Inspiration from Tamil Siruvarmalar.com Some stories are originals by V. Krishnaraj, and may name is appended to them. Last update August 23, 2020 |
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Apologues |
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Humor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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We have the DNA of animals in our body. Trees and animals preceded us by
millions and millions of years. We are the latecomers on the earth. Did
you know we have in our body mouse and cow genes. Our heredity and
ancestry are from animals. Australopithecus afarensis ("Lucy"), 3.2
million years ago, was our immediate ancestor. We have her DNA in our
body and belong to the genus: Homo. We humans have all the animal
qualities, some good and some bad. Our qualities, modified by our large
brain and sophisticated thinking, kept the best of animal qualites: Love
for the young, defending the young, feeling sad for loss of life and
much more. We do retain bad qualities of animals: wanton killing,
usurpation, and others. Be kind to animals. They help us. Take the dog. It serves man in several ways: Seeing Eye dog, Police and Military Dogs, Herding, Compahionship, Service Dog, Sledding, Performing Dogs and more. |
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Two Silly Billy Goats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Billy Goats Gone Silly A river ran through a dense forest. At its narrowest point, the riverbanks were 20 feet across from each other. There was no way they could jump the gap. A goat on one riverbank thought the grass was greener on the other side. The other mountain goat wanted to go to the other side because he thought the grass was greener on the other side. A narrow footbridge spanned across the river. Only one pedestrian at a time or two mountain goats in tandem with the sure foot can traverse on the bridge. Any slight misstep will cause a plunge into the river. ![]() One Billy Goat dared to walk the plank with no fear of heights because he walked the sinuous mountain trails with a sure foot. On the other side, the second Billy Goat took the hazardous path with a silly sense of bravado. The two silly Billy Goats met at the midpoint in the bridge, right over the turbulent waters of the river. One goaded the other goat to move over so he could pass by. The other adamant goat did not give an inch and refused to move. Since they were mountain goats, they always resolved the issue by headbutting. Headbutting began, their legs slipped on the side of the plank, and both fell to their death in the river. Don’t be cocky, though you are good. Be cooperative and give in, where necessary, so you can live to tell the story. |
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The Kid and the Wolf | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The kid was of tender age and suckled
for about eight weeks. It danced and jumped on its four legs,
feeling its oats. As it nibbled on the
green tender grass, it lost sight of its mother. The other kids around
the frisky kid suddenly disappeared as he was munching the grass. Panic
struck in its heart, and the kid looked around for his mother. He was
alone and vulnerable. The mother was nowhere in the hood. The kid stood alone on its four in the small clearing in the middle of the forest. The mother goat always warned the kid of the ferocity of wolves. Suddenly the kid could imagine a marauding wolf charging it. Its four legs trembled, gave in from under him, and made him fall flat on the grass. ![]() That moment the kid remembered his mother telling him to think on his feet. That gave him strength, and the kid jumped up briskly. The kid saw a grown wolf with its lolling red tongue. The wolf came towards the kid. The kid stood his ground, but terror struck his tender heart. The kid remembered his mother's advice and addressed the wolf, "Dear wolf, you are going to eat me. It is a given. Would you please sing the best melodious song from your repertoire that can envelop the woods? I will dance to your song. That will be my last wish before you eat me." The wolf agreed to his last wish before his death and howled hard and loud as he could. The shepherd dogs heard the celebratory lupine song, ran towards the meadow, and chased the wolf. The wolf realized the kid's artifice and his mistake of having conceded to the kid's request for a celebratory song. Always remember the elder's advice. Celebrate your success after you finish the task on hand. |
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The Fox and the the Curlew | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There lived a cunning fox in the forest adjoining a lake where birds
lived. The birds ate crabs, grasshoppers, insects, and beetles. The fox
thought it had the biggest brain and made fun of the long-billed curlews
as the birdbrains. The fox enjoyed cheating others, rejoicing in their
predicament and loss. The fox visited the lakeshore often, enjoyed the view, and one day thought of inviting a Curlew for dinner to show his superior intellectual endowment. Fox: Dear Curlew! You have a long and beautiful bill. I admire your grace in flight. I invite you for dinner and will serve you crab soup, fried grasshoppers, and roasted beetles. The Curlew accepted the invitation and showed up for dinner on the appointed day. The fox served Curlew the soup without the crabs in a large bowl. For himself, he had the soup and the crabs in a similar bowl. The Curlew could not drink the warm crab stock with his bill. The fox: How is the crab soup? ![]() Hiding its disappointment, Curlew said," I never tasted such a wonderful and delicious crab soup in my life." Enjoying the moment of frustration of the Curlew, the fox bid goodbye to its guest. Days went by. The Curlew invited the fox for dinner and said, "Dear fox, I will prepare a goulash with assorted meats. The fox agreed to attend the dinner. On the day of invitation, the whole forest was awash with the smell of goulash. The Curlew poured the goulash in two of the narrow-necked vessels and served one vessel to the fox. The fox could not go past the neck of the vessel to eat the goulash. But Curlew could eat it with no difficulty. The fox tasted a paltry amount smeared on the vessel's neck and said to the bird it never tasted such good goulash ever in its life. 'The Curlew saw and felt the frustration of the fox with superior intelligence. The fox bid goodbye and went away hungry and frustrated. |
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The Prince,
the Mouse and the Cat (Oct 28,
2021) A mouse and a cat lived in a palace unknown to each other and undiscovered by the palace workers. The mouse visited the kitchen in the night and ate the leavings on the kitchen floor: cheese, breadcrumbs, cooked rice, lentils, and more. The cat wandered in the palace gardens chasing mice, catching one at a time and eating them. One day, the little three-year-old prince discovered the cat while playing in the garden and chased after it. The cat quickly climbed on a tall tree and escaped being caught by the prince. The prince went to the palace guard on duty and told him he wanted to play with the cat on the three. The guard called his companions and caught the cat with the help of a net and took it to the palace veterinarian for a health checkup. The vet gave a thorough physical examination, declared it fit and healthy, and handed the cat to the palace animal trainer. ![]() The cat was fed, trained to be a house cat, and placed in the prince's hands. Both hit it off well. The prince has played with the cat ever since. The mouse meanwhile ate the remnants on the palace kitchen floor. One day the place kitchen cleaning crew discovered mouse droppings on the floor and raised the alarm. Soon the veterinarian office staff placed mousetraps. Three days after the traps were in place, the mouse sniffed, discovered the smell of cheese, and ran into the trap, and squealed. The following day the staff found the mouse inside the mousetrap and took it to the palace vet to ensure no disease. The prince heard the guards talking about the mouse in the kitchen. The prince went to the veterinarian's office while the mouse was getting the physical examination, blood, and saliva tests. The prince told the vet he wanted to adopt the mouse. A few days later, tests showed normal results. The mouse was healthy. It took another week to train the mouse not to bite the handler. The veterinarian, declaring it safe, handed the mouse to the prince. Now the prince had a problem on his hands. How was he going to stop the cat chasing the mouse? Again the veterinary office was helpful. The staff took in the cat, and the mouse lodged them each in a cage, keeping the cells close together. They exposed the cat to a mouse lookalike toy that moved around inside the cat's cage. The cat did not attack the toy mouse. The cat accepted the live mouse and did not attack and eat it. The veterinary staff declared the cat and mouse as interspecies friends. The prince played with the cat and the mouse, fed them, and took care of them. |
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Kuntidevi & Bhima Published:10 Aug 2020 8 PMUpdated:10 Aug 2020 8 PM K. Nirupama, Bangalore. சக்தி விகடன் டீம் Sakthi Vikatan Team A fair day's wages for a fair day's work. --Thomas Carlyle |
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1. Kunti Devi, instructing on the Dharma
principle, was virtuous in real life and earned her rightful place in
Mahabharata.
2. The Pandavas escaped from the burning wax mansion and reached Ēka
Chakra Nagar. They stayed in a poor Brahmin's house and felt very hungry
and felt the need to work for wages to alleviate their hunger.
3. Bhīma, known for his extraordinary physical strength, thought of
venturing out to earn a living for himself and his family. Asking his mother and his brothers to rest after the fire ordeal, left home to earn money. |
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4. He reached a rich man's mansion and asked for a job. The man told him
that 50 wage earners would take a day to dig a well in the garden, and
he could earn their entire salary if he of the fabulous physique could
dig the well all by himself.
