The Hanuman Chalisa is a devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman, attributed to the 16th-century poet-saint Goswami Tulsidas. Composed during the Bhakti movement, the text remains one of the most widely recited liturgical works in India, particularly during the festival of Hanuman Jayanti, which falls today, on the full moon of the Hindu month of Chaitra. 

Influence of the Bhakti Movement

Tulsidas is primarily known for the Ramcharitmanas, but his shorter works, including the Chalisa, played a significant role in making devotion accessible to the public. He resided largely in Varanasi, where he established the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple. 

A pivotal figure in the Bhakti movement, Tulsidas acted as a social reformer by bringing sacred texts from the ivory tower to the village square. His choice to compose the Hanuman Chalisa in Awadhi—a regional dialect of Hindi—was a radical departure from the formal Sanskrit of the era. This linguistic shift democratised the prayer, making it accessible to the common man regardless of social or economic class. Awadhi’s melodic softness and phonetic richness provided a rhythmic metre that was easy to understand and memorise, ensuring the hymn’s survival through centuries of oral tradition. 

Literary Architecture of the Hanuman Chalisa 

The word Chalisa comes from chalis, the Hindi word for forty, which refers to the forty main verses, or chaupais, that make up the body of the hymn. The prayer is built with a very specific flow, beginning with two opening couplets, known as Dohas. These initial verses ask the devotee to clear their mind and prepare to receive wisdom. After the forty main verses, the hymn concludes with a final Doha that serves as a plea for Hanuman to reside in the reciter’s heart alongside Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana. 

The content of these forty verses acts as a detailed highlight reel of Hanuman’s life, physical form, and incredible powers. Tulsidas begins by painting a vivid picture of Hanuman’s appearance: his golden complexion, his curly hair, and the iconic ear-studs (kundal) he wears. He is described carrying a lightning bolt (Vajra) and a flag in his hands, symbols of his role as both a warrior and a messenger. The verses also detail his divine lineage as the son of Kesari and the Wind-God (Pavan-putra), noting that his intelligence and courage are unmatched. 

As the hymn progresses, it takes the reader through Hanuman’s most famous adventures. It recounts his childhood leap toward the sun, which he mistook for a ripe fruit, and his instrumental role in the Ramayana. Tulsidas describes how Hanuman assumed a tiny form to enter Lanka and a massive, terrifying form to burn the city. It also highlights the moment he carried the entire Dronagiri mountain to deliver the Mritasanjeevani herb, saving Lakshmana’s life. Through these detailed stories, the text explains that Hanuman is the “Dispeller of Obstacles” (Sankat Mochan) because he possesses the eight Siddhis (supernatural powers) and nine Nidhis (treasures), all of which he uses to serve Lord Rama. 

A Source of Strength and Calm 

Beyond its religious importance, the Hanuman Chalisa is believed to be a powerful tool for mental peace. The steady, rhythmic chanting is known to create a sense of calm and focused energy, dispelling anxiety and fear. For many people, these verses are a “cultural anchor” to hold onto during difficult times. It is often the very first prayer that children learn, acting as a foundational hymn that helps build a sense of courage and devotion that lasts a lifetime. 

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A long long time ago, a man named Nandu and his daughter Narayani, lived in the town of Rajgir in the district of Nalanda, Bihar. He made a living by working as a labourer on wealthy landowners’ fields and rearing pigs. Narayani helped her father by taking care of the pigs.  

 Every day Narayani would take the pigs to a pond near her home, where they would wallow. One day she saw a young man walking past the pond in a hurry. Narayani stopped the man and asked him, “Where are you going in such a hurry, sir?” 

 The man stopped and replied, “I have to reach the Ganga by the full moon. It is an auspicious day, and I must take a dip in the river.” 

 She told him that the river was too far away for him to reach there in time. Instead, she asked him to trust her and do as she said.  

