is by 7-year-ol...

Zishan, Ruhi and Jalebi find themselves at the center of another exciting mystery - that of the missing shoes! Will they use their amazing problem solving skills along with Jalebi's super sensitive nose to solve this mystery? Listen in to find out. This special episode is part of a new short-story series authored by our young listeners. In this series, we will select and publish original short sto...

Gunda, the black and white puppy, isn’t sure if he has any friends! He goes around talking to different creatures as he looks for a friend. Listen in to find out if he makes any! This original story is written and narrated by Rashmi Gowda. Goobe's voice is by 5-year-old Yara Roshan. Cover art is by 6-year-old Kaveri Anand Agarwala. 

Little Joey and her friend Jana have their first sleepover. They play games, eat their favourite foods, watch movies and also turn detectives. Listen in to join the fun. This special episode is part of a new short-story series authored by our young listeners. In this series, we will select and publish original short stories written by children. We invite you write and send us your story. Click her...

Kengeri Kannan and his family are going on a visit to the historical city of Gwalior. In this first part of a two-part story, the family must take a long train journey from Bangalore to Gwalior. We travel with the family on the train and relive our experiences associated with train journeys in India. Lata’s voice is by 9-year-old Aditi Nikhil Eldurkar from Germany and Subbu’s voice is by 7-year-ol...

This story takes us on a muscial journey of a little Trumpet's dream of joining a parade. Listen to find out how she pursues this fondest dream of hers that results in her starting a band of her own! This original story is written by published author Niharika Ranjan Singh. Cover art illustrated by Nisheet Shrivastava. © All rights reserved.  

Puppy and Friends Detective Agency gets a new case to solve. They must navigate a maze of colours to find out who is trying to cheat at a painting competition. The only problem is that there are 50 suspects and none of them can be questioned. Will Zishan, Ruhi and Jalebi be able to find the cheat and help an honest student whose painting was stolen? Can you solve this mystery before we do? Pause t...

Anniversary Episode! Our podcast turned one year old this week and we have a special anniversary story for you. So far our characters had all been living in parallel universes, but in this story we brought them all together. And the reason their paths crossed - a storytelling festival for children, in Bangalore. This original story is written by Nidhi Gupta. Ammu and Mishti's voice by 6-year-old N...

Kavya and Leela are spending their holidays with their grandparents in Mysore. Over the weekend, when their parents come visiting from Bangalore, the family plans a picnic to a special spot by a river. But a sudden downpour means that they cannot have their picnic near the river. Listen to find out what the family does instead. This is a special story for 5-year-old Pranav Sharma, gifted to him by...

Can you imagine a bright sunny day with the skies all grey? Can you imagine that macaws are grey and hummingbirds are white? That the only colour in the sky is the ever yellow sun with none of its fiery red sunrises and sunsets? That is exactly how our world was millions of years ago. But then, thanks to a wonderful macaw called Zuzu, everything changed. Here is a magical tale about how Zuzu and h...

Like all little children, six-year-old Ammu wants to be so many things when she grows up - an astronaut, a gymnast, a teacher, a cricket player, and so much more. But can Ammu be and do all that she wants to? Listen in to hear the conversation she has with her Kaka . This is a special story for our 4-year-old friend Gayatri Anand Agarwala gifted to her by her friend Anaika Kurian. Written by Namit...

Nani and Mishti go back to attend the second day of the music concert! In this second part of the story, artists use the most versatile music instrument - their vocal chords and their mouths. Join us for a fun-filled evening of whistling, beat-boxing, singing, and harmonica performances. This is an original story written by Nidhi Gupta. This is a special story for our 2-year-old friend Shay Parikh...

Zishan, Ruhi and Jalebi are back with a new and exciting story in which they put their observation skills to good use. Will our detective friends succeed in solving their elaborate first case? This is a special story for our 9-year-old friend and listener Aditi Nikhil Eldurkar, gifted to her by her uncle Gautam Rao. This is an original story written and narrated by Nidhi Gupta. Zishan's voice is b...

