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 –
“Whyare 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.
Rabindranath Tagore is considered one of the pioneers of the Bengal Renaissance, which took place during the 19th century. He has given Indian literature numerous unforgettable characters, a lot of whom were women. Tagore’s heroines were complex and fierce while also being flawed and vulnerable. They fought for equal status in society and refused to bow down to the expectations of society in a way that was rare for the time. Read on to learn more about some of Tagore’s most compelling heroines.
Mrinal from Strir Patra (A Wife’s Letter)
Set in the late 19th century, Strir Patra is the story of Mrinal, a woman married into a zamindar household. Mrinal is depicted as an intelligent and observant woman who feels stuck in mundane, domestic life after marriage. Her intelligence is seen as a disadvantage and her beauty seems to be the only thing society values. As the story progresses, she is introduced to Bindu, the widowed cousin of Mrinal’s sister-in-law. Bindu’s plight makes Mrinal even more aware of the patriarchal and oppressive nature of her in-laws. After Bindu commits suicide, Mrinal becomes completely disillusioned with the idea of family and marriage. In her letter to her husband, she explains her decision to leave him, in order to finally find her freedom.
Kalyani from Aparichita (The Unknown Woman)
Kalyani is the protagonist of Tagore’s story, Aparichita. In the tale, Kalyani is set to marry Anupam, but her father breaks off the match on the wedding day due to demands of dowry from the groom’s uncle. After a few years, a guilt-ridden Anupam proposes marriage to Kalyani again. However, the independent protagonist rejects his proposal and tells him about the new direction her life has taken. Instead of letting her cancelled marriage be an impediment, Kalyani ventures into the world to find her purpose and identity. She dedicates her life to educating underprivileged women and helping them lead a life of dignity. Through Kalyani, Tagore shows a woman choosing to find meaning outside of marriage without letting patriarchal traditions dictate her significance in society.
Giribala from Maanbhanjan (Fury Appeased)
Giribala, the protagonist of Maanbhanjan, is married to a wealthy zamindar. However, unknown to her, her husband falls in love with a theatre actress and plans to leave Giribala for her. While spying on her husband, Giribala is introduced to the world of theatre and finds herself fascinated with the art. After her husband leaves her, the heroine decides to emerge stronger than before. She reinvents herself and pursues a successful career as a theatre actress. Through Giribala’s story, Tagore highlights how women can find success in their chosen fields too. The protagonist is special since she does not choose to become an actress to regain the love of her husband. Rather, she does so for her own love for theatre.
Mrinmoyee from Samapti (The Conclusion)
In Sampati, the protagonist is a young, fun-loving woman, Mrinmoyee, who enjoys her freedom. However, everything changes for her when she is married off to a wealthy and educated gentleman, who falls in love with her strong, unique personality. However, on the day of the wedding, Mrinmoyee questions her husband. She confronts him about her lack of choice in the decision to get married and thus refuses to reciprocate his feelings. Over the course of the story, she slowly begins to accept her husband and return his affection, but by her own choice, taking her own time. Through Mrinmoyee’s story, Tagore alludes to women being made voiceless and not having any say even in their own life choices.
Kamala from Musalmanir Golpo (The Story of a Muslim Girl)
In a short story set in the 19th century, Tagore introduces us to Kamala, an orphaned girl raised by her uncle and aunt, who resent her as a burden. Soon, Kamala’s marriage is arranged with the son of a wealthy man. However, their wedding procession is attacked by robbers. To her surprise, her fiancé and other relatives all flee, leaving her at the mercy of the attackers. She is rescued by Habir Khan, a respected Muslim gentleman, who takes Kamala to her house. When her aunt and uncle refuse to take her back, Kamala ends up staying with Habir Khan. She finds a better life, full of respect, at her new home, where she has the freedom to practice her own religion and make choices for herself. When the robbers attack Kamala’s cousin Sarala, she is no longer afraid. She saves her cousin with help from Habir Khan, and delivers her safely to her house. Through the story, we see the evolution of Kamala and the effect freedom and respect has on her personality.
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!”
Natyasangeet or Sangeet Natak are Marathi language musical dramas, which combine prose, poetry and music to convey a story. This form of musical theatre has its origins in 19th century Maharashtra and soon became a popular form of entertainment for the common man. Most of the plays in the initial days would be based on mythological stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. However, with time, these plays also evolved to include historical and social messages. While there have been numerous musical maestros who contributed to the growth and development of this cultural phenomenon, there are three men who stand out as pioneers.