 She pointed to the pond her pigs were wallowing in and said, “I need you to have faith in your heart and take a dip in this pond. I will bring on the auspicious moment of the full moon, and you will be rewarded.” 

 The man followed her advice and took a dip in the pool. To his surprise, he found precious jewels under the water and brought them out with him.  

 Narayani asked him to take another dip, and the man agreed, thinking he could pick more jewels. Instead, he only found mud at the bottom. He came above and asked her why he could not find anything this time. She replied, “The result is equal to the faith you have in your heart and your confidence in me.” 

 The man asked Narayani to marry him as he was taken by her wisdom. She replied to his proposal by saying that she would only marry him if her father agreed to the match.  

 The man went to her father and asked him for permission to marry his daughter. Nandu was hesitant to give his approval. He told the man they were poor and could not afford a grand wedding. The man said that he was not concerned with all that and he was only interested in Narayani, whose wisdom had impressed him. On listening to what the man had to say, Nandu agreed to their wedding.  

 After the wedding, Narayani told her husband that in reply to her father’s question about what wedding gift he wanted, he should say: Suravi, Varahi, and Shaurya. He did as she told him without question and found out that Suravi, Varavi, and Shaurya were a cow, a pig, and a parrot, respectively.   

 Narayani, her husband, and the animals lived happily together. However, one day, Shaurya, the parrot, told them that Indra had decided not to send rains down in all the regions, except the barren hills and valleys of Rajgir, in the next monsoon. As a result, there would be a famine. 

 The husband was surprised to see this and asked the parrot how he knew this. Narayani revealed to him that they were no ordinary animals. The parrot had access to King Indra’s court and would visit it every day, bringing news to his mistress. Varahi was the leader of the pigs, while Suravi was the auspicious cow that yields plenty.  

 Narayani proceeded to assign tasks to the animals to counter Indra’s decision. She asked Varahi to gather her herd and dig up the barren hillside and valleys and asked Suravi to manure the fields. She then asked her husband to sow paddy in the area dug by Varahi. Everyone followed her instructions, and by the harvest season, they had an abundant harvest which they decided to share with the rest of the village during the famine. 

 When Indra came to know, he was enraged. In return, he decided to send rats to destroy the crops. Shaurya overheard this and relayed the message to Narayani. Her husband arranged for a clutter of cats to guard the crops and foiled Indra’s plan once again.   

 Indra was furious and decided to teach Narayani a lesson. He declared he would send a storm when they stored the crops on the threshing floor. The grains would get washed away, and there would be a famine as he had originally planned. Shaurya came down and relayed this information to Narayani. She asked her husband to dig a moat around the foot of the hills. Her husband did as she said and completed the ditch, along with other men from the village.  

 When Indra sent the storm, the water collected in the moat instead of flooding the area, so the paddy did not wash off and remained safe. The entire village shared this harvest and Narayani and her family saved everyone from the famine.  

 This is the legend of Narayani that people in Bihar and its surrounding areas have passed down to date. A moat similar to the one in the story presently exists in the district of Rajgir. Locals attribute its existence to Narayani. They also believe that Bawan Ganga, or 52 Gangas, is the same pond where her pigs used to wallow and where she met her husband.  

Read more folktales from around India in our title ‘Buying A Song and Other Stories’.

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In a small village, there lived a poor Brahmin called Manduka. He had been named Manduka, meaning ‘frog’, because since he was a small child, his father often told him that he was as dull as a frog in the well.  Now grown up, Manduka observed that nobody in the village took notice of him. One day, when he was passing by a merchant’s house and noticed that a wedding was taking place. Disappointed that he had not received an invitation to the wedding, he thought to himself,  

“I wish I could do something which would make everyone sit up and take notice of me.” 