He said, "Look here. What do you think of my proposal."
5. Desiring to earn wages equal to 50 men, worked all day with no rest,
and dug up a well gushing with water in one day. The rich man was
pleased, gave him wages meant for 50 men, and sent Bhīma on his way.
6. With hands full of money, Bhīma went home and happily gave his mother
all the money. Kuntidevi asked him how he got all the money he gave her.
Bhīma explained to her what happened.
7. Hearing the story, Kuntidevi became angry and said to him, "Bhīmā!
You may be the strongest man around here. But you do not have the right
to deprive the wages of the 49 people. I will take the wages equal to
one person. You must return the rest to the rich man."
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Don't doubt the truth. Don't be greedy. Published: 22 Sep 2020 2 AM Updated:22 Sep 2020 2 AM By Sakthi Vikatan Team |
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1. A rustle and thunderous romping attracted the attention of the
farmhand. He ran to the source of the ruckus. He saw a humongous bull
grazing on the corn.
2. In his desire to catch the bull, he leaped
towards the bull but could only catch its tail. He held on to it fast as
the bull took off to the skies.
3. He realized this was no ordinary bull but
Śiva's Nandi. The Nandi zoomed towards Kailas, and our hero was the
accidental traveler by the tail to Kailas. Both reached Kailas. Both
landed before Śiva. Immediately, the farmhand complained to Śiva, "O my
Lord, is this justice? Your Nandi destroyed the cornfield."
4. Śiva: "Don't worry. To make up for your
loss, take this bag chock-full of gold coins." The farmhand thanked the
Lord and accepted the bag with humility and reverence.
Nandhi flew him back to his cornfield.
5. He went home and doubted the authenticity
of the gold coins. He took one coin to his friend's jewelry shop. He
asked his friend, "Would you please rub this coin on the touchstone?"
His friend rubbed the gold coin on the stone.
6. The friend thought its real worth was
beyond belief but cheated him and said, "This is mere copper. Who
cheated you?" The farmhand narrated the incident.
7. That night, the bull came to the field. He
decided to challenge Śiva for what he believed as copper coins. He
decided to make the second trip to Kailas by hanging on to the flying
bull by its tail. But he felt a drag at his feet, and someone else was
holding on to his feet. The
farmhand looked down, and it was the jeweler holding on to his feet.
8.
Greed enveloped the lying, cheating, and conniving jeweler
claiming as his friend.
9. The jeweler asked the farmhand, "Who gave
all these gold coins?"
10. The tail-hanging farmhand spread his
hands wide to show the size of the bag of coins he received. Both fell
to the cornfield.
11. What is the lesson in this story?
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A transfixed Monkey By. Veeraswamy Krishnaraj Oct 18, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
forest was rich in animal life such as monkeys, lions, tigers, birds,
and more. Three troops of monkeys existed in the woods. A lone monkey,
rejected by the group, was alone wandering the forest and living on
fruits, grains, and nuts.
One day, he jumped from one tree to another and saw a few bags on the
ground. The woodcutters, employed by the forest owner, left them under
the tree while cutting the trees far away. The forest owner ran a paper
mill on the edges of the forest. The
sad money, thrown out of the troop, saw the bags under the tree, went
down, and opened the bags. The contents of the bags were in the boxes
with tight lids and clamps. The monkey took a vessel from the bag and
shook it, for it smelled like peanuts. The
monkey opened the vessel's lid, put both hands into it and grabbed the
peanuts. He could not remove the hands because the vessel had a narrow
neck. He shook the vessel
and tried to use the feet against the vessel to free his hands. Nothing
worked. He screeched,
screamed, and scratched himself with his hind legs. He took a walk but could
not climb up the tree with his loot. He found a log to sit and relax. He
sat on the log and tried to extricate his hands by hitting the vessel
against the peg. The peg popped and flew like a missile. He jumped, and
the tail fell between the split ends of the log. With the tail pinched
by the split log, he could not move. The workers, hearing the screeches,
came running to the transfixed monkey, found it in a hopeless
predicament. The headman took charge. First, he had to release the hands
from the vessel. He covered the monkey’s face with his shirt to calm him
down and tried to extricate the monkey’s hands. No luck. The hands were
swollen from pressure below the narrow neck of the vessel. Luckily, they
had lubricant oil at the worksite. He poured the oil on the hands and
gently released one hand at a time. The monkey still had the peanuts
tight in his fists. One logger held both hands and feet. A third man
split the log wide enough to release the tail. A medical technician, who
attended to the injured loggers, felt a bounding pulse in the wrists of
the monkey. Thank God. The monkey wagged the tail and, emerging from
this ordeal with no injury or loss, got a surprise. One logger offered a
peeled banana to the lucky monkey. |
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Bear-Man-Tiger August 23, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. A
man (Veeramani) went into the depths of the nearby forest to collect
twigs for use as firewood. Tigers, bears, and lions roamed the forest.
Feral cows, sheep, and goats were aplenty for the carnivores to eat.
Suddenly he found himself in the eye of a hungry tiger, who never ate a
man but desperately wanted to eat one. The tiger was crouching, a sign
it was about to chase its prey. He was the chase. Immediately his
survival instincts kicked in, and he climbed on a tree.
He climbed the tree fast since he was a coconut tree climber by
profession. He had his eyes on the crouching tiger as he climbed up the
tree and failed to see a black bear with two cute cubs on the tree above
him on the sturdy branches. The cubs hugged close to the mama bear. 2.
Veeramani was too close to the bears for comfort. The baby bears squealed,
seeing Veeramani inching towards them. The mother bear spoke, "Hey man,
what are you doing? You are scaring my cubs. You better go down or jump
to the next tree." The man spoke, "There is a tiger below the tree,
ready to kill and eat me. Can I stay here until the tiger leaves." 3.
The tiger spoke to the bear, "Hey Shyamala! We know each other well
around here. You cannot fight the man on the tree. If you fight the man,
your cubs will fall from the tree in the scuffle and may even lose their
lives. Do the right thing, pop your jaws, bare your teeth, and growl
menacingly. The man will lose his grit and grip and fall. I will eat him
for lunch." 4.
Shyamala spoke, "Veeramani means no harm to my cubs. He is running away
from you. I never ate a man. My cubs are safe as it is." 5.
Veeramani, in a low voice, told the bear, "Ask the tiger to bring you a
large beehive turgid with honey and leave it at the bottom of the tree.
Say to him you will deliver me to him soon after the beehive is at the
bottom of the tree. This life-saving stratagem will not cost you
anything. You see I am harmless." |
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6. Shyamala considered the suggestion, deliberated on it for a while, and did not agree with his plan. It meant surreptitious way of killing Vyagra, the tiger. (The idea was the honeybees enter the tiger's mouth, nares and the eyes. The stings inside the nostrils are the most annoying, and in the eyes, blinding.) 7.
Meanwhile, a herd of 30 buffalos with some calves came along on their
way to the lake to slake their thirst. The herd upon seeing the hungry
tiger huddled together, keeping the calves in the center of the herd. A
single tiger is no match for a whole herd. The big bulls made a charge
at the tiger. The tiger took off from under the tree in a nanosecond and
disappeared into the dense forest with buffalos on its tail. |
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The Beggar-Prince (Veeraswamy Krishnaraj) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1.
In the story, our man started his day at noon and went on his daily
rounds in a temple town until sundown. He met people nice, offensive,
insulting, and outright hostile.
He always was calm and had kind words to say, even to the
unsympathetic. He was frail and thin, but always introspective. Every
day his thriving business took him to a different part of town. He did
not make a revisit to the same place for at least two weeks. Every
street, house, door number, and the occupants were familiar to him.
He knew people by the voice, the cadence, the inflection, and the
diction. 2.
It was not a vocation without competition, sometimes forbidding.
He managed somehow because of his native intelligence. In his
professional contact, he dispensed sweet and charming words, phrases,
and sentences and received goods of value in return. He did not seek
another profession because he was not robust in his body. Chronic
malnutrition was his problem. No
one noticed him. He lived in a hut with a corrugated tin roof, four mud
walls, a door, and a window. He kept no dog or cat for companionship.
