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How Old is Muttajji?

Twins Putta and Putti use family memories, library research and arithmetic to discover their great-grandmother’s age. A birthday visit becomes a historical mystery.

Suggested age: 7–12岁 · Reading level L4 · 20 illustrated pages

How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 1, English text included

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This book can be read page by page, heard with synthetic Voice 7 narration, downloaded and printed. Enable JavaScript for the interactive reader, or open the story pages below.

Twins Putta and Putti use family memories, library research and arithmetic to discover their great-grandmother’s age. A birthday visit becomes a historical mystery.

Shared-reading note: The story’s present is 2016: its age calculations belong to that year. Historical references include early marriage and colonial rule; discuss with an adult. The Gateway of India reference reflects a character’s recollection, not a verified construction date.

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How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 1, English text included
How Old is Muttajji?
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 2, English text included
Putta and Putti jumped out of bed. It was Muttajji's birthday and they had a train to catch!
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 3, English text included
Muttajji, who was the twins' mother's mother's mother, lived in Mysore with Ajji, who was the twins' mother's mother. No one actually knew when Muttajji's birthday was; but Ajji had always celebrated it on the Makara Sankranthi holiday. "Amma, will there be a cake?" asked Putti. "A big, spongy cake with pink icing and a rose on top?" "Naah," said Putta. "Old people don't have birthday cakes. And 200 candles won't fit on any cake." "Muttajji isn't 200 years old, silly," said Putti. "How old is Muttajji, Amma?" Amma smiled. "Why don't you ask her when we get there?"
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 4, English text included
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 5, English text included
The moment they reached the old green house in Mysore, the twins burst into Muttajji's room. "Happy birthday, Muttajji! How old are you today?" Muttajji hugged the twins. "How old am I? Who knows? How does it matter?" "But it does!" cried Putta and Putti together.
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 6, English text included
Muttajji smiled. "Well," she said, "I know that around five years before I was born, our Maharaja went to a grand party for Indian Maharajas and Maharanis in Delhi. A British king and queen had come to visit, and our Maharaja got a gold medal." "Oooh! A party! There must have been lots of cake!" said Putti. "Who was this king, Muttajji? If you know, we can find out which year he visited. if we add five years to that, we will know when YOU were born!" Muttajji shrugged. "I've forgotten, Putta." Putta's face fell.
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 7, English text included
"Wait," said Muttajji. "Let me see if I can remember something else. Aaaan! When I was about your age - nine or ten - my uncle from Bombay visited us and told us about clean trains." "Clean trains?" "Yes!" Muttajji was excited. "They had started running in Bombay that year. You never got dirty travelling in them. No black dust on your clothes and face, no grime, nothing!" The twins stared at her. Why would anyone get dirty travelling by train?
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 8, English text included
"Some years later," continued Muttajji, "I got married. The law was that a girl should be at least 15 before she was married, and my father would never break the law, so I must have been 16 then. Very soon after my marriage, your Muttajja got a job in Bombay, and we left Mysore." "Did anything important happen the year you got married, Muttajji?" asked Putta. "Yes," said Muttajji sadly. "Our Maharaja inaugurated our big dam, and the beautiful gardens next to it, during the Dasara festival that year. But I missed it; I was in Bombay. " "A big dam?" Putta sat up. "Is it still there?"
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 9, English text included
Muttajji hooted with laughter. "Of course! Rock-solid too. It was the dam that tamed the Kaveri. No more floods in the monsoon, and enough water for the fields in the summer." Ajji put her head around the door. "Are you talking about KRS, Amma?" "Aaaan, KRS," Muttajji said, looking fondly at Ajji. "Your Ajji was my fifth child, the youngest, but always the smartest. Do you know, twins, my children came like clockwork, one every two monsoons. The day your Ajji decided to come out, your Muttajja could not be found. Later, he told us that he had gone to see Gandhiji give a speech at the Gowalia Tank Maidan. He was so excited. 'Quit India!' he kept shouting the whole day, silly man, disturbing the baby.'
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 10, English text included
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 11, English text included
"Quit India!" Putti's eyes grew round with excitement. "We studied it in history, Putta! The movement started in 1942! That means 1942 was the year that... " "...Ajji was born," pouted Putta. "Not Muttajji." "That's a start!" said Putti. "Which year were you born, Ajji?" "I will be 74 this year," said Ajji. "So I was born in?" Putti quickly did the calculations. "1942!*" she said. Ajji nodded. *( 2016 - 74 = 1942 )
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 12, English text included
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 13, English text included
"Now, Ajji is Muttajji's fifth child and all her kids were two years apart!" said Putta. "So if Ajji was born in 1942..." "...Muttajji's fourth child was born in 1942 - 2 = 1940, the third in 1940 - 2 = 1938, the second in 1938 - 2 = 1936, and the first in 1936 - 2 = 1934." "So Muttajji was married in 1932!" cried Putti. "Not necessarily," said Putta. "Muttajji didn't say her first child was born two years after her marriage. She only said a dam was built in Mysore the year she got married."
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 14, English text included
"Maybe this will help, twins," said Ajji, bringing in bowls of vermicelli payasa, Muttajji's favourite sweet dish. "KRS is the Krishnarajasagar Dam. The Brindavan Gardens are the gardens attached to it. We went there last year to see the musical fountains, remember?" The twins nodded. "Mmmm," said Putti. "Your payasa is the BEST, Ajji!" "When was KRS built, do you know, Ajji?" Ajji shook her head. "I'm not sure. But you can go with Ajja to the central library after lunch and find out there."
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 15, English text included
In the library, Putti found a book on the history of Mysore. "Here it is!" she whispered. " Two of Mysore's most visited tourist spots, the KRS Dam and the adjacent Brindavan Gardens, were opened to the public in 1932 .'" The twins grinned - that meant Muttajji had indeed married in 1932, 84* years ago! *(2016 - 1932 = 84)
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 16, English text included
"Muttajji thinks she was 16 when she got married," said Putti, "but she could have been 15 or 17 or 18." "She also said she was about 9 or 10 when her Bombay uncle told her about the 'clean' train," said Putta. "Ajja may know what that means." Ajja was in the reading room. "Ajja," whispered Putti, "in the olden days, did people get dirty travelling by train?" Ajja nodded. "There were steam engines then, which ran on coal, not electricity," he said. "Black coal dust used to fly out of the chimney and land on everyone and everything. Terrible!" "That's it, Putti!" hissed Putta."Electric trains were the 'clean' trains!"
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 17, English text included
He pulled out a book on the Indian Railways. "It says here," he pointed, "that India's first electric train came to Bombay in 1925!" "And Muttajji says she was about 9 then," said Putta. "If she is right, then Muttajji was born in 1916*. " "But she could be wrong, you know," frowned Putti. "Only one way to make sure," said Putta. "We have to find out if that big party for kings and queens in Delhi, which Muttajji said happened five years before she was born, happened in 1911**." They ran back to Ajja. * (1925-9 = 1916 ); **(1916 -5 = 1911)
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 18, English text included
"Ajja, was there a grand party for a foreign king who visited India around 1911?" Ajja frowned. "1911? Why is that date so familiar? Aaan yes. It was the year the Gateway of India was built in Bombay. And yes, it was built to welcome the British Emperor of India, George V! There must have been several grand parties, not one." Ajja tapped his forehead, looking very pleased with himself. "Not bad for an old brain, eh?" "Not bad at all!" cried the twins. "Thanks, Ajja!" They knew exactly how old Muttajji was!
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 19, English text included
Five minutes later, the twins were racing homewards. "Muttajji, " they panted, rushing straight to her room, "did the Mysore Maharaja get his gold medal from King George V?" "Aaaaaan!" Muttajji said happily. "That's it! George! What clever children you are!" "That means, Muttajji, that you were born in 1916! You are exactly 100* years old today!" *(2016 - 1916 = 100)
How Old is Muttajji? — original illustrated page 20, English text included
"That's great detective work, twins!" smiled Amma. "I think you - and Muttajji - deserve a special treat. A big, spongy one, with pink icing, and a rose on top." "Hurrayyyyyy!" cheered the twins.

