NEW DELHI: Starting the last Sunday of the year, Doordarshan will start airing the weekly series on India's most loved kid's writer Rusking Bond. The series, "Dehra Kids" will be shown on Sundays at 8.30 pm.

The best part is, kids will be able to see their beloved Bond, who will appear for a short time at the beginning of each story, and talk about his life and the inspirations behind these stories.The stories have been adapted for television by Anasuya Vaidya, the executive producer, and directed by Ajay Shetty.

The Dehra Kids are a group of children living in a small hill town, and comprise some of Ruskin Bond's most enduring fictional characters - the cricket-loving Ranji, the all-knowing Koki, animal-lover Mukesh, Teju always up to mischief - and Chashmu, who observes everything around him.

These stories are recreated in the magnificent Himalayan setting of ManaIi and its surroundings, a press statement from the national broadcaster says.

Humour, adventure and a dash of the supernatural make "Dehra Kids" a complete fun-filled entertainment for children. Some of Ruskin Bond's best short stories are part of the series, such as "Ranji's Wonderful Bat", "The Black Cat"; "The Great Train Journey", "When the Guavas Are Ripe", "Mukesh Starts a Zoo" etc.

The talented child actors of Dehra Kids include Govind Marodia, Dhruv Shetty, Bhavya Mahajan, Nishant Gambhir, Mohit Arora and Nisa. Adult characters are played by veterans like Jalabala Vaidya.

The curtain raiser of "Dehra Kids" will be telecast on Sunday, 24 December at 8.30 pm on DD Bharati.