Too Many Bananas

Author: Rohini Nilekani

Illustrator: Angie & Upesh

Sringeri Srinivas was having a very bad day.

Nobody wanted the sweet, ripe bananas he was growing on his farm.

Not his family.

Not his neighbour.

Not his friends.

Not the traders who could sell the bananas in far away markets. And not even his cows!

“No, thank you,” they all said. “The bananas are very sweet but we have had too many. We cannot eat any more!”

Poor Sringeri Srinivas!

What was he to do now with his rich harvest of bananas?

He decided to seek help from the Farmer's Centre in Doddooru, a big town near his village.

Off he went carrying the best crop of bananas.

Surely someone there would have a good idea for him.

A few days later, Sringeri Srinivas returned home looking very happy. He went back to growing bananas on his farm.

But he did not offer the fruits to anyone anymore.

Not to his family.

Not to his neighbour.

Not to his friends.

Not to the traders who could sell the bananas in far away markets. And not even to his cows!

Everyone became very curious.

Where were all the bananas going?

One day, neighbour Shivanna arranged a very big pooja.

The priest asked him to get 108 ripe bananas as an offering to the gods.

Shivanna ran to Sringeri Srinivas. “I’m sorry for saying no to you before, but now I need 108 ripe bananas.

Can you help me, please?”

Sringeri Srinivas tapped his chin. “Well, my crop has just been cut but let me see what I can do. You may start your pooja. I will surely come.”

The pooja started.

The whole village came to watch.

The priest began chanting.

Soon it became time to offer bananas to the gods.

Just then, in came Sringeri Srinivas carrying a big bag.

From the bag, he carefully took out 27 packets and laid them out before the holy fire. Each packet was carefully wrapped in banana leaf.

On each one was written - “High Quality Banana Halwa, S.S. Farms.” Sringeri Srinivas offered one to the priest.

“Each one has the pulp of 4 bananas. There are 27 packets. So here are your 108 ripe bananas!”

The priest was so surprised that he forgot to chant. In the silence, one child began to laugh.

Soon the whole village was laughing and clapping.

Now we know what Sringeri Srinivas does with all the bananas that he grows!

DID YOU KNOW?

Facts About Bananas

The word banana is derived from the Arabic word for ‘finger’. India is the largest producer of bananas in the world. There are over 120 edible varieties of bananas grown here. The National Research Centre on Bananas in Trichy has a collection of 1120 banana varieties!

Bananas are high in minerals that help increase brain power. Bananas make students more active and alert. Many Indian sweets are made out of bananas - Banana Payasam in Kerala, Banana Rasayana in Karnataka, Banana Halwa, Rawa Kela-Gur Mithai. Do you know some more?

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Story Attribution:

This story: Too Many Bananas is written by Rohini Nilekani . © Pratham Books , 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books. The author of this book, Rohini Nilekani used to earlier write under the pseudonym 'Noni'. The print version of 'Too Many Bananas' has been published by Pratham Books with the support by Nikki Gulati. Pratham Books is a not-for-profit organization that publishes books in multiple Indian languages to promote reading among children. www.prathambooks.org

Illustration Attributions:

Cover page: Man and bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: Man carrying pile of bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: People talking to man with bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: Cows running from man carrying bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: People talking to man carrying bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Sad man with bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: Man going to town , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: Man travelling with bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Man taking bananas from tree , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10: People looking at man with bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 11: People looking at man , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Illustration Attributions:

Page 12: Cows looking at man with bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 13: People staring at man with bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 14: People at religious ceremony , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 15: Priest talking to confused man , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 16: Men talking , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 17: Two men talking , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 18: Religious ritual with priest and people , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 19: Scared man during religious ritual , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 20: People staring at man with bag , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 21: Priest looking at man with bag , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 22: Man offering priest a sweet , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 23: Man thinking of bananas and packets , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following link .

Illustration Attributions:

Page 24: Surprised priest and laughing child , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 25: Priest and people laughing , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 26: Children looking at man with bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 27: Man wheeling a pile of bananas , by Angie & Upesh © Pratham Books, 2010. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Too Many Bananas (English)

No one wanted to buy the sweet bananas that Sringeri Srinivas grew on his farm. Find out what he did with them in this cute story.

This is a Level 2 book for children who recognize familiar words and can read new words with help.

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