This collection of eight short stories in ‘Pratham, Mum and Teeny Tiny Tales’ has come about as a result of my interest in telling & writing stories for my son, who observes keenly and then comes up with difficult and sometimes unimaginable questions to which both Prakash and I have no immediate answers. We research and try our best to sate his quest. For example, the story of Tubby is based on one of his observations – every morning, a gentleman in our society would wash his car with a hosepipe plugged into a tap and keep it running for hours. If car washing is the intent, it can be done consciously with two-three buckets of water. My son would notice him every day and get annoyed with the water wastage. I had to come up with a story to gently convey the message of proper use, no wastage and most importantly – irrespective of the size, age, gender etc. anyone and everyone can contribute to society. Stories and tales play a vital role in the growth and development of a child. What better than intriguing tales that help children learn little nuances of life from exciting characters! So, just as ‘Cein and Tubby’, is very close to my heart, so are the other stories in this book. Almost all stories in ‘Pratham, Mum and Teeny Tiny Tales’ have a back story. The tales in the book not only subtly answer the questions of a curious growing child! They have a magical quality to them. I had no clue that I would be creating fairy tales, trying to answer Pratham’s questions!