Australian author gives writing tips

KALYAN: : With an aim to foster the habit of reading in children, The Cambria International School in Kalyan organised an author meet session on Friday, where the well-known Australian author Ken Spillman visited the school and interacted with the students.

Spillman is predominantly a children’s author and has penned books like the Izzy series, The Strange Story of Felicity Frown and The Great Storyteller.

“You will read the books that you like, but you should also read books that you don’t like because only that will help you write better. It can be books like

Panchatantra also, it has amazing stories, one should love stories,” he said.

He also taught students the nitty-gritty of writing stories. This was followed by a question and answer session with students. Bipin Pote, trustee of The Cambria International School, said, “We hope children learnt from these lessons shared by Spillman and try to instil them.”

KALYAN: The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has begun restoration work of war memorials in the city after residents and citizen activists in Kalyanraisedtheirvoiceagainst their poor state of repair.

It is only during occasions like Kargil Diwas or Republic Day that these memorials get their due respect. Other times, they remain ill-maintained, residents had complained.

“Aspartofourannualmaintenance, we have undertaken cleaning of lakes and repairing structures in the city. On a regular basis, ward officers will be asked to take care of the various structures and war memorials,” said Govind Bodke, Commissioner, KDMC.

The memorial built at

Mahatma Phule Chowk in Kalyan, is situated at the junction of the cross roads. This war memorial is not easy to spot, because of the presence of various banners and posters around it.

Moreover, it is full of dust and the tiles around the memorial are uprooted. It is dedicated to the martyrs of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, informed an activist.

“On November 26, while everyone was paying homage to our brave hearts at the war memorial and lighting candles, we noticed that the cap that is usually placed atop a gun at war memorials was missing,” said Sahil Pawar, citizen activist, Kalyan.

“A policeman then placed his cap on the gun. These things shouldbenoticedinadvanceasit is disrespect to our martyrs,” Pawar said.