Girl who made snow in Kolkata

Kolkata is full of many magical things - yellow taxis that look like they popped out of a storybook, street vendors who somehow balance everything on tiny carts, and clouds of hilsa-fish aroma floating through the monsoon months.

- Madhurima Nag

But there's one thing Kolkata never gets. Snow. And that was a problem for six-year-old Tara. Tara had only seen snow in movies; kids rolling giant snowballs, snowflakes melting on noses, and snow angels that looked like sparkly winged creatures. Every winter, she would stand on her balcony in Behala, look up at the sky, and whisper: “Just a little snow, please?” But Kolkata’s sky was stubborn. It sent lots of love, lots of sunshine, lots of humidity... but zero snowflakes. So Tara decided she would make her own.

Snow project begins

Tara was a curious girl; one of those kids who take apart pens just to see how springs work. So when she set her mind on “Operation Kolkata Snow,” she pulled out her big blue notebook labeled: “TARA'S BIG IDEAS (And Some Small Ones Too)”

Step 1: Learn how snow is made. She scribbled it down and tapped her pencil. Now here's where you come in. Ever touched something so cold it almost stings your hand? Snow feels like that, but softer. And it’s basically tiny frozen water crystals that form when air gets really, really cold - way colder than a Kolkata winter.

Tara learned this from a kid's science book and sighed dramatically. “Kolkata can't go below zero... but maybe something in my kitchen can!”

Experiment time