Suddenly, he had an idea. He went to the stable and quietly led away the horse on which the bridegroom had come. He then took the horse to a secret place near a stream, without anyone seeing him. The next morning, the merchant was informed by his servant about the missing horse. The merchant panicked and ordered his servants to start a search. After some time, a servant came running to the merchant and told him that a woman was waiting for him outside. He also added that the woman claimed to be married to an astrologer, who could help find the horse. The merchant immediately ordered his servants to bring the astrologer to him. 

Soon, Manduka, dressed as an astrologer, met the merchant in his house. He told the merchant that he would find the horse near the stream. To his surprise, the merchant found the horse exactly at the place Manduka had mentioned. Impressed, he rewarded Manduka handsomely for his help. After this incident, Manduka’s reputation as a credible astrologer grew and people began to take notice of him and respect him. 

One day, Manduka received a summon from the king. At the palace, the king told him that his queen’s necklace has been stolen and asked Manduka to find it using his astrological talents. Manduka was terrified. He was worried that the king would discover that he was not a real astrologer. 

In his despair, Manduka blamed his tongue for all his troubles, while he was in his palace chamber. He said – 

“What have you done, Jihvah (Tongue)? Why did you do it?” 

What he did not know was that the maid, named Jihvah, who had stolen the queen’s necklace, was watching him. She was shocked to hear Manduka’s words and thought that he had found out about her being a thief. She immediately went to him and confessed that she had stolen the necklace in a moment of weakness. She begged for mercy and requested him not to reveal her theft to the king. Manduka was surprised at the turn of events. He kept a calm face and told the maid that he would not reveal her name to the king if she told him about the whereabouts of the necklace. 

The next day, Manduka took the king to the palace garden and told him that the necklace was buried under a tree. Indeed, the king found the necklace under a tree Manduka had shown him. However, to the king’s surprise, Manduka refused to reveal the thief’s identity. The king’s minister became suspicious of Manduka’s intentions and told the king that Manduka might have found the necklace in the palace and hid it under the tree to gain praise from the king. After listening to his minister, the king decided to set one more test for Manduka to prove his worth.  

Accordingly, Manduka was summoned by the king once again. This time, the king placed a closed jar in front of him and asked him to identify what was inside. Manduka worried that the king would put him to death if he told him that he was not an astrologer. In his despair, he loudly said to himself –  

“O Manduka (Frog)! You were better off in the well” 

Much to Manduka’s surprise, the king praised him and revealed that there was indeed a frog hidden in the jar. The king rewarded Manduka handsomely and he went back home to a hero’s welcome. 

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One day, while roaming the forest in search of food, a jackal saw a troop of rats, who were led by their king, a bandicoot. The clever jackal realised that it would be useless to attack them as he would be able to catch only one of them before the rest ran away. He then hatched a plan and followed the rats to their hole. 

The jackal waited for all the rats to go in and then stood outside, on one leg, his mouth open and his face turned towards the sun. This strange pose piqued the curiosity of the rats and some of them came out, with their king, the bandicoot, to find out more.  

The bandicoot asked the jackal –  

“Why are you standing on one leg?” 

“If I stood on all four, the earth would not be able to bear my weight’, the jackal replied. 

When asked about why his mouth was open and his face turned upwards, the jackal told the rats that he was taking only air as his food and that he was facing the sun to worship him. The bandicoot and the other rats were impressed by the jackal’s answers and hailed him as a saint. The jackal was thrilled when he found out that his plan was working. 

The next day, the jackal stood in the same position when the rats arrived to worship him.  After some time, the rats started to leave. This was the chance he was waiting for! Without attracting any attention, he quickly swiped up the last rat in the line and gobbled him up.  

This went on for many days. The jackal continued to eat one rat every day without anyone noticing. One morning however, the bandicoot noticed that the jackal had gained weight, even though he had been taking only air as his food for many days. Later, a few rats also pointed out to him that the number of rats in their hole had reduced.  The bandicoot immediately suspected the jackal’s hand behind these strange events and decided to confirm his suspicions. 

That evening, as the rats set out to meet the jackal, the bandicoot said- 

“Today, all of you go ahead. I will come out last”. 

