Book Excerpt: Kanmani And Co.: Five Friends (And A Cat) Tackle The World by Lalitha Ramanathan

An exclusive excerpt from Kanmani & Co.: Five friends and a Cat Tackle the World by Lalitha Ramanathan (Scholastic, 2025).

Kanmani pedalled as fast as she could to reach school before the bell rang. As luck was on her side, she made it with ten seconds to spare. A cheerful voice greeted her as she entered the building.

‘Kanmani!’

‘Seetha! Amma messaged me from Chennai.’

‘Tell me all about the city! Are there giant buildings? Do the theatres show Dialogue DoraiRaj’s movies? You know he is my favourite actor!’

‘I’ll ask Amma the next time I speak to her.’

‘You can chat later. It’s time for the assembly!’ An irked teacher scolded, and the girls rushed to join the other students on the school grounds.

Das Sir, the principal, welcomed the students and introduced the new teachers. He gave an energizing speech, outlining the upcoming events of the year. Soon after, the children trooped back to their classes, chattering nineteen to the dozen.

The first period was English, Kanmani’s favourite subject. The noisy class fell silent as the English teacher, Kandasamy Sir, entered. Sir had taught the children previously and perpetually nagged them to work hard. It went without saying he was their least preferred teacher.

He surprised the class by announcing a spelling test to warm up.

‘Warm up? I’m just shivering at the thought of a test. Oh, Mariatha!’ whispered Seetha.

The class groaned in unison.

‘Take out your notebooks. First word! Please spell “beautiful”. Byoo-ti-ful!’ Sir rolled his tongue.

There was a nervous silence followed by the scratching of pencils against paper. Some students chewed their pencil tips and made blind guesses.

‘The next word is “delicious”. Pronounced as di-lee-shus.

Why do you look so tense? This too shall pass!’ snorted Sir.

‘Why does that sound like “no one shall pass”?’ rued Seetha.

One of the boys, Eesan, put up his hand. ‘I want to go to the toilet.’

‘Wait until the test is over. Don’t be impatient. The next word is… “impatient”.’

‘Sir, it’s urgent.’

‘Next word is urrr…gent.’

The class hissed at Eesan to warn him against giving their teacher new ideas.

‘Is urgent spelt with a “g” or a “j”?’ Seetha cried, frantically looking left and right, hoping the answers would magically materialize.

‘Time’s up!’

The books were snatched away to be corrected. Kanmani wasn’t sure how she had fared, since a test always gave her the jitters.

‘May the notebooks get lost, oh, Mariatha!’ prayed Seetha fervently.

After the nerve-wracking English period, the day was mostly uneventful with the other teachers granting the children time to settle. A few hours later, the half-asleep class awakened on hearing the school dismissal bell. With renewed vigour, they charged their way to the exits with books, papers, and pencils flying.

Seetha and Kanmani raced each other home, pigtails swinging in the air and tyres crunching against the gravel. As Kanmani pulled into the yard, Thatha greeted her. She regaled him with stories of her day and the surprise test. Her grandfather remarked that she was sure to have done well.

After the sun set, Kanmani helped Paati light the prayer lamps. Her grandmother had cooked millet porridge for dinner. They tucked into the hearty meal, relishing the ghee.

‘Wonderful!’ Thatha exclaimed, smacking his lips.

Kanmani spelt ‘wonderful’ in her mind and grinned to herself.

Kandasamy Sir entered the classroom, sporting a stack of notebooks and a dour expression. He kept the class in suspense till the last few minutes of the period.

‘Does he want to give us a heart attack?’ grumbled Seetha.

Sir stopped scribbling on the blackboard and turned to the class.

‘Students, work harder! Here are your results. Eesan, 4/10. Subru, 6/10. Seetha, 6/10.’

As he continued handing out the notebooks, Kanmani waited anxiously. Seetha tried to send her a comforting glance, but it didn’t help.

‘Kanmani. 10/10. Class, clap for her!’

While Kanmani’s heart fluttered with joy, Seetha’s look of sympathy transformed into envy.

‘Please return these books tomorrow with your guardian’s signature,’ Sir instructed.

Kanmani couldn’t contain her excitement as she raced home. Her grandparents would be so proud of her!

Paati was in the kitchen sieving flour. ‘What is it, child?’

‘Look, I scored full marks!’

‘Such an intelligent girl!’

‘Paati, please sign my book.’

‘Grab the inkpad, and I will give you my thumbprint.’

While most of Maaripuram was literate, Paati and Thatha were not. In their younger years, they had toiled in the fields and supported their families. They never got a chance to study.

Kanmani opened the giant steel almirah that housed Thatha’s documents, rummaging for the inkpad. She found one at the back of a shelf, wedged in a corner. When she opened it, it was empty and dried up.

‘Paati, the ink is over,’ she yelled in panic.

Excerpted with permission from the author and the publishers of Kanmani & Co.: Five friends and a Cat Tackle the World by Lalitha Ramanathan (Scholastic, 2025).

Kanmani & Co.: Five friends and a Cat Tackle the World (Scholastic, 2025) is available on Amazon India. Written by Lalitha Ramanathan and illustrated by Rahil Mohsin.

About the Book

Welcome to Maaripuram, a lively South Indian village where every day bursts with adventure, laughter, and just a hint of mischief. Here, five friends and a clever cat take on the world in ways only kids can. Meet Kanmani and her gang of unlikely heroes: dramatic Seetha, determined Sreejith, mischievous Palani, and snack-loving Subru. Joining the fray is Varam, the cool cat. Together, they embark on escapades, have fun at school, build recycling robots, rally a football team with a wheelchair-powered goal, or simply brighten up the life of the villagers. From festival chaos to runaway frogs, Kanmani and Co.is a celebration of childhood in all its messy, magical glory.

Author’s Bio

Lalitha Ramanathan is a finance manager–turned–author. She is an IIT Delhi alumna who previously worked with a global FMCG major in finance before swapping spreadsheets for stories. Her short fiction has appeared in over fifteen anthologies. She is the author of two books published in 2025: Parenting Unplugged (Om Books International), a debut memoir on parenting humour, and Kanmani & Co. (Scholastic), a middle-grade fiction novel.

Lalitha is the Platinum winner of IFP’s 50-Hour Writing Challenge (2024). Her work has been shortlisted for the HG Wells Short Story Competition (2024) and the Asian Prize for Short Story (2025). She won Third Prize at Singapore’s Golden Point Award for Short Story (2025) and was the Runner-up for the Women’s Web Orange Flower Award (2022) for her evocative blogging. She has also written as a columnist for Children’s World and is a regular contributor to Dimdima magazine.

Originally from India, Lalitha has made a home for herself in Singapore. Her family is the centre of her universe. The library is her favourite place to hang out; her book club comes a close second.

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