Bal Gandharva
Bal Gandharva, born Narayan Shripad Rajhans, was the Natsamrat or King of Theatre of Marathi musical theatre for nearly half a century. Born to a common Maharashtrian family in June 1888, he was graced with a melodious voice. Young Narayanrao began singing bhajans (devotional songs) from a tender age. It was in one such singing performance in Pune that a member of the awed audience, Lokmanya Tilak, the great social reformer and freedom fighter bestowed upon young Narayan the name ‘Bal Gandharva’ or a ‘Young Celestial Musician.’
Bal Gandharva joined the Kirloskar Natak Mandali at the age of seventeen. His first performance was a female role in the Marathi version of the Sanskrit play ‘Shakuntala’. He acted in several plays – from classic to contemporary themes, almost exclusively playing female roles. His second marriage, after the untimely death of his first wife, was to a Muslim singer named Gauhar Bai, extremely progressive for that day and age. He acted in several anti-colonial plays as well during the course of his career.
He was proclaimed the ‘Natsamrat’ in 1944, and elected president of the Marathi Natya Shatabdi Sammelan, a conference commemorating the centenary of the Marathi Theatre. In 1955, he was given the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award and the Padma Bhushan in 1964.
Though, time could not be at a standstill. As Bal Gandharva become older and women were no longer shunned from the stage, he had to move onto more mainstream entertainment: the film industry. He dabbled in the movies, but eventually returned to the stage after a few flops. Though he founded a flourishing company, the Gandharva Natak Mandali, he remained in debt due to the extravagance of the theatrical world. He suffered through a lot of grief, losing three of his children, and a paralytic shock in 1952. Bal Gandharva had been paralysed ever since, struggling and virtually penniless. He died on 15th July, 1967.
The Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir was built in his honour in Pune in 1968, and it still flourishes to this day, furthering Bal Gandharva’s legacy.
Deenanath Mangeshkar
Deenanath Mangeshkar’s mercurial style and resonant voice made him one of the biggest voices on the Marathi musical scene. His distinctive musical legacy has never been replicated. Deenanath was born in what is now modern-day Goa, in a small village called Mangeshi, to a Karhade Brahmin priest and a Devadasi, Yesubai. In his teen years, he christened himself again as ‘Mangeshkar’, as a homage to the place he was born in, and to the deity of the Mangueshi temple, also called Mangesh.
From the age of five, young Deenanath began taking singing lessons from Shri Baba Mashelkar and later joined the Gwalior school. He was inspired by the variety and aggressive style of Gayanacharya Pandit Ramkrishnabua Vaze. He travelled to Bikaner for his formal training, under Pandit Sukhdev Prasad. He joined the Kirloskar Sangeet Mandali and the Kirloskar Natak Mandali at the age of 11, leaving it shortly after and founding his own Balwant Mandali.
Deenanath’s musical voraciousness and winning features resulted in him becoming immensely popular on the Marathi stage. The element of surprise in his arrangement of note-patterns fascinated theatre-goers.
Deenanath’s versatility expressed itself in his voice and plays. Dramas produced by Deenanath Mangeshkar were always resonant with nationalism and patriotic in nature. He worked with writers like K.P. Khadilkar, Veer Vamanrao Joshi and Veer Savarkar. Some of his most patriotic works include Manapaman, Ranadundubhi and Sanyasta Khadga.
Deenanath fathered Lata, Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridaynath Mangeshkar, who became the first family of Marathi and Hindi film music.
In the years of financial hardship and creative discontent in the 1930s, Deenanath began drinking heavily. He breathed his last in Pune, 1942, only 42 years old. The Mangeshkar family has established a hospital and research centre in Pune, the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, in his memory.
Vasantrao Deshpande
Vasantrao Deshpande is a household name in most of Maharashtra now, but this musical maestro could have very easily vanished into the haze that then surrounded the theatrical world. Born in 1920 to a Deshastha Brahmin family in Murtizapur, in the Vidharba region of Maharashtra, Vasantrao was exposed to the Marathi devotional songs that his mother sang from the early years of his childhood.