As usual, the rats worshipped the jackal and started to leave. The bandicoot, who was last in line, was prepared, as he expected the jackal to pounce on him.

The moment the jackal sprang, the bandicoot moved. The jackal fell down. Without wasting a moment, the bandicoot dug his teeth into the jackal’s throat and killed him. That evening, the happy rats had a grand feast of the sly jackal’s body!  

Read more moral stories in our collection Wit and Wisdom, now available on the ACK Comics app, ACK store, Kindle, Flipkart and more. 

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On the banks of a river, in a beautiful jungle, there once lived a crocodile couple. Across the river, on the other bank, there also lived a monkey. The monkey would live high up in the trees and feast on the fruits and berries there. He was fast as well as smart and so, was very hard to catch. However, the female crocodile had her heart set on tasting the heart of the monkey. She would often ask her husband to trick the monkey and bring her his delicious heart somehow.  

The male crocodile thought hard. He knew that catching the monkey would be difficult, but he did not want to disappoint his wife either. Soon, he had an idea.  

The crocodile went up to the monkey, who was busy eating tasty fruits. He called out to the monkey and said, “Dear Monkey, don’t you get bored eating these same fruits every day? I know a tree across the river which is full of juicy, colourful fruits! Don’t you want to try them too?” The monkey was eager to try the fruits, but he replied, “I can’t swim across the river. The strong currents will drown me. How will I taste the fruits then?”  

This was exactly what the wily crocodile wanted. He said at once, “That’s all? Don’t worry, dear Monkey, I’ll take you across on my back. After all, this is what are friends are for!” The monkey happily agreed and hopped onto the crocodile’s back.  

As soon as the crocodile reached the middle of the river, he started to sink lower. The worried monkey asked the crocodile what he was doing. The crocodile then revealed his plan. He told the monkey about his wife’s wish to eat his heart.  

Scared, but thinking fast, the monkey began to laugh loudly. The crocodile was confused. He asked the monkey why he was laughing, to which the monkey said, “Your wife wants my heart but she’ll never get it even if you kill me!” 

“Why is that?”, asked the crocodile. 

“Well, as you know, monkeys are very smart. So, we hide our hearts high up in trees, where they are safe. If you take me to my tree, I’ll prove it to you. In fact, I’ll happily give you my heart.” 

The crocodile was surprised. 

“Really?!” he exclaimed. Pat came the reply, “Of course, that’s what friends are for!” Satisfied, the crocodile quickly swam back to the bank. He let the monkey get off his back in order to fetch the heart.  

Once he was safely on land, the monkey quickly scampered up the tallest tree. From up there, he shouted out to the crocodile, “You silly crocodile! If I removed my heart from my body, wouldn’t I die? Go away now and tell your wife she won’t be having monkey heart anytime soon! Hahaha!” 

Read more Monkey Stories on the ACK Comics app. 

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One particularly hot summer, all the lakes and rivers in a forest dried up. A herd of elephants living in the forest knew that they must find a source of fresh water, otherwise they would suffer from extreme thirst. Soon, after searching far and wide, one of the elephants found a huge lake full of fresh, clear water. Overjoyed, all the elephants, led by their kind and wise king, marched towards the lake.

A colony of mice had also made their home near the lake. When the thirsty elephants came marching towards the water, they trampled everything in their path. A lot of mice came under their heavy feet and lost their lives. That evening, the mice that had managed to survive, gathered to find a solution to this problem. The mice decided to speak to the king of the elephants and request him to not use the path on which their colony was settled.

The next day, a small group of mice approached the king and told him of their worries. The king of the elephants was kind and compassionate. He immediately assured the mice that he would lead his herd through some other route and ensure that the mice were not harmed. The mice were relieved and grateful and in turn, they promised to help out the elephants whenever they were in need. The king smiled, convinced that these tiny mice could never help a majestic elephant, like him.