Lucky for him, he had a sunroof to light the inside of the house. His
putative father built the house from the debris picked up at the city
dump. He
had a small handheld Udukkai with a hammer on his left palm to make a
sound on the hourglass Udukkai (drum). He turned the left forearm
sideways, so the round hammer beat on the stretched animal skin to make
the drum sound. This sound pleasant to the ears was his calling card
when he visited his place of business. At the drum sound, the woman of
the house showed up with a pleasant smile and dropped some food in his
begging bowl. 3.
Now you know the profession of our emaciated young man. Some women
chastised him to get a job and withheld food from him. Some hit him with
twigs and sticks. 4. The giving souls never failed to offer him food every time he went to their homes. Some scolded him with abusive words and yet gave him some food. He ate the food provided by the kind souls and threw the food from the abusive women to the birds, even when that food was delectable. |
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6.
The story goes the preschooler prince disappeared one day. The palace
heard it was an abduction. The royal jewels on the boy found their way to a local
lapidary. 7.
His disappearance was an abduction. The palace was looking for the
kidnapper and the prince. The kidnapper sold the jewels and lived on the
little money he received. The lapidary could not remember the jewel
thief but informed the palace of the treasures coming into his
possession and returned them to the palace. The kidnapper trained the
boy to become a professional beggar. Lucky for the prince, the kidnapper
did not mutilate him to further his maimed appeal to the public. Now the
boy was around 15 years of age. The kidnapper worked as a coolie around
town. He never showed up in the hut every day. He ate and slept where he
could. Now
the queen’s squeal. When she gave birth to the baby prince, she noticed
a hairy mole on the prince's low back. It was brown in color, hairy in
appearance, and had a long oval shape. 8.
The prince is back home. She ran down from her throne and hugged her
son. The king joined her. Now
the hunt was on for the kidnapper, the itinerant coolie, and the
occasional beggar. The quest for the kidnapper was on. The guards fanned
out into the city, found him napping, plucked him from under the tree,
and produced him before the king and the queen. 9.
The king and the queen recognized him as the royal gardener. He
disappeared and did not report for the job the next day. He confessed
that he kidnapped the boy prince for his jewels and still loved him as a
son. The
royal couple put him to work at the gravel pit. He graduated from his
work at the gravel pit and later became a gemologist and lapidary for
the royal household. 10. Lessons: Don’t
judge a person by appearance. A person cane be a gardner, a gravel pit worker, a stone cutter, and with education and experence a gemologist and lapidary. |
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♥A Gift from the Heart♥ By Veeraswamy Krishnaraj September 1, 2019
Tim and Tammy (T & T) lived by a
lake near a vast forested area. One day two owls were sitting on the
tree branch and watching a statue of Baby Jesus in the backyard. They went to the lake
for an easy catch of fish. It looked they were husband and wife. Let us
call the owls Dan and Dan (= D & D = Danny and Danielle). One day inside the house in the baby’s room, Tim and
Tammy found earlier a clutch of four eggs in a secure brown box on the
mantle. Later the owls flew in and perched
on the box. Yes, they were not afraid of humans. T & T thought
they were fortunate that the barn owls trusted them to lay the eggs in a
box on the mantle. Probably they did not find a large enough hole in the
trees.
The above image of perch: Credit U.S
. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The owls had the avian instinct, and I dare say, the human intuition to know that T & T were avian-friendly. The sign of trust for the owls was the sight of Baby Jesus in the Nativity scene in the backyard. The female owl boldly laid her clutch of eggs in an empty basket on the mantle. T & T, truely empathetic, saw themselves in the wedded owls. Besides, Tammy just gave birth to a baby boy. T & T knew somehow that the owls would not hurt their baby and let their avian guests have freedom of access into their home. Tim expressed his love for Tammy as two owls do to each other, by giving Tammy a ring with the emblem of an owl on the ring, a metaphor for eternal love. Tammy lost it in their private lake, never to be found by a human but later swallowed by a perch. Jesus, in the name an owl, caught the fish and released the ring with the symbol of an owl, epitomic of lifelong love.
The Lion
and The
Sheep by Veeraswamy Krishnaraj
July 8, 2020
In the canopied forest, the jackals cried, the foxes howled, the feral
dogs barked, the monkeys screeched and the birds sang songs. Between
sundown and sunrise, they retreated to their lairs. The big carnivores
such as the lion and the tiger roamed the forest at will, unchallenged
by any animal. That was our Nilavanam forest, adjoining the village
Nilapuram. The villagers raised rice paddy, peanuts, corn and vegetables
to sell in the nearby towns. They were prosperous. Rarely the carnivores
entered the village. No human fatalities ever took place. They never
lost a cow or a goat to the lion or the tiger. They placed drums at
critical points. When a carnivore came into view, they beat their drums
and the animals retreated into the forest. None of the carnivores ever
tasted human flesh. They installed a gated fence around the village to
keep the animals away. They built trenches adjoining the forest to keep
the animals from venturing into the village.
A middle-aged lion in the forest killed animals not only for food but
also wantonly. A herd of feral sheep lost many members to its wanton
killing. The Jackals, foxes and even the tigers ate the wanton kill,
abandoned by the killer lion.
At the foothills of a mountain in the forest there was a lake and a
river fed by the rains and natural springs. That is where all animals
came to quench their thirst. The river and the lake were the home for
gharials (Indian crocs).
The feral sheep were worried their ranks will thin out and vanish from
the wanton killings by the lion Sulai. These sheep are the progeny of
those which escaped 70 years ago from the main herd and lived in the
forest. They knew the ways of the forest living. They and the lion Sulai
spoke different tongues. They
could not communicate with the lion.
The eldest sheep had a meeting with the tribe (herd) and wondered how they were to deal with the lone rogue lion.
The lion came at least once a day to drink water in the river. It was
nonchalant in its behavior. He went to the edge of water without looking
to the right or left for any danger. He was the king of beasts and
believed that he was the anointed one and no one in his neighborhood
could challenge him.
One day. He killed two sheep, abandoned one, ate the other, and with
blood-stained face and lips came to the lake to slake its thirst.
The gharials in the freshwater lake had not had their meals for
sometime. They were running out of fish, their usual meal. They were
hungry and snappy.
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The jaunty but careless lion came to the edge of the water. The other animals
watching its move drank water at a safe distance, frequently looking
around for any trouble. The monkeys screeched as Sulai approached
the water’s edge. The feral pigs, the sheep, the monkeys, and other
animals stopped drinking the water and cast their soulful eyes towards
the lion. He came alone. As soon he lapped the water, the gharials about
three in number jumped on the lion and dragged him into the depths of
the lake. Each gharial ripped off the legs and tried to swallow whatever
they had in their bite. That was the tragic end of the wanton
killer in the forest. The gharials abandoned the body and the legs
because they were too big for them to swallow. The peaceful animals seeing this deathly onslaught left the water’s edge in a hurry, and ran into the forest. The wanton killer met his match and left their midst . The sheep can graze in peace from then on.
The
Hummingbird and the Cat By Veeraswamy Krishnaraj Feb 11, 2019
The Cat: Thank you very much. Who would help
you, if something gets stuck in your throat?
The lion king was on a bed with heavy bandage on the foot and the leg.
The queen was in grief shedding tears and wiping the nose.
The animals stood in line to pay respects, express sorrow and utter
‘get-well-soon’ whisper. A
fox broke into the line and as it neared the bed, gave a big sigh and
said, ‘All for the good.’ The king of beasts was burning and boiling with anger,
hearing such callous note.
The king thought to himself, “Here I am in bed, having lost a toe and
this fox tells It is all for good. The lion ordered the fox seized and
jailed in the cave-prison.
A
contingent
of monkey soldiers jumped on the fox and hauled him away to the prison.
The fox lamented upon arrest, “Every act happens for our good: that is
the truth.”
The wound of the foot took three months to heal. Because of missing toe,
the king of beasts could not walk with a majestic bearing but limped
along. The backbiting animals said of the king, he was a ‘Lame and
Limping Lion
King.’
