Granny and Pouchu – Book in Conversation
Pouchu was sitting quietly in his little pond house.
It was early morning.
Through the window, he could see the first villagers walking along the road. They were dressed simply, but no two people looked quite the same.
Pouchu watched them carefully.
Some walked quickly.
Some walked slowly.
Some were talking to each other.
Others walked quietly, lost in their own thoughts.
Pouchu: “Granny, where do all these people go?”
Granny looked up from her book.
Granny: “Perhaps they are going somewhere.”
Pouchu: “But where?”
Granny: “That depends on the person, Pouchu.”
Pouchu continued looking through the window.
Pouchu: “There are so many different people.”
Granny: “Yes.”
Pouchu: “Would I see different kinds of people if I travelled somewhere?”
Granny: “Oh, certainly.”
Pouchu thought for a moment.
Pouchu: “Granny, can people who are different from each other become friends?”
Granny smiled.
Granny: “What do you think?”
Pouchu: “I don’t know.”
Granny: “Then perhaps we should find a story about travelling and meeting people.”
Pouchu hopped closer.
Pouchu: “Will there be friends in the story?”
Granny: “I think there might be.”
Granny reached for the Story Pouch and began rummaging through it.
One book.
Then another.
Pouchu waited.
Granny moved a few books aside.
And then—
Granny: “Ah! Here it is.”
Pouchu leaned forward.
Pouchu: “What book is it?”
Granny turned it around.
Granny: “Pooni at the Taj Mahal.”
Pouchu: “The Taj Mahal!” Pouchu’s eyes grew wide. “Have you seen it, Granny?”
Granny: “Not from here,” Granny laughed. “But this story will take us there.”
They opened the book together.
The story begins with Minnie visiting the Taj Mahal with her family.
And Minnie has brought someone very special along with her.
Pouchu: “Who?”
Granny: “Pooni.”
Pouchu: “Who is Pooni?”
Granny: “Pooni is Minnie’s cat.”
Pouchu smiled.
Pouchu: “A cat gets to visit the Taj Mahal?”
Granny: “This cat seems to have quite an adventure.”
But while Minnie is visiting the monument, Pooni jumps out of Minnie’s bag.
Pouchu: “Oh!”
Pouchu sat up straight.
Pouchu: “Where does she go?”
Granny: “That is the problem.”
Pooni gets lost.
Pouchu’s little face became worried.
Pouchu: “Does Minnie know?”
Granny: “She realises that Pooni is missing and becomes very worried.”
Pouchu: “I would worry too.”
Granny: “I think most people would.”
Then someone else notices Pooni.
A boy named Sunny is visiting the Taj Mahal with his family. He sees Pooni and begins following her.
Pouchu looked relieved.
Pouchu: “Does Sunny know Minnie?”
Granny: “No.”
Pouchu: “Then why does he follow Pooni?”
Granny: “Because he wants to help.”
Pouchu thought about this.
Pouchu: “So you don’t have to know someone to help them?”
Granny smiled.
Granny: “No. Sometimes helping someone is how you begin to know them.”
Pouchu looked thoughtful.
Pouchu: “So Sunny and Minnie could become friends?”
Granny: “Perhaps.”
Pouchu: “But Sunny doesn’t even know Minnie yet.”
Granny: “Friendship doesn’t always begin with knowing everything about another person.”
Pouchu: “How does it begin?”
Granny closed the book for a moment.
Granny: “Sometimes it begins with noticing.”
Pouchu: “Noticing what?”
Granny: “That someone needs help.”
Pouchu looked towards the window.
The villagers were still walking past his pond house.
Pouchu: “So if I see someone who is lost…”
Granny: “You could help.”
Pouchu: “And then we might become friends?”
Granny: “Perhaps.”
Pouchu smiled.
Pouchu: “But Granny…”
Granny: “Yes?”
Pouchu: “What about Pooni?”
Granny laughed.
Granny: “Ah! We haven’t forgotten Pooni.”
They opened the book again.
Sunny follows Pooni through the Taj Mahal, while Minnie is worried about finding her cat before she leaves.
Pouchu was now completely absorbed in the adventure.
Pouchu: “Will Sunny find Minnie?”
Pouchu: “Will Minnie find Pooni?”
Pouchu: “And will they become friends?”
Granny smiled.
Granny: “Those are three very good questions.”
Pouchu leaned closer to the book.
Pouchu: “Then let’s keep reading.”
Peek Into the Book
Pooni at the Taj Mahal takes us on a journey through one of India’s most recognisable monuments, but the heart of the story is much closer to home.
Minnie is visiting the Taj Mahal with her family when her cat, Pooni, jumps out of her bag and disappears.
As Minnie worries about her missing pet, Sunny, another child visiting the Taj Mahal with his family, notices Pooni and follows her.
What begins as a search for a lost cat becomes an unexpected meeting between two children.
The story gently brings together travel, pets, responsibility, helping others and friendship. It also reminds us that unfamiliar places can bring together people who might otherwise never have met.
The Taj Mahal becomes more than a beautiful monument in the story. It becomes a meeting place—a place where families travel, children explore, a cat gets lost, and a new friendship might begin.
Library Calling Card
| Detail | Information |
| Book | Pooni at the Taj Mahal |
| Author & Illustrator | Manjula Padmanabhan |
| Publisher | Tulika Publishers |
| First Published | 2017 |
| Edition | 2023 |
| ISBN | 978-93-5046-863-0 |
| Language | English |
| Format | Paperback |
| Pages | 32 |
| Genre | Picture Book / Children’s Book |
| Theme | Travel; Taj Mahal; Pets; Lost and Found; Friendship |
| Reading Level | Beginner |
Granny’s Notes
What stayed with me in Pooni at the Taj Mahal was not only the worry of losing a beloved pet, but what happens because someone chooses to help.
For Minnie, Pooni is not simply a cat who has wandered away. The worry of losing a pet can feel enormous, especially for a child. Pooni is someone she loves and is responsible for.
And then there is Sunny.
He doesn’t know Minnie. He doesn’t know Pooni. Yet when he sees the cat, he decides to follow her.
That small act of helping becomes the beginning of a connection.
I also enjoyed the way the Taj Mahal brings together people from different backgrounds. Visitors arrive with their own families, clothes, languages, experiences and reasons for being there. They may be strangers to one another, but for a brief moment they share the same place—and sometimes, as in this story, a shared little adventure.
Perhaps friendship does not always begin with discovering how much we have in common.
Sometimes it begins much more simply.
We notice someone.
We see that they need help.
And we choose to help.
Pouchu’s question at the beginning of our conversation stayed with me too:
Can people who are different from each other become friends?
Perhaps Pooni’s adventure gives us a gentle answer.
Yes. Sometimes a lost cat can show us the way.