The elephants and the mice settled into their lives by the lake. However, soon a problem arose. One day when some elephants entered the lake to wash themselves in the cool water, they found that their feet were trapped in thick ropes and that they could not come out, no matter how hard they tried! They realised that they had walked into a trap set by poachers, who wanted to capture them for their ivory tusks. In the evening, a group of poachers arrived and pulled the ropes and the elephants out of the water. They then tied the elephants to the nearby tree and left to make some arrangements.

The captured elephants were worried. They could find no way to free themselves, and even the king was out of ideas. Then, he suddenly remembered his mice friends. When one of the free elephants came to visit him later in the night, the king told him to go to the mice colony and ask for help.

Soon, the escaped elephant returned with the mice, who were distressed seeing their elephant friends in trouble. They got to work immediately and chewed through the thick ropes that the poachers had used.

Within a few hours, the ropes gave way and the elephants were free once again! The king elephant thanked the mice for their help and realised how he had underestimated the mice due to their small size. From then on, both the elephants and the mice remained friends and kind neighbours to one another.

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One day in the forest, a tiger, enjoying his meal, got a bone stuck in his jaw. He couldn’t get it out no matter how hard he tried. The tiger was distressed. He thought,

“I will not be able to eat anything unless I get this bone out.”

Days passed. The tiger became weaker and weaker due to starvation. A  woodpecker living on a nearby tree approached him and asked why he was lying with his mouth open. In response, the tiger pointed out the bone in his mouth. Understanding the tiger’s problem, the woodpecker decided to make a deal with him. The woodpecker told the tiger that he would remove the bone if the latter promised to give the former a share in the flesh of animals he kills. The tiger agreed immediately and the woodpecker removed the bone from his mouth.

 Relieved from the discomfort, the hungry tiger happily went hunting. A few hours later, he returned with his prey and started devouring it. The woodpecker saw this and asked for his share, as per the deal. 

The tiger laughed at him and said,

“You know I am a wild animal. I could have easily eaten you when you entered my mouth. I didn’t and so you should be grateful for that.”

The woodpecker was furious when he realized the fact that he had been used by the tiger for his own benefit. 

He waited patiently till the tiger began to doze off, after the heavy meal. The woodpecker swiftly pecked one of the eyes of the tiger, blinding him in one eye. The tiger growled in pain and asked why the woodpecker was so cruel to him. To this, the witty woodpecker replied,

“You know I have a sharp beak. I could have easily blinded both of your eyes. But I didn’t and you should be grateful for that.”

Read more animal stories in our Panchatantra and Jataka collections, now available on the ACK Comics app, Flipkart, Amazon, and other major e-tailers. 

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One day, while strolling in the jungle, Mahachaturaka- a jackal, stumbled upon a dead elephant lying in his path. He was overjoyed. The elephant was huge and could sustain the jackal for a long, long time. However, there was a problem. The elephant’s hide was very tough and the jackal did not have sharp claws or teeth needed to cut away the hide and get to the flesh. 

While Mahachaturaka was deep in thought, he saw a lion coming his way. Wanting to win his favour, the jackal approached the lion and said,

“My Lord, I am your loyal servant and have been guarding this dead elephant so that you may feast upon it.”

The lion was proud. He said,

“I only eat what I have hunted myself! However, since you are such a loyal servant, you can have this elephant for yourself.”

And so the lion walked away, leaving Mahachaturaka with the elephant. 

A few minutes passed, and the jackal once again heard footsteps coming in his direction. He spotted a tiger. He knew that the tiger was not as proud as the lion and was afraid that he would eat up the elephant. Quickly thinking of a ploy, the jackal spoke to the tiger,

“Dear Uncle Tiger, do not venture near here. This is an elephant that has been killed by a lion. He has gone for his bath and asked me to guard it for him.”