The queen hearing the derisive rumors and remarks was very unhappy. What
could she do? She thought,
the cub-prince, on identifying the backbiter, could punish him.
No one knew of the mischievous rabbit for giving the king a derogatory
moniker.
The jailed fox was given vegetarian food daily once a day. The wild
roots and fruits caused nausea in the fox. What to do? Instead of
keeping quiet, spilling words caused my ruination for life.
Such was his thinking and he exhaled a deep sigh.
The kingly beast went on a hunt on his limping leg, saw a goat in a cave
with open gates, jumped on it with gusto and ate the goat.
Eructing a loud belch, the lion turned around to go back home but found
the iron gates in the cave were shut closed. He regretted having been
caught. In its fury, it emitted a roar. The soldiers muzzled the poor
king of beasts, tied him by a rope, loaded him on a wagon and took him for delivery to the prince,
saying, “We have a caged lion for our prince to play with. He would be happy
to see the lion. Seeing the joy of the prince, the king would offer us
rewards.” Saying such words, they reached the palace.
When they brought the lion down from the cage in the wagon, they saw it
limping.
They were unhappy. Thinking they cannot train the lame lion for the
sport of the prince, they took the lion back into the forest. The lion
was happy to realize the missing toe and lameness were the saving grace
and prompted the soldiers
to take him back to the forest.
The lion thought, “I jailed the fox for saying, ‘It is all for
the good.’ I realize now the truth said by the fox.” Upon return to its
cave, the lion narrated the event to his wife and children.
The lion called on the simian soldiers and ordered them to release the
fox. The lion king invited the fox to his presence and extolled, “You
are the ocean of intellect. From here on, you are my minister. Your
prediction, ‘All for the good,’ came true. Whatever may be the
utterance, it must be explored without haste: That is what I am
delighted to understand now.”
Once you think that all events are for one’s welfare, there is no
such thing as grievous event.
The starving lion and the fox.
It was a jungle with animals galore. An old decrepit lion and a fox were
roaming for days with no food to eat. One day they met face to face and
lamented their luck.
They decided to hunt in collaboration. The lion drew up the plan for
such an endeavour. The plan
was as follows. The fox should emit a loud howl.
The howl will frighten the animals and scatter them in panic. The lion
should lie in wait and attack the animal running in fright. The fox liked that stratagem and accepted the plan. The fox sounded its loudest howl. Hearing the strange sound, the animals ran hither and thither. The lion caught and killed the hither animals coming in his way and let go of the thither animals.
The fox gave up its howl and came near the lion and was happy to see
many dead animals. It became arrogant thinking its weirdest howl brought
in a crop of dead animals.
The fox approached and asked the lion what it thinks of its howling
feat. With
hubris in its voice, the fox said, “By my mere howl, don’t you see I
killed so many animals?”
The lion acknowledged its mite and said, “Do you have to elaborate to me
on your work?” The lion praised the fox saying, “If I did not know you
were making the weird howl, I myslef might have died of fear.”
***********************************************************************************************************************************************
United We Stand (fly); Divided We Fall
Blue and white doves had nests on the temple tower. The aristocratic blue doves were
arrogant thinking they were superior to the lowly white doves. Renovation
works on the tower prompted the doves move to other locations.
On their flight, they noticed a spread of rice on the ground for
drying in the sun. They descended, ate all the grains and perched
themselves on a nearby huge tree.
The hunter, the owner of the rice grains was shocked to see no
grains where he spread for drying in the sun. Seeing the bird droppings,
he guessed who ate his grains. The hunter planned to catch the doves with his net. Next day he laid the net with the spread of the rice grains and waited for the doves. The doves upon seeing the grains descended to the ground and had their feet caught in the net. The hunter in hiding far away ran to the net to catch the doves. Seeing the hunter rushing towards them, all the doves took off from the ground at an instance and carried the net with them. The hunter seeing the flying doves lamented at losing the doves and the net at which he worked hard, did not mind not catching the doves but ran after the flying doves to retriev his net in vain.
As the doves were in flight, the blue doves with hubris under their wings
said, “It is because of our strength, you are all alive and safe. If it
is not for our fast wings, it would have been a disaster for you (the
white doves).” The white doves parlayed the strength of their wings and
said, “You blue doves may be beautiful but lack strength and power.”
Squabbling between the white and blue doves continued as they flew
erratically; their
hubris slowed down the speed; and the net including the doves got caught
in tree branches.
Seeing this, the hunter was happy. He, worried about the escape of the
doves with his net, said to himself, “The proverbial ‘Life-Saved-When-United’,” was
what I feared. “In my favor, their cooperation dissolved with their
instant fall. I thank the quibbling doves.” He disentangled the doves from the
net and put them in his basket. Pigeons and doves belong to the family Columbidae. There are several species of pigeons. The Dodo bird and passenger pigeons are extinct now. They are frugivores, granivores, and Herbivores (Fruit, Seed, and Leaf eaters). The ground-walking pigeons eat only seeds. The tree pigeons eat only fruits. The baby chick is called squeaker. The pigeon is larger and the dove is smaller. You always wondered why the pigeon does the clownish head-bobbing. When the pigeon walks, it has two movements. The head moves forward 2 inches to fixate on the object (seed), and then only the body moves to catch up with the head. By this double maneuver, the pigeon fixates on the object for 20 milliseconds and processes the image in the birdbrain. A human, when reading a book, moves the eyes to focus on the printed image. Bobbing is the way they stabilize the image of the moving world. When you put a pigeon on a treadmill, it stops the head-bobbing. It is so because the scenery in fron of the bird does not change. https://www.wired.com/2015/01/whats-birds-bob-heads-walk/ 1) Nicobar pigeon. 2) Pink Neck Pigeon, 3) Yellow-footed Pigeon. 4) NYC Times Square pigeon.
In India, man and elephant lived together in harmony for millennia.
There is no major festival in the big temples without an elephant(s).
The story here is an apologue told and retold in India a billion times.
Here is my presentation.
Fox’s Tantra; Grandma’s Vadai
A grandma sold fried donuts
(வடை
= vadai)
for a living. She put all the fried donuts
on a plate so a prospective buyer can see them. A crow saw it and had an
intense desire to eat it.
When the grandma was busy frying the donuts, the crow saw the
opportunity, swooped down, stole one donut and perched itself on a tree
branch. A fox, watching all
this, wanted to use tantra (stratagem) to take the donut from the crow.
The fox went to the trunk of the tree and complimented the crow about
its beauty.
The fox continued to compliment the crow. “Your beak has a unique
beauty. I think your voice is melodious. I want to hear you sing a
melody. Since the fox
called it a beautiful bird, the crow wanted to please the fox.
Soon the crow, forgetting the fried donut in its beak, sang in
its melodious voice, “Ka-Ka-Ka.”
The donut fell off its beak. The fox, exulting over its cheating
stratagem, picked up the donut, went into hiding and ate the donut.
The crow,believing in the tantric flatering words of the fox, was cheated out of the
donut.
The Rabbit and the Lion
The animals of the forest sent an animal to the lion for its daily meal. They went to the
lion’s den and announced, “We all came to a decision. You do not go
hunting from now on. We ourselves go to your den to be your dinner every
day. If you kill many animals in one day, we will become extinct and you
will be deprived of your meal in the future. You will starve to death.”
Hearing this, the lion was happy at their proposal. The lion thought
there is no more nuisance from the foxes and feral dogs, who want to
steal my game. From that day, one
animal went to the den as its prey and dinner. One day a rabbit
approached the den rather late and past the dinner time. The rabbit
found the lion very angry.
The lion roared at the sight of the latecomer rabbit.
The frightened and shivering rabbit said, “Your eminence, on my
way to your den, a big lion tried to catch me. I hid under a bush and
came here. That was the cause for the delay in showing up before you.”
With pride and arrogance, the lion said, “Is there a lion bigger
and stronger than me in the forest?” The rabbit replied, “Yes, your
highness. Follow me and I will show you.” The rabbit took the lion near
the well and told him the lion was inside the well.
Believing the rabbit, the lion peeped into the well. The
reflection in the water made it appear there was a lion in the well.
Looking at it, the lion roared.
