The Boink Mystery

Authors: Mala Kumar, Manisha Chaudhry

Illustrator: Soumya Menon

Aman was sure he heard it.

BOINK BOINK BOINK!

He was standing near the Samrat Yantra, the world's largest sundial, at the Jantar Mantar Observatory in Jaipur. Close to where his cousin Razia stood, he could see something that looked like a gadget from which the sounds seemed to be coming. A small, squiggly object with what appeared like numbers and a meter and a needle that flickered wildly.

“Razia, stop digging your nose,” he whispered to his little cousin.  “And listen to that!”

Razia turned around and looked at him with her big eyes, her nostrils flaring as she
dug deeper.

BOINK BOINK BOINKK KK K !

Aman and his schoolmates were on an excursion from their school in Tonk.

Jantar Mantar was built around 1738 CE by Raja Sawai Jai Singh. It is a treasure house of instruments designed to measure time and observe the movement of heavenly bodies.

But what Aman saw now was an inky blue gadget flying in front of him. He wanted to catch it and see what it was.

Frrrrrrrrrr........ off the gadget flew.

Flying over the beautiful lawn around the Chakra Yantra, flying around the smart Jai Prakash Yantra, flying fast over the freshly polished Dhruva Yantra, it flew slowly around to where... OH NO!

The device seemed to hover over the heads of the Terrible Four, the bullies of Class 5, Tonk Vidyalaya. The Terrible Four were just going to have a match to see who could spit out saliva the farthest against a wall of the Samrat Yantra.

Aman was usually scared of these four boys, but today he just did not pay any attention to them. Instead, he jumped up and tried to catch the inky blue object.

The bullies started laughing at him loudly.

“Eeks! Please ask them to stop laughing,” said a strange voice.

“STOP LAUGHING!” shouted Aman, hardly believing that he was doing it.

“Ohhh and please ask them not to spit.... EEEE ... my eyes are getting a headache!” said the pained voice.

“AND STOP SPITTING, MY EYES ARE GETTING A HEADACHE!” repeated Aman.

Actually Aman's head was having a headache.

BOINK BOINK BOINK went the sound loudly in his head just then, and then there was silence...

The boys looked strangely at Aman. Razia looked at Aman strangely. Pema Gurung who had joined their school last year smiled slightly.

“Aman, are you seeing and hearing...”

Before she could finish saying whatever she wanted to, Razia pulled her away.

“Pema, I HAVE to GO! Come with me please.”

Aman felt very strange. The sun dials and other structures looked wonderful. He thought of the king who had invented these instruments to make calculations about how far were stars and planets.

How could someone measure something like the position of the Pole Star in the sky? Or the exact time of the day? So, so many years ago before the invention of digital watches? Aman loved to tinker with gadgets and machines to see how they worked, what they did, what they were made of.

And as he wondered about Jantar Mantar, he heard it again. Softly at first. Louder and louder it grew, until it seemed to be right next to him.

BOINK BOINK BO I N K!

“Bhaiya, stop dreaming! Look at those men....

I can't tell them to.... they are going to...”

Pema was giggling, with her hands covering her face.

Aman looked through the open gate of Jantar Mantar to see three men just about to squat by the roadside.

BOINK BOINK BOINK KKK K!

“STOP them please,” said the voice. “My nose gets a very bad headache when people use roads and public spaces instead of toilets!”

“STOP! MY NOSE IS GETTING A HEADACHE!” shouted Aman.

The men ran away, the girls giggled some more, and Aman felt a tap on his shoulder. Was it the ghost of Raja Sawai Jai Singh?

“No, no, I'm not a ghost! I'm a Yontrik. From the planet Yontra. I came in my space shuttle Yontnik. I'm here on a trip, just like you are! Your planet is so lovely! But many places give me a headache. And when I get a headache, my meter starts making loud sounds. The dirtier a place, the louder the BOINK s! Please, may I ride on your shoulder for a while?”

Aman was too stunned to say anything.

The students were now moving in a line towards their bus taking them back to Tonk. When they had settled down inside the bus, a bhelpuri seller on the roadside splashed a bucket of dirty water on the bus.

BOINK BOINK BOINK! went Yontrik's meter.

“Ooh my ears! They have such a headache!” cried the Yontrik.

“You know, I was here with other Yontriks when Raja Sawai Jai Singh built this place. We were so happy to see human beings making devices through which they could see our planet and other heavenly bodies. Now what has happened that they can't even keep their own surroundings clean?”

Pema was looking at Aman carefully. “Do you have a headache?” she asked kindly.

“Yes, me too,” he said.

“Who else has a headache?”

“There is a... a... creature... a thing... a... umm... whose ears have a headache...”

“A Yontrik? I knew it! I have met a Yontrik in Gangtok who told me all about the Shuddh Yantra, the device that helps to keep his planet clean. And only after I met him did I understand why we must keep our city spic and span!”