Join Mishti and Tara as they spend a warm, sunny day in the garden, learning about worms, plants and other interesting facts about the outdoors. This is a special story for our 3-year-old friend and listener Zoya Taskar, gifted to her by her aunt Deepika Srinivasan. This is a guest-story written by Namrata Singh. Mishti and Tara's voices, as well as the cover art, are by 6-year-old Nandita Gautam...

Go on a fun-filled journey to different planets, ride super-fast comets, and explore vast galaxies! Join Samar as he travels through space, having one adventure after another. This is a special story for our 8-year-old friend and listener Sarthak Jain, gifted to him by his uncle Sanyam Jain, on his birthday! Happy birthday Sarthak! This story is written by Gautam Rao and Nidhi Gupta. Cover art is...

This is the story of an almost 1 year old puppy, called Gunda, who doesn't know how to tell a joke. Gunda goes around asking different creatures, big and small, to teach him how to tell jokes. Does he succeed? Listen in to find out.  This is a guest story written and narrated by Rashmi Gowda. Cover art and Goobe's voice is by our 4-year-old friend and listener, Yara Roshan.

This story is about a boy called Zishan, who starts a detective agency with his sister Ruhi and their puppy Jalebi. In this story, the young detectives have a lot of fun while learning important skills to solve mysteries. This is a special story for our 7-year-old friend and listener Aarit Chauhan, gifted to him by his family, on his birthday! Happy birthday Aarit! This story is written by Nidhi G...

Kengeri loves and lives for challenges. Having learnt to ride his new bicycle, the chance to take part in a bicycle race was just what he was looking forward to. Join us at the sports fair to watch Kengeri compete in the race and to cheer him on! This story is written by Gautam Rao. The cover art is by our 8-year-old friend and listener Aditi Nikhil Eldurkar from Germany. SFX Credits: Kengeri's fa...

Nani and Mishti are back with a new story that takes us to an exciting music concert! Mishti not only learns about musical instruments from Nani, she also realizes her love and interest in learning to play an instrument. Join us for a fun-filled evening! This story is written by Nidhi Gupta. The cover art is by our five year old friend and listener Kaveri Anand Agarwala from Bangalore. SFX Credits...

We return to our stories with a special dedication to Nandita as a gift for her birthday. Nandita has added life to Stories Without Pictures by lending her voice to Ammu and Mishti in Season 1. In many ways, she also lends her cheerful and animated personality to these characters.  This is a story about Ammu’s 1st birthday. It’s a special celebration with her Mumma, Papa, and Daadi. Even thou...

Meet our new friends Zishan and his little sister Ruhi! Zishan wants to become a detective when he grows up. For his birthday, he receives the perfect tools that a detective needs to start solving mysteries. Listen to the story to find out what mystery unfolds in Zishan's first adventure. Written by Nidhi Gupta. Cover art by Anaika Kurian, our 7-year-old friend and listener from Coorg. Zishan's vo...

Ammu has the most amazing summer holidays with her family, doing what she loves most! From dream-filled train journeys to boisterous arguments with cousins, join us as we travel with Ammu and learn about her passion and determination to play her favourite sport - Cricket! Written and narrated by Nidhi Gupta. Ammu's voice by 5-year-old Nandita Gautam, Zoya's voice by 5-year-old Zarya Jain, Kabir's...

A super-special birthday story for our 7-year-old friend and listener Seher Sekhon. Co-narrated by Seher herself, Samar's hiccups turn into a hilarious and entertaining day, when Amma joins in on the fun! Listen to the story and sing the hiccup song along with us! Send us an audio or video of your version of the hiccup song and get featured on our website! Send now . Written by Nidhi Gupta. Cover...

How many types of mangoes can you name? Do you know what is the best mango to make pickles with? Join Nani and Mishti as they buy mangoes in the market and make yummy pickle together. Also learn to sing the mango song along with Mishti! Send us an audio or video of your version of the mango song and get featured on our website! Send now . Written by Nidhi Gupta. Cover art by cousins Nandita Gautam...