The Bimbam (reflection) also roared. The lion’s irritation and impatience
boiled over. Saying, “Look here. I will show you your death this
second,” the lion jumped headlong into the well. It downed in the well
water and died. By the
rabbit’s quick-wittedness and endeavor, the other animals were saved.
Crocodile and monkey
There was a monkey in the jungle with a river in the middle. A Jamun
plum tree stood in the bank of the river. The monkey lived on the fruits
of the tree. A big river was on one side of the forest and rapids were
common. The other side of the forest was very verdant and the monkey
desired to go to the other side for a look and see. But the monkey was
afraid to cross the river because of the rapids.
A river crocodile saw the monkey eating the plums and asked it,
“Does the plum taste delicious?”
The monkey said, “Mr. Croc, I will throw a few plums from the
tree and you decide for yourself its taste.” The monkey dropped a few
plums into the open mouth of the crocodile, which enjoyed the sweet
taste of them very much. The crocodile thought that the plum-eating
monkey’s liver must be sweet and became friends with the monkey planning
one day to eat its liver.
Mr. Croc said to the monkey, “Mr. Monkey, your highness on the tree. you appeased my appetite by giving me select sweet plums. I like to return you a favor. On the other riverbank, luscious fruits hang from the trees. If you go to the other side, you could eat the fruits and give me some.” The monkey said, “I had a desire for a longtime to see the other side of the river. But I am afraid to cross the rapids of the river.” The croc said, “ No fear, I'm here. You can hop on my back and I will take you ashore to the other side.” With malice in the heart and loving words on its lips, the croc allowed the monkey to jump on its back. Thinking it was a lifetime opportunity to fulfill its desire, the croc took the monkey on its back to middle of the river. The croc told the monkey, it had the sudden urge to eat its liver. The monkey, showing no signs of panic, told the croc, “I see! You did not tell me your desire earlier. Thinking the liver might get damaged in the rapids, I left it on the tree branches. Take me back to the tree and I will forthwith put it on and bring it. That was the quick-witted answer under the circumstances.
The croc blinded by its desire to eat the monkey’s liver, believed the
monkey’s words and took it back to the tree.
The monkey got off the back of the croc and with a hop and a jump
climbed up the tree and said, “Mr. Creepy Croc, you are a crook and a moron. Is it possible
to remove the liver from the body and hang it on the tree branch? You
chose to cheat and kill me for my liver. Is it justice?” The
disappointed croc slid into the river.
We should believe no one on the first instance. Before developing
friendship, we should find out whether they are good or bad.
Crow’s Strategy to slake its thirst
It was the height of summer. The sun was at its fiercest. People and
animals were parched. Thirst was oppressive. The birds to slake their
thirst flew here and there looking for water. Among them was a
resourceful crow. It saw an old toddy pot with a narrow neck. It flew
down, perched its legs on the rim, looked inside and was happy to see
water in the bottom. The crow tried to drink the water by lowering its
beak into the pot in vain.
The crow was unhappy to note that the beak was not long enough to reach
the water. It was sure, barring the water in the old pot, there would be none
elsewhere. It should
somehow slake its thirst with the water in the pot. The crow looked
around and thought to itself. Beside the pot there were pebbles.
It had an epiphany. With its beak, it picked the pebble one by
one and dropped them in the pot.
As the pebbles dropped into the pot the water level rose and
reached the mouth of the pot. It drank the water within the reach of its
beak and slaked its thirst.
There is a solution for every problem.
We should use our intellect, think and find the solution.
Resolution of the problem gives happiness.
The Salt Merchant and the failed Donkey’s Stratagem.
A salt merchant plied his trade in the town and carried his salt on the
donkey’s back. On the way, there was a river. The only access to the
town is wading across the river. As usual, the salt merchant and the
donkey waded across the river at the ford.
The donkey slipped on a slippery rock and fell into the river.
The bag of salt on its back got wet.
The merchant slowly lifted the donkey on its feet. Because the
bag of salt fell in the river, half of the salt dissolved in the river
and only half was left in the bag.
To the donkey the burden lessoned and it felt happy. It did not even
feel the burden. It felt light. It was a great loss for the merchant and
he returned home with the donkey. Next
day, the merchant loaded the bag of salt on its back and forded the
river. The donkey remembered the previous day’s event and fell into the
river, pretending to have tripped over a slippery rock. The salt bag
fell into the river and dissolved completely.
The donkey continued to slip and fall. The merchant was unhappy at his
loss. It came to him slowly the strategem of the donkey. He wanted to
teach a lesson to the donkey. Instead of loading the salt bag on its
back, he loaded a bale of cotton on its back. As
usual, the donkey
pretended to slip and fell into the river. The cotton was soaked through
and through and weighed heavy on the donkey’s back. With great
difficulty, the donkey carried the wet bale of cotton and reached the
riverbank. The donkey felt ashamed having cheated the metchant all these
days while he cared for it. It made a resolution it will be honest.
We should not cheat people who trust us and don’t trust us. If we
cheat, we will be discovered one day. It will subject us to shame,
humiliation, and punishment.
Great Greed, Great Loss
Kandasamy being poor lived in a hut with his wife. Ever since he reached
ripe old age, he could not go to work and had to sell his belongings for
food. Soon, they had no
belongings to sell and buy food.
He supplicated to God saying, “O God, why did you create us to
live in want of food. There
is no other way than die of hunger.” God having mercy on him appeared
before him to alleviate his needs and gave him a duck, which would lay a
golden egg daily, which he could sell to make ends meet and live
happily. The duck laid a golden egg daily. He sold it to pay for his
daily needs.
One day, his wife said to him, “This duck lays one golden egg once a day. How
could we ever become superrich? If we take all the golden eggs from its
belly and sell them, we could become very rich overnight. The suggestion
appeared reasonable and appealed to Kandasamy. He caught hold of the duck, killed it
and cut open its stomach to retrieve the eggs.
There were no eggs.
He found only its entrails as in other ducks and was disappointed.
Since the golden-egg laying duck died at his hands, he was again
afflicted with penury. Their great greed earned them indigence. Agonized
over their dire poverty, they died of starvation. If desire exceeds its
limits and your needs, that is extreme greed, which yields great loss.
Compliance helps grow Cooperation and prevents Loss.
Two cats in a house were friends.
They for lack of cooperation were fighting with each other. One
day, they had a pancake and disputed over equal sharing. They took the
pancake outside the house seeking someone to cut the pancake into two
equal parts. They saw a monkey, whom they asked to cut it into two
parts. The monkey brought a weighing scale with two plates, cut the
pancake into two pieces and put each half on each plate. One plate
pivoted to one side. The monkey knowing it is heavier than its fellow,
bit a piece out of the heavier one and placed it back on the plate.
Then, the other half was heavier and the monkey took a bite out of it
and placed it back on the plate.
In like manner, the monkey took a bite out of the pancake and ate from
each plate multiple times.
The cats seeing the size of the pancake halves getting smaller asked the
monkey not to proceed any further with cutting the pancake into equal
halves and give the rest back to them.
But the monkey ate what was left of the two halves, saying the
leftover bits of pancake were his labor charges. Were the cats
accommodating and cooperative, both could have eaten the pancake.
Because of lack of cooperation, they sustained a loss.
If we show a loving sense of give and take, we could prosper by
not losing what we already have.
Don’t Deride the Small.
Small and Fast Beats Strong and Fast .
Don’t deride the small. He
is superior by other measures. This is an apologue to teach us that
lesson.
A lion was a resident of a forest and terrorized all other animals by
its strength, appearance, roar... Because of fear of the lion, no one
went near it. They scooted
at the sight of the lion.
But the lowly fearless fly landed on its back.
Knowing the fly sitting on its back, it roared with anger and
said, “I will bite you with my teeth and macerate you. I will scratch
you with my nails, squash and reduce you to ashes.”
The fly retorted boldly to the lion and said, “You may be strong and
other animals fear you. I am not afraid of you. To emphasize this
further, I will make you to bite yourself and scratch yourself deeply
into your flesh. Hearing this boastful irreverence from the lowly fly,
the lion challenged the fly, “Go ahead and make my day.” The fly sat on
the back of the lion. To
chase it from its back, the lion tried to bite it with its teeth.