Sowing fear in the tiger’s mind, he continued,

“A tiger once ate a meal hunted by this lion and he was livid! He got so furious that he swore that he would kill any tiger that crossed his path. You should leave before the lion comes back, otherwise, your life would be in grave danger!”

The tiger was alarmed by this story and ran away in the opposite direction, leaving the dead elephant alone. 

The jackal had so far preserved his meal from other enemies, but he still could not figure out how to cut away the elephant’s hide. Just as he was fretting over his problem, he saw a leopard coming toward him. A brilliant idea flashed in his mind. At once he called out to the leopard,

“Dear Uncle Leopard, you look so thin and weak – it seems like you have not had a good meal in a long time! Here, I am guarding this dead elephant for a lion, but seeing your condition, I request you to please eat some of it.”

The leopard was hesitant.

“What if the lion comes back and sees me eating his meal? No, I’d better not take the risk,” he said.

But the jackal was cunning.

“Don’t be afraid, please start eating. I shall signal you to run away as soon as the lion returns,” he reassured the leopard.

Satisfied, the leopard started eating the dead elephant. However, as soon as he had cut the elephant’s hide with his sharp claws, the jackal shouted, “Run! I see the lion coming back! Run!” Hearing his friend’s cries, the leopard ran away as fast as possible. 

Now that he had gotten rid of his rivals and managed to tear away the elephant’s tough hide, the jackal happily feasted on his delicious meal.

Read more such fascinating animal tales in our Jataka, Panchatantra and Hitopadesha Collection. It is now available on the ACK Comics app, Kindle, Flipkart, Amazon, and other major e-tailers. 

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Prince Siddharth of the Shakya clan came to be known as Gautama Buddha after he found enlightenment. For this, he left his wife, Princess Yasodhara, his son Rahula and his father, King Suddhodana’s kingdom. Here are some stories associated with his life thereafter.

Yashas and his friends

A rich young man named Yashas listened to the Buddha at the Deer Park in Benares. The teachings were so profound that Yashas immediately became a monk (bhikku). In the evening, his father came looking for him fearing that he had been attacked by robbers or worse. On listening to the Buddha, Yashas’s father also became a monk, as did fifty-four of his other friends.

Krishna Gotami 

Krishna Gotami, a wealthy young woman, lost her one-year-old son. Overcome with grief, she came to the Buddha and asked him to bring her son back to life. He listened to her with compassion and then said that to perform this feat he needed five mustard seeds from any house where there had been no death. When she went from house to house asking for the mustard seeds, Krishna Gotami realised that suffering and death are inevitable. She became a follower of the Buddha.

 The Harvest

A wealthy Brahmin was harvesting his crop when the Buddha came with the begging bowl in his hands. The Brahmin reprimanded him for begging and told him that he should work for his food. After all, farming was hard work requiring ploughing, sowing, weeding and watering and only after that does one get to eat. The Buddha calmly replied that he too was a farmer. The Brahmin was surprised. “Then where are your bullocks, the seed and the plough?” he asked. The Buddha explained that he sows seeds of faith, his good deeds are the rain, wisdom and good action are parts of the plough, and his mind is the guiding rein. He destroys the weeds of delusion with constant awareness. Finally, he harvests the fruit of Nirvana and ends all sorrow.

The Limping Lamb

Once the Buddha was taking a walk and he saw a herd of goats and sheep. The animals were being taken to the king for a sacrifice. The Buddha affectionately picked up a lamb who was limping and accompanied the herdsman.

Just as the man in charge of the sacrifice was about to begin, the Buddha intervened and offered his life instead of the poor animals. The king was amazed at these words and asked the Buddha to speak to him and his people.

The Buddha asked the people to remember that though it is easy to take life, none among them had the ability to give life. All life is linked and it is compassion that makes it beautiful.

The king of the land decreed that none in his kingdom shall kill for sacrifice or pleasure.

The Visit Home

Gautama Buddha was preaching in Rajagaha when King Suddhodana sent nine messengers, one after the other to call him home to Kapilavastu. All the nine became monks and never returned.