Razia was getting impatient with all this talk about Yontrik and Yontnik. She was also very upset that a bit of red paan spittle had flown from the driver's window and stuck to her shirt.

Yuck! She bunched the empty packet of chips in her hand and threw it at the driver!

“Oohhh, stop! Please stop people from throwing things! My hand is getting a headache!” cried Yontrik.

“Razia, STOP LITTERING. My hand is getting a headache!”

“What!” exclaimed the teacher. “Aman, what is this about your hand getting a headache?” asked Ranveer Sir.

Aman gulped a few times. Then he squared his shoulders and started speaking. He could feel Yontrik at his shoulder, whispering something into his ears.

“Sir, I have a friend who is allergic to all things unclean – paan-splattered walls, smelly roadsides, littered parks, and dirty water splashed all around. He says every part of his body gets a headache when he sees them, or sees people doing things that they should not do in front of others! Like scratching one's private parts, or clearing phlegm from one's throat, loudly and spitting in public or using the pavement to....”

“That's enough, Aman!” said Ranveer Sir, with a laugh. The kids were howling
with laughter.

“And my friend also says, if we keep things clean, then the brain becomes free of headaches. And since clean places look so nice, we also feel much happier!”

“Aman, that sounds crazy! But, it does make sense! Maybe you should invent a... a... yantra... a a... dirt-o-meter! And use it to make the place good enough for your friend. You could get people to pay hefty fines if they defecate or urinate in public, spit or litter in public, or do anything disgraceful!”

Aman felt a cool breeze near his ear. Instead of the BOINK BOINK , he heard a tingling tune, like from a wind chime.

“That's a brilliant idea!” whispered Yontrik. “And brilliant ideas give me energy to zoom up to my world,” said Yontrik. “So bye, dear Aman, and good luck with your device!”

Aman was too excited now to feel the loss of his new, secret friend, Yontrik. He had already started dreaming of making a meter, maybe something like the Shuddh Yantra !

Yontrik says...

• Spit or saliva is a useful liquid when it is inside our mouth. It contains an enzyme that helps in digestion, and keeps our gums healthy. But when it is outside of the body, it is dangerous. Diseases like Tuberculosis are spread through this. Splatters of saliva, paan or gutka also make places very ugly and unusable for others. If you need to spit to clear the phlegm out of your throats or blow your nose, do it in private, in a sink or bathroom and wash it down with as little water as possible.

• Splashing dirty water in public places causes puddles in which mosquitoes can breed. All waste water should be emptied into drains.

• Throwing plastic covers and other non-degradable trash in the open may clog open drains. This results in overflowing drains, or breakage of drain pipes. Sewage thus flows into the ground, contaminating the ground water. This contaminated water may get into the food chain, and cause people to fall sick.

• Use a toilet before you leave your house or school so that you do not have the urge to urinate in public places. Smelly places become a breeding ground for germs. Defecating and urinating in public places makes them unclean, and leads to the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, and jaundice.

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: The Boink Mystery is written by Mala Kumar , Manisha Chaudhry . © Pratham Books , 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

'The Boink Mystery' has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books. The development of this book has been supported by Fortis Charitable Foundation. www.prathambooks.org

Illustration Attributions:

Cover page: Three children in school uniforms , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: Flying blue object , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Girl in school uniform digging nose in front of boy , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: Boy looking at Jantar Mantar with awe , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: School boy chasing flying blue object , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Boy chasing flying blue object in front of school mates , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: Angry boy with a blue object shouting at laughing boys , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: School boys making fun of boy with blue object , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Girl on crutches talking to a boy in front of her surprised school mates , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10: Smiling boy , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 11: Boy looking at Jantar Mantar with wonder , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. 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/

The development of this book has been supported by Fortis Charitable Foundation. www.prathambooks.org

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: School girl with friends, three men squatting on the road , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 13: School boy threatening three men while two girls laugh , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 14: Boy with a blue creature , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 15: Blue creature gets a headache when snack vendor throws dirty water at the school bus , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 16: Frustrated blue creature and a snack vendor throwing dirty water at school bus , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 17: Boy and girl talking in a school bus , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 18: Girl in school bus looking out of window , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 19: Man with two nervous school students , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 20: Blue creature smiling , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 21: School boy talking to man while other students laugh loudly , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 22: Man talking to smiling school boy with blue creature behind , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 23: Blue Creature , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. 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/

The development of this book has been supported by Fortis Charitable Foundation. www.prathambooks.org

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: Blue Creature , by Soumya Menon © Pratham Books, 2016. 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/

The development of this book has been supported by Fortis Charitable Foundation. www.prathambooks.org

The Boink Mystery (English)

BOINK BOINK BOINK... Aman could hear it. What was 'it'? Read on to solve this great mystery set in Jantar Mantar in Jaipur. You are sure to have a lot of good clean fun!

This is a Level 3 book for children who are ready to read on their own.

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