The lowly fly took off in a trice and the lion bit itself on the
back with its teeth. The
fly sat smack on the lion’s face and to swat the fly with the nails of
its paw in its anger, it scratched itself on the face. In like manner
the fly excoriated the lion multiple times and flew off.
The mighty lion could not catch or squash the fly. Therefore, the lion
was ashamed of his inability to kill the fly.
Then only, the lion understood the concept though it had a strong body, a fly could torment it to no end. No one should be scorned
or judged because of one’s small size.
Tiruvalluvar explains this in his verse, 667.
குறள் 667:
உருவுகண்டு எள்ளாமை வேண்டும் உருள்பெருந்தேர்க்கு
அச்சாணி அன்னார் உடைத்து.
Tirukkural Verse 667
Seeing the size, ridicule not.
The Temple Chariot rolls
Because of the linchpin though small, one should realize.
Meaning:
Though the form is small, ridicule and derision should not be levelled
against him. A big Temple Chariot’s smooth run is because of its small
linchpin.
Attention to the Task at hand is a must.
A village lass made a living selling cow’s milk. She milked the cow,
poured it into a pot, and carried the pot on her head for selling it in the village. She was unhappy at her predicament, while other
girls of her age walked
jauntily wearing nice
clothes and led a carefree life. One day, she was making her customary
rounds with the milk pot on her head, she imagined how she could improve
her lifestyle. I will buy a few chickens with the money earned today selling milk. When they grow big, I will sell them and with that money, I will buy two baby goats. Once they grow up, I will sell them and with that money, I will buy a dairy cow. With that, I will set up a cow farm and hire cowherds to milk the cows.
As the income grows, I will buy and wear clothes and jewels and walk
stylishly like this, so other girls will watch me with wonder.
Thinking like that, she forgot the milk pot on her head and
walked jauntily in high style swinging both hands.
What a pity! With her brisk walk in style, the pot on the head tipped
spilling milk, fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
That day’s earnings were not realized and she had to buy a new
pot. She then realized she should not plan next venture before the
present venture was complete.
When engaged in an endeavour, pay your undivided attention to the
present task at hand (here on the head). Other intervening thoughts bring loss.
Pay attention to the work on hand; otherwise, there is a big
loss.
Don’t Dare to give Advice to a Scamp
The forest had a heavy downpour.
A drenched monkey stood near the trunk of a tree shivering. On
that tree a bird spread its wings in the nest protecting the fledglings.
The bird seeing the shivering monkey felt compassionate. The
bird addressed the monkey, “My dear monkey, look at me. I built a nest
to protect my fledglings and myself from the sun, rain and wind. That is
why we are happy though it is raining hard. You could have built a safe
living quarters for yourself. Is it not true you would have stayed
dry, if you had a shelter?” The advice inflamed the monkey which was
seething with anger. The monkey spoke its mind, “I am strong. And you
are giving me advice.”
The
monkey
in anger told the bird, “See what I can do to your nest, you and your
chicks.” It went up the
tree, pulled the nest to pieces and threw them on the forest floor.
Then only the bird realized that advice can be given to those who
will follow it. The bird
was heartbroken thinking giving good advice to a rogue, and losing
a good nest, it was stranded on the wet forest floor with its
unprotected chicks. We should dispense advice only after we know for
sure the interlocutor will accept our advice.
Deceit’s reward is one’s own deceit.
A fox was a resident in the forest.
Its life hobby was to deceive others and enjoy seeing them twist
in the wind (their predicament).
The fox met a crane and invited it for a dinner in its lair.
The crane trusting the fox as a newfound friend went to the fox’s
house. The fox served gruel
to the crane on a plate. The crane could not eat from a flat plate. It
could eat from a
widemouthed jar by
putting its long neck and bill into the pot and suck the food.
The crane invited the fox for lunch.
The hospitable crane brought gruel in a narrow-mouthed jar.
The fox could not lap up the gruel with its tongue.
Seeing the frustrated fox, the crane said, “My dear fox, as you
were unable to lap up the gruel from a deep pot, I was unable to suck up the
gruel from a flat plate.
You laughed at my inability knowing I could not do it. I served you
gruel in a jar just to teach you a lesson.” The crane made amends to the
fox by
bringing the gruel on a plate.
The crane did the right thing to the deceiving fox. The fox expressed
its regret and ate the gruel.
Since then, the fox deceived no one. Instead of taking comfort
and pleasure at some one’s misery, we should offer help (that which is
possible) to others. Love, Victory or Wealth: Which is greater?
Kumaran lived in a village with his parents. Three elderly people came
to his house and asked whether they can gain entry into his house.
The father said, “You may come in.”
Though we are three, only one of us can come into the house. “My name
is Money. His name is Victory. The third one is Love. Mr.
Money told the father, you may invite only one of us and not all
of us. Kumaran’s father
said, “Let us invite Mr. Victory. We will get victory in all of our endeavors.
Love said, “If you invited Money or Victory, the other two would have
stayed out. Since you
invited me (Love), Money and Victory coexist with me (Love). That is why
both came inside.”
If Loving soul exists, Victory and needed conveniences will come on
their own accord. Love is
Sivam...Sivam is Love. Love is essential.
Valluvar explains:
குறள் 80:
அன்பின் வழியது
உயிர்நிலை அஃதிலார்க்கு
என்புதோல்
போர்த்த உடம்பு.
Tirukkural
Verse 80
The path of soul is love. For those lacking love, the body is skeleton
wrapped in skin. Krishnaraj
The living body is love in the path of the soul. If love is lacking,
that body is mere skeleton wrapped in skin. Loving mind is synonym for
man.
Astute & Tactful Dog Escapes
with Life
Dog, Cheetah and Monkey:
A feral dog was wandering in the forest and noticed a cheetah coming
towards it at a fast pace. The dog smelled something was amiss. The cheetah’s
intent was to catch, kill and dine on
the dog. The dog’s worry
was to escape from the cheetah in one piece.
Running was of no use. The cheetah outruns the dog.
The feral dog had to think on its feet. The dog noticed bones
nearby and that gave the dog an idea. Turning his back to the cheetah,
the dog pretended to eat by biting on the bones.
When the cheetah was near the dog ready to pounce, the dog said
in a loud voice, “The cheetah, I just finished eating, was very delicious.
I should look nearby for any other cheetah.” Hearing the dog, the
cheetah came to an abrupt stop, and standstill like a statue. This feral dog kills and
eats cheetah! So, it must be of immense strength. Cheetah thought it
must escape from the dog. It backed up and disappeared into the bush.
A monkey sitting on the tree noticed what was happening below. The monkey
wanted to share the knowledge with the cheetah and as a return bargain
for its own safety.
The monkey followed the cheetah at a fast pace. The dog noticed the
monkey. The dog understood there was a conspiracy in progress. The
monkey told the cheetah how the feral dog cheated it, which made the
cheetah very angry and impatient.
The cheetah thought , “This feral dog thought he cheated me. I will
teach it an unforgettable lesson.”
Cheetah told the monkey, “In this jungle, I will show who kills and
eats. Hey, monkey, hop on my back and both of us will catch that
wretched yellow dog.”
The monkey happily jumped on the back of the cheetah.
Both followed the scent of the dog. The feral dog saw both coming
towards it. The feral dog
thought the monkey got it in trouble with the cheetah. Though it thought
in those lines, it did not take to its heels. The cheetah and the monkey
pretended not to notice the feral dog, which sat down with its back to
the cheetah and the back-riding monkey. It said in a loud voice, “That mischievous
monkey got lost somewhere. I can’t trust it.
Half-hour ago, I told the monkey to bring me a cheetah for my
dinner. The monkey is
nowhere to be seen.”
Hearing the feral dog, the cheetah showed anger to the monkey, which the
cheetah killed and ate. Justice: Life throws at you many problems.
Dangers come your way. We can win over them head on.
The Crow and the Queen’s Necklace
A crow built a nest on a tree in the forest. The crow got married and
the pair lived in the nest. After several days, the female crow laid
five eggs. The father seeing the five eggs was happy to become the
father of five children. The female crow incubated the eggs, while the
male went out seeking food.
A fox was also a resident of the forest.