When Gautama finally did come, the people of the city and his family treated him as a brother, nephew, grandson and so on. They still felt bound to the old relationship that they had with him, while he had transcended those boundaries. He performed the ‘Twin Miracle’ there for the first time.  Seeing him emit fire from half of his body and water from the other half, they realised who he had become and flocked to him to learn.   

Yasodhara

Once Gautama came to King Suddhodana’s palace, all the people there came to meet him. However, Yasodhara did not come.  The King informed the Buddha that ever since he left, Yasodhara had lived a spartan life. She ate one meal a day, shunned perfumes and ornamentation and wore the robes of an ascetic. The Buddha admired her sacrifice and patience. She entered the Order of Monks and Nuns and attained the state of an arhat.

Thus, Gautama Buddha transformed all the lives he came in touch with and continues to do so even today.

Read the life story of ‘The enlightened one’ in our title Buddha, now available on the ACK Comics App, Kindle, Amazon, Flipkart, and other major e-tailers. 

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In a tranquil village in Madhya Pradesh, on a quaint morning, Vidyawati made her way to the village well where all her friends also came to fetch water.

“La La Lalalala La Lalala Ley”

“Hello, Vidyawati. Why are you so late today?” said one of her friends.
“I stopped by to admire a beautiful singing bird on my way,” said Vidyavati. “And now I see you all humming a wonderful melody too!”

They all giggled and continued singing but Vidyawati did not sing. One of her friends asked her, “Why don’t you sing with us?”
With a sad look on her face, Vidyawati said, “I would love to but I do not know any songs. You all sing so well. Where did you all learn so many songs?”

One of the women said, “Oh! Don’t you know? You can buy them at the market.” When she winked, the others understood that it was a prank and decided to play along. “Is that so? I had no idea it was that simple!” said clueless Vidyawati.

On her way home, she started daydreaming of the morning she would sing with her friends. As soon as she reached home, she called out to her husband, Kantilal, “Dear husband, please get me a song from the market.”

Kantilal was confused; he had never seen any songs being sold in the market! However, Vidyawati insisted. “My friends told me. Please, could you just get me one song from the market? I would love to sing with them.”

Kantilal was a loving husband. He saw how excited his wife was and decided to give it a try, “Okay. I will go and look for a song.”

At the market, he went from shop to shop to find out where the songs were being sold. The innocent couple were pranked by many. When Kantilal asked one of the shopkeepers, he said, “Ah! Songs. Yes, we do keep songs but right now we are sold out. The silk shop at the far end might have some.”

“Thank you!” said Kantilal.

As soon as he left, the shopkeeper giggled, “Haha… That should be fun!” At the silk shop when Kantilal asked for a song, the shopkeeper said, “I have the finest of silks, not songs.” Although tired, Kantilal kept searching for songs but obviously, with no luck.

Disappointed, he decided to head home. As he ambled away, he wondered if there was any way to get a song for his wife. Suddenly, it occurred to him!

“Ah! If I can’t buy a song, maybe I can make a song myself,” he thought aloud. “Hmmm… What shall I sing about?” he continued thinking. A rat ran across his path, almost answering his question.

“Why not sing about the rat digging a hole in the ground?
Khode Kharar Kharar
Hmm, yes, that sounds good!”

Pleased with his newly crafted one-line song, Kantilal marched home humming it.
“Khode Kharar Kharar… Hmmm hmmm hmm hmm hmm hm.”

On his way, “Khode khaaaaa… a snake!” he panicked as a snake crossed his path but the snake slid away without noticing him. As he got some relief, “Phew! The snake is just slithering away. Sarke Sarar Sarar. I could add this to my song!”

As he kept humming the song and walking, he noticed a fluffy white hare, behind the bushes, looking at him with sparkling eyes. “Such a cute bunny looking at me. Dekhe Tagar Magar. Oh! Another line!”

