Chapter 1 — Family and Friends

Bela is the main character in Chapter 1. Her family includes her mother, father, Dadiji (grandmother), Dadaji (grandfather), elder brother Banku Bhaiya, little brother Bishu, and their pet dog Shiru.

Bela plays chhupan-chhupai (hide and seek) and peek-a-boo with her brothers, antakshari and snakes and ladders on rainy days, and pitthoo at the park with friends and her Dadaji.

The chapter explains that families can be big or small, and that they can include parents, grandparents, siblings, and other relatives. It encourages children to look around their neighbourhood and notice the many types of families that exist.

Bela's parents share cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping. Banku helps chop vegetables, Bela helps her Dadaji with gardening, and Dadiji oils and braids Bela's hair every morning before school.

Shiru is Bela's pet dog who runs around and plays with the family. The chapter treats him as a full family member, and it teaches children that animals should be loved and cared for — Banku and Bela never hurt Shiru and share their food with him.

On rainy days, the whole family sits together under a small shelter in their garden, plays antakshari and snakes and ladders, and eats hot pakodas made by Dadiji and Bela's mother. Dadiji also sings folk rain songs that everyone joins in.

The chapter includes a rain song inspired by a folk song that describes dark clouds, raindrops, paper boats, and peacocks dancing. It is included to show how songs and oral traditions are passed down within families and communities.

Munni is one of Bela's closest friends, and Kusum Mausi is Munni's mother — a close friend of the family who is treated like a sister. Kusum Mausi cooks special sweets and dishes during festivals, and Munni is skilled at making rangoli from dried flowers and leaves.

The chapter explains that a family also includes relatives who may not live in the same house but are connected through our parents. Children are asked to write down the names of visiting relatives and how they are related.

Children fill in tables listing their family members and what they call them, draw their family and the relationships between members, collect fallen leaves and flowers to make a rangoli, and circle five game-related words in a word search grid.

The chapter mentions cows, buffaloes, dogs, parrots, cats, and goats as animals that can be part of a family. It asks children to think about which animals come to their home or neighbourhood and whether they have shared food with them.

The chapter teaches love and care for family members, kindness towards animals, the importance of sharing household chores, learning from elders, and treating friends and neighbours as an extended community.