The crows and the fox were fast friends. One day, the male crow
saw on its foraging flight a group of hunters entering the forest.
Immediately the crow went to the habitat of the fox, warned it of the
human hunters coming into the forest and advised the fox to hide from the
sight of the hunters. He informed the fox of its imminent five egg-born newborn
children. The fox asked the
crow to hold a party for it, which the crow promised for that night. The
fox family thanked the crow and went into hiding.
The male crow came back to the nest with its prey. The female was
crying. The male crow asked why it was crying.
The mother bird said the snake drank all the eggs and sobbed
inconsolably. The male crow sought advice and a plan from the fox to kill
the snake. The fox had the thought to help the crows.
The next day when the fox was out, it observed the Maharani with
her companions and guards went to the river for bathing. The Maharani
left the jewels on the riverbank before bathing in the river.
Observing the jewels, an idea dawned on the fox. The plan was when
Maharani went to river for bathing, leaving the jewels on the riverbank,
the crow should swoop down, pick up the jewel and drop it in the snake's
mound. The guards will kill the snake and retrieve the jewel. The fox
told the crow of its plan.
Next day the fox and the crow were waiting near the riverbank for the
queen to come to the river for bathing. The queen as usual removed her jewels, put them on the riverbank and went for bathing. Seeing this, the crow realized the opportune moment, swooped down, picked up the necklace and deposited it on the snake mound. The guards tried to retrieve the necklace but the snake came out hissing. Immediately the guards beat it with sticks, killed it and recovered the necklace. The crow lived in peace and quiet. Because the crow saved the fox and its family from danger, the fox saved the crow so it can raise a family safely in the future.
The King Takes a Lesson from a Spider.
The defeated king, to save his own life, ran to hide himself from the enemies. He, though brave, could not win the war because he had a small army. The enemy won the war because of his large army. The victor ordered his men to kill the defeated king, who ran away to a forest and hid in a cave. He was unhappy at his lot. He was fatigued. He lost his pluck and plume. One day he was sleeping in the cave with laziness. A spider was
his
co-resident in the cave. The scurrying of the small spider attracted his
attention. It was trying hard to spin and attach the web at a corner. As
the spider walked on the wall, it lost its step, the thread broke and it
fell on the floor. It happened
multiple times. It did not
give up and tried multiple times. Eventually,
at the last try, it succeeded. The
king watching the spider thought, "This small spider sustaining so many
losses did not give up. Why should I give up my task? I am the king. I
must try once again.”
He decided to fight his enemy. He left his cave, walked out of the
forest and met his trusted minion. He
assembled the heros of his country and formed a formidable army. He
fought against his enemy heroically and won the war and his country back
from the enemy. He never forgot the spider which gave him an important
lesson on perseverance.
Honesty guarantees Loftiness.
In a town, there lived honest Raman and
niggardly
Soman, the rich man The
latter was a wicked man, greedy after money. He never paid wages
commensurate with the work done by his employees.
Once Soman sold his farm coconuts, made Rs.
10,000, passed through the forest on the way home and lost the satchel
of money. Upon reaching home he realized he lost the money and asked the
driver if he knew about the loss.
His wife suggested to offer a
reward to the finder of the lost largess.
She was confident someone will turn in the satchel.
The husband thought it was an excellent suggestion and next day made it
known in the town
square
with drumbeats.
The townspeople thought they could receive the reward by finding the
moneybag. No one found the satchel.
A week later, Bhupalan from another town came to
this
town.
He was an honest soul, though poor.
He lived with dignity and forthrightness.
He tried to help others as much as he could.
He could not continue farming because the
farm
well went dry. Since he did not have
enough
money and work experience, he went to the next town to do odd jobs.
With the money earned he wanted to start a business. On the path in the
forest, there was an Amman temple, where he offered his worship. He saw
an injured dove on his path.
He felt compassionate, carried it to the lake, offered water and put it
on a tree branch.
After
the
rescue of the bird, he resumed his journey and felt something caught his
leg. He saw a satchel full of
local
currency. He felt sorry for the poor soul
who lost his moneybag. He felt that the man must be in agony for loss
of
the money. He hurried out of there to find the man who lost the satchel.
He made enquiries about the man who lost the bag. He found out
from a shopkeeper
Soman was the loser, who would give him a reward.
Bhupalan went in search of
Soman
and handed over his satchel,
whose happiness knew no bounds. His niggardliness came to the surface
and he wanted to send Bhupalan without his reward.
He counted the cash which amounted to Rs.
10,000 in the satchel.
Now he had to give the reward but wanted to
ignore
his
promise and
obligation by
cooking up a story. Soman the niggard told honest Bhupalan, "Are you
trying to cheat me? I had a diamond ring in my satchel. I don't see it.
Better hand it over.
Otherwise I will take you to task."
Bhupalan did not understand Soman‘s
claim.
He wondered whether the diamond ring got lost.
He said to himself, " I did not take it.
I better get off the hook and not claim my reward."
Soman created an ugly scene and yelled.
Bhupalan’s
first contact was a shopkeeper, who brought the townspeople to Soman to
see how the miserly Soman would reward Bhupalan.
The assembled people saw Bhupalan standing there as if he was a thief
and decided not to let go Soman scot-free.
They brought Soman and Bhupalan before Mariyadai Raman.
They narrated the story of Soman’s
claim of the satchel with Rs.10,000
and a diamond ring and Bhupalan’s
discovery of the satchel.
Mariyadai Raman
and
the townspeople knew
of
the drumbeat
public announcement
about Soman’s
loss of the money with no mention about the diamond ring. Mariyadai
Raman wanted to dispense fair
justice to the niggardly and evil Soman and honest Bhupalan.
He said, Soman claimed,
his satchel had the money and the diamond ring. This
satchel had only the money and not the ring.
Soman’s
drumbeat announcement claimed only the money and not the diamond ring.
Mariyadai Raman pronounced the judgement, "Since Soman’s
earlier announcement did not claim the diamond ring, the bag brought by
Bhupalan does not belong to Soman,
but to someone else and
no one claimed the satchel with money alone and therefore the finder
(Bhupalan)
is the keeper."
He continued, "Soman can keep the money
and the ring,
when the
satchel is
discovered and brought in.
Soman himself will make the reward.
The
assembly
is
now dissolved."
Bhupalan gave ten percent of the money to Amman Temple, returned to his
town and prospered in his vocation.
Reward for Patience and Good Conduct.
There was drought and famine because of no rain for a few years. People suffered from lack of food and water.
They went to a local rich man and begged him, “Ayyā (Respected
sir), we as grownups will put up with hunger.
Please help the children.” The
compassionate man said, “No children will go hungery in this
town. I will arrange for a ball of rice for each child.
The children can come to my
house to take the rice balls.”
Returning to his palatial house, he called the minions and told
them, “Take a census of all the children in this town. Each child gets
one ball of rice, neither more nor less. From tomorrow, keep the exact
number of rice balls in the basket and stay in front of the house.
Next day, the worker came out with a basket of rice balls.
The boys and girls encircled
him. The worker put the basket before them. The children jostled to pick
the biggest rice ball. One girl remained calm and stayed out of the
melee. After all the children finished taking their share, she was happy
taking the last and the smallest rice ball. This continued for four
days. The rich man was watching the melee, the excitement and the
pickings by the children. The fifth day was the repetition of bygone
days. The girl took the smallest rice ball to her mother, who broke the
ball and saw a gold coin drop out.
The girl came to the palatial home of the rich man with the gold coin,
“Ayyā, this is your gold coin. It
was inside the rice ball. Please
take possession of it.” He said,
“My girl, what is your name?” The girl said her name was Krusāmbāl. He
told her, “My dear girl, this is a gift for your patience and good
conduct. This gold coin is yours to keep and take home.” She ran home with
a skip and a jump to her mother and told her what transpired between the
rich man and her.
If we are patient and virtuous, we will get gifts from the elders.
Don’t Babble ‘Ayyō’ while Facing Danger.
A woodcutter sat on the distal end and cut the branch of a living tree
at the proximal side of the tree branch. Umādeviyar
thinking he must be an idiot told Sivaperuman, “Is he not going to die
from a fall.” He said, “I see. If he calls you, you hurry up and help him.