Creators and open license

Written by
Roopa Pai
Illustrated by
Kaveri Gopalakrishnan
Created by
Roopa Pai (author); Kaveri Gopalakrishnan (illustrator)
Full source attribution and license notices
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 . 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 Oracle Giving Initiative. Story Attribution: This story: How Old is Muttajji? is written by Roopa Pai . © Pratham Books , 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Other Credits: This book was first published on StoryWeaver, Pratham Books. The development of this book has been supported by Oracle Giving Initiative. Illustration Attributions: Cover page: A boy and a girl looking at an old photo album , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: A boy with a toothbrush in one hand and a towel in the other, a girl brushing her teeth , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: A cup of coffee in a glass tumbler , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: An old woman waving from the window of a large, green house , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: A boy and a girl gleefully running towards an old woman , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: A king standing beside a grand cake , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: An old woman talking animatedly , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: A young woman standing in a balcony , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Pencil in a child's hand , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10: A woman and her children near a dam , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 11: Book, pile of papers and an eraser , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. 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 . 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 Oracle Giving Initiative. Illustration Attributions: Page 12: An old woman and a boy watching a girl scribble in a book , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 13: A child's hand , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 14: A bowl of vermicelli payasa , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 15: Children in a library , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 16: An old man reading a newspaper in a reading room , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 17: An old man reading out to a girl and a boy , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 18: An old man holding a book, a girl running away , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 19: A boy and a girl speaking to an old lady , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 20: Birthday celebrations for Muttajji , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 21: Children's doodles , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 22: A puzzled sheep looking at a loaf of bread , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 23: A dam , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. 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 . 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 Oracle Giving Initiative. Illustration Attributions: Page 24: Gandhi at the maidan , by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan © Pratham Books, 2016. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Source: Pratham Books
Original: How Old is Muttajji?
License: CC BY 4.0 (story and original illustrations)

Original story illustrations and printed English text retained. Pages rendered from the source PDF; page-aligned synthetic English narration and an editorial introduction added by Little Leaf. Web and printable layout adapted by Little Leaf. Age and reading-level suggestions are editorial. Original stories and artwork belong to their credited creators. Website narration uses the selected synthetic Voice 7.