When Kantilal had almost reached his house, he saw a deer merrily jumping along. “I think I have got the perfect ending to my song. Koode Alaang Phalaang.”

“Khode Kharar Kahar
Sarke Sarar Sarar
Dekhe Tagar Magar
Koode Alaang Phalaang”

“Vidyawati will be so happy,” he said to himself as he knocked on the door. Vidyawati was too anxious. As soon as she opened the door, she asked, “Did you find a song, husband?”
With a sparkle in his eyes and a wide smile on his lips, Kantilal proudly replied, “Yes, my dear, I bought the most expensive song I could find!”
Vidyawati was overjoyed to hear that. She could not contain her excitement and sat to learn the song at once.

“Khode Kharar Kahar
Sarke Sarar Sarar
Dekhe Tagar Magar
Koode Alaang Phalaang”

The couple sang the song many times. Vidyawati did not seem to get tired of practising. At night, Vidyawati went to bed but kept tossing and turning. She was too excited to sleep! She wanted to practice the song again to make sure she remembered it. Swiftly, she got out of bed, went into the kitchen and started practising the song. She realised that there was some corn left to be ground. Making the most of her time, she started grinding corn and practising the song.

“Khode Kharar Kahar…”

“No, no. Is this how my husband sang? Let me sing that line again. I want to practice the song perfectly. I am so excited to sing it with my friends tomorrow morning,” she thought to herself.

In the village, there lived a thief named Dhanga, a man with wide eyes and a pointy-long nose. Every night, he would prowl through the village. That night, Dhanga decided to sneak into the house of Vidyawati and Kantilal.

Digging a hole in the wall, Dhanga thought “That last house was useless. All I got was a few coins and a bag of clothes. This house looks full. I hope I get a little gold in this one.”

Just then, he heard Vidyawati sing, “Khode Kharar Kahar…”

“Oh no! Did somebody see me digging? Let me quickly hide behind the bushes to make sure,” he feared.

Few minutes passed but nothing happened. Dhanga thought it was safe to resume. He crept inside the house through the hole.

Vidyawati continued, “Sarke Sarar Sarar…”

He was startled to hear that but he observed Vidyawati and realized she was busy grinding corn. Assuming she didn’t see him, he decided to make the next move. But –

“Dekhe Tagar Magar…”

THUD!

He panicked and hurt himself as he struggled to get out through the tiny hole. “She saw me…She definitely saw me otherwise she wouldn’t have said that. What’s more, it’s as if she can read my mind! I need to get out of here now!” he thought.

Meanwhile, unaware of Dhanga’s presence, Vidyawati merrily sang, “Koode Alaang Phalaang.”

“Aaghh! How is she still watching me? I shall never come to this house again.” Saying so, Dhanga ran for his life.

The next morning, Kantilal was stunned to see a hole in the wall. He thought that they had been robbed but to his amazement, he found the valuables untouched. Nothing was stolen from the house. He called out to Vidyawati, “Vidyawati, did you notice there is a hole in the wall? I think somebody broke into the house but surprisingly nothing was stolen. What were you doing last night? Didn’t you stay awake for a while?”

“I was practising the nice expensive song you bought me,” said Vidyawati.

Kantilal laughed, “Haha! I think it must be a very good song. After all, it has scared a thief away from our home.”

Later that day when Vidyawati met her friends, she happily flaunted the song to her friends. “My husband bought me a nice expensive song from the market, just like you said! It even scared away a thief from my house. Oh, it’s a beautiful song!”

Leaving her friends flabbergasted, she merrily continued,

“Khode Kharar Kahar
Sarke Sarar Sarar
Dekhe Tagar Magar
Koode Alaang Phalaang!”

Read folktales from around India in our title Ranchen the Stone Lion and Other Stories. It is now available on the ACK Comics App, Kindle, Amazon, Flipkart and other major e-tailers. 

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