If he calls me I will rush to
help him.” Parvati and Siva were
watching intently the idiot woodcutter as he was cutting the branch. The
branch broke and fell. Down went
the woodcutter, shouting, “Ayyō,” and died.
Umādeviyar told Siva he was dead
from the fall. Siva told her, “The woodcutter called Ayyō, the wife of
Yama (god of death) as he fell. Ayyō responded to his call and took his
life away.”
That is why no one should say, “Ayyō.” This story illustrates that
dictum.
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Madamundu forest was chock-full of animals. There were several
troops of monkeys, pitched against each other. They were always fighting
for territory. Whenever a stray monkey wandered in to an unfriendly
territory belonging to another troop, the warrior monkeys will jump on
him and chase him out of fruiting trees. They had no defense against the
fruit bats, birds, squirrels…. The latter swooped in, took the fruits,
flew or run off. It was frustrating for the fighter monkeys to defend
their territory against flying birds and fast-moving critters.![]() There were bears too in the forest, which were adept in climbing the tree, eat the fruits and enjoy the honey from the beehives. The only thing the monkeys could do was to screech, scream, squirm and show their teeth. All that bravado did not bother the bears. The tigers had no enemies other than humans. When the flies bothered them too much in the bush, they climbed up the tree and took a siesta up on the sturdy branches. The monkeys had no control over the tigers. They went where they wanted. If the monkeys were too aggressive, the tigers ate them. The stragglers from the enemy troop were mauled, bruised, lacerated and bloodied. Under these conditions, the troops lived apart in an uneasy peace. Some stragglers moved out of the forest into nearby villages and towns to live on scraps. Some were adventurous in raiding and foraging peanut farms, with mounds of harvested peanuts waiting for transportation. Their favorite places were the plantain farms, where they stole the bananas egregiously right from the hands of the farm workers. They knew their yellows and greens. They went for the yellow bananas. Mango farms were no exception. A troop goes into the mango farms at harvest time, when the fruits were about half or fully ripe. They raided the fruit-processing plants, where the fruits were skinned, cut and packed for domestic use or for export. They jump on the heads of the workers irrespective of their gender, grab the skinned ripe mango slices from the moving belts, and stuff their pouches. The workers are the devotees of Hanuman, the monkey god. They did no harm to the monkeys. The stealing and harassment became a daily occurrence and a great nuisance. The proprietor hired owners and Hanuman monkeys (Langur monkeys) to make rounds around the factory. The Hanuman monkeys and their handlers thwarted the rhesus monkeys from the factory floor. The size of the langur monkeys frightened the rhesus monkeys, which were kept them away from the plant processing floor. Naturally the fruit prices were higher. At least there was no invasion from the simians. An owner of another mango processing plant put up a razor wire perimeter, which the monkeys could not jump over to reach the floor of the processing plant. Some bold monkeys were caught in the maze of the razor wires. In their attempt to escape, they sustained lacerations, bled and died. The compatriots were screeching and making a racket, attracting the attention of the owner. The owner dismantled the razor wire perimeter fence to prevent such needless death of the monkeys. Back in the forest, an abandoned and disowned straggler was scavenging the forest floor looking for fallen fruits. He came across a snail. The monkey asked the snail, “Who are you?” The snail: “I am a snail.” The monkey: “You must be the two-neuron moron. One neuron tells you whether you are hungry. The second neuron identifies you food. The snail: “Is there a limit to your insults. You came to me. I want a favor from you. I would like to take a ride on you, while you jump from branch to branch and when you swing on your prehensile tail.” The monkey: “I see, it must be the Play-Neuron in you, besides the Hungry-Neuron and the Food-Neuron. What can you do for me in return?” The snail: “I can keep you free of the nits.” The monkey took a liking for the snail, let him ride on him and fed him fruits. Days and months went by. The snail grew to a one-pound weight splurging on the fruit. During their stay together, the snail made sure there were no nits infesting the monkey for which it was grateful to the snail. The monkey: “Mr. Snail, you are now a megaton Moron. You are getting too heavy for me. It is time for you to disembark from your perch.Thank you for being a friend. When he reached a lakeside, the monkey dropped the snail off at the lakeside. A nearby troop welcomed the estranged monkey with fruits on their hands. They went their separate ways. The monkey and the snail are unlikely friends. Everyone needs a friend when that someone is down and out. |
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Perumal's Stealth Walk Fearing an Old Sulking
Woman சுண்டல் பாட்டி = Sundal Pātti = Sundal Grandma Sundal Grandma Goes to Heaven. Veeraswamy Krishnaraj (June 8, 2020) |
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In the foothills of Tiruppathi, Māṅgāpuram
village was on the path to the Tiruppathi hills. There lived an old
woman who made a living selling Suṇdal (Hot, Spicy, flavored and cooked
Chickpeas with bits of unripe mango and small chunks of coconut). She
was a widow. She lived by herself with no money or filial support. She
had a mother lode of self-respect and dignity. She would not go begging
to make a living. She was a sulker, saying often why she took birth. In those days when there were no cars or buses, people in large droves took the jungle path to reach the Tirupati temple. They had waystations along the route for rest, refreshment and relaxation. The Suṇdal Vendor one day asked one pilgrim why they go up the hill. Hearing her simplistic question, the crowd laughed. One man of gentle nature came forward and stopped to answer her question. “My dear grandma! What kind of question is this? Have you heard of the Lord of the Seven Hills? You are the only one woman of Tirupati at the foothills who does not know of the Perumāḷ temple up on the hill. Where were you all these years? I am surprised beyond belief.” She was unfamiliar with the hill temple. “Ammā! Swamy is up on the hill. If you get Darsan of the Swamy, you will never be born again to sell Suṇdal. Govinda is his favorite name. "Go with us, pay homage to him and worship him. Call him “Govinda-Govindā.” All your sins will vanish.” She trudged up the hills, often falling behind others, mostly young in age. She reached the hilltop temple, so grand in its majesty. She witnessed and received Darsan of the Lord of Seven Hills. With a melting heart and sore legs, she addressed the Lord, “Govindā! One devotee of yours told me that if I pay homage to you, I never take another birth. I plead to you I should not have another birth. The devotees who came with her began their journey down the hill. She stayed back to give rest to her sore legs and creaky joints. Anyway, she had to sell her leftover Sunḍal. An handsome old man unsteady in his walk, and wearing rags for clothes approached her and said, “Āmmā! Your Sunḍal smells great half a block away. I just followed my nose. Here I am. Can I have some of it? She gave him the Suṇdal. He ate it eagerly smacking his lips and licking his fingers. He began walking like he owned the seven hills. The sundal must have given him the boost in his walk. She accosted him, saying, “Ayyā! Pay me for the Suṇdal, that you ate before me. The freeloader said, “Ammā! I am a debtor. I borrowed money for my wedding. I pay all my earnings toward interest payments, which are a pretty sum. I have no money on me now for your Suṇdal. Will you please take my word promissory as a guarantee? I will be here tomorrow exactly at this hour, and will pay you then. I promise. I missed not even one payment so far.” The old woman replied, “Alright, bring the money tomorrow." How would the village woman Gaṅgamma know the tricks of the Lord of the Seven Hills? The next day, the old man did not show up as he promised. She waited and waited and mortified by his no-show promise, shuffled off her mortal coil. Paranthāmaṉ, instead of paying his debt in money, gave to the dead woman the heavenly abode, Vaikuntam. Is he not the one who took human birth as Srinivasan and dawned on earth? He did not keep his promise to give the owed money to the old woman. Poor woman, she died not knowing her unpaid Sunḍal to the Lord of the Universe earned her an applause for the spicy morsel from the old man in rags and a place in Vaikuntam. Because of his failure to pay back the debt, he goes like a sneak and a slouch in a hiding stance without the beating of the drums, clanging of the cymbals and the sonic booms of Nadasvaram at the festival during his procession, fearing the old woman. The tradition is that all the story readers of this episode live a long life, will reach Vaikuntam and will not take rebirth in this world (of misery and deprivation). Have some Sunḍal and be happy. God is Love. Love is God. His ways are mysterious. All your woes will vanish, if you have trust in him. |
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