Though he had an exceptionally sweet voice, it was entirely by chance that he was discovered by Shankarrao Sapre, a local music teacher after his mother relocated them to Nagpur. He began learning music, and within four years had landed the role of Krishna in the 1933 film ‘Kaliya-Mardan.’ In Kolhapur, where the film was shot, Vasantrao discovered artists big and small, all of which served as an inspiration to him. Deenanath Mangeshkar, the star of the theatrical world at the time, even took the young Vasantrao under his tutelage.
Vasantrao imbibed all of their styles into his own, and he is to date the sole inheritor of Deenanath’s Mangeshkar’s mercurial musical flair. Vasantrao never stuck by a particular gharana, or music lineage, though he was initially trained by the Gwalior Gharana. He absorbed the good qualities of every gharana that he came across. He stayed in Lahore with his uncle for a short period of time, and it was here that his colourful style truly evolved.
He passed the matriculation exam and landed a job as a civil servant in Pune in 1941, which though highly unsatisfactory to the artist, provided him with financial security. Though he did not pursue music as a career for several more years, he built up a social circle in Pune comprising fellow music lovers and pursued his learning under different gurus.
The favour of Hyderabad’s Begum Akhtar was one of the most influential turning points for Vasantrao, and it was due to her support and insistence that Vasantrao finally started pursuing music full time in 1966. Though the initial years were difficult, he met with great success and respect. His most memorable role was that of the ‘Khansaheb’ in the play Katyar Kaljat Ghusli, which catapulted him into stardom. This role is still retained by his grandson and contemporary classical singer Rahul Deshpande.
Vasantrao had coronary issues in the 1980s, and though he lived long enough to receive the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi award, he died on 30th July, 1983, at 63 years old. The Vasantotsav, an annual musical festival organised in his honour in Pune, is spread over three days in January.
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.
Poetry is one of the oldest forms of literature and has a rich oral and written history. Indian poetry, in particular, can be dated back to the Vedic times with Sanskrit poems crafted around more than 3000 years ago. Here is the list of must-read poetry books written by talented poets who marked their unique influences on Indian poetry in modern times.
Madhushala – Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1935)
Madhushala (The House of Wine) is a famous Hindi poetry book that has 135 quatrains (i.e. a poem consisting of four lines), written by poet and writer Harivansh Rai Bachchan. The publication of this book in 1935, gave instant fame to the poet. One of the unique features of this poetry collection is that the poet ends every quatrain with the word Madhushala. In this book, Harivansh Rai Bachchan tries to explain the complexities of life with the four instruments i.e. Madhu (wine), Saaki (server), Pyaala (cup) and Madhushala. With some of his metaphorical lines, the poet also explains that the reader is the wine and he (the poet) is the cup. By filling the cup, the reader will become an alcoholic. Hence, the author concludes with this metaphor that Madhushala is incomplete without both the poet and reader. Due to its popularity, the original Hindi version has been translated into English, Malayalam, Bengali, and Marathi. The book is one of the first pieces of Hindi poetry that has been set to music with its CDs and cassettes. The poem also has been choreographed for stage performances.
Kamayani by Jaishankar Prasad (1936)
Kamayani, written in Hindi by Jaishankar Prasad, was published in 1936. Born in January 1889, Jaishankar Prasad was a novelist, poet, and playwright. In Kamayani, the poet sheds light upon the Vedic story of Manu and Shraddha, the first man and woman to survive the Pralaya (deluge) that was meant to end the world. Due to the incredible writing style of the poet, Kamayani emerges as an amalgamation of history and imagination for the reader. The book also explores the interplay of human emotions, actions, and thoughts with the help of mythological metaphors. There are fifteen sargas (cantos) mentioned in Kamayani namely faith, worry, hope, joy, lust, intellect, joy, struggle, philosophy, mystery, logic, shame, jealousy, action, and renunciation. The epic poem is considered one of the greatest Hindi literary works written in modern times.
Magadh – Shrikant Verma (1984)
Magadh, a poem written in Hindi by Shrikant Verma, was published in 1984. Considered as the crowning achievement of the poet’s life, Magadh has been established as one of the important works of Indian poetry in the late 20th century. The book consists of 56 poems written in 1979 and 1984. The poems in Magadha emerge as a reminder of the past that encounters the present and also provides the reader with a glimpse of the future. The poet Shrikant Verma presented a different style of writing in Magadh which connects the present to the history of the various historical and mythical cities. The tone of the poem is remarkably confessional and changes from nostalgic to ironic to sorrowful. Shrikant Verma was presented with the Sahitya Akademi Award posthumously for Magadh in 1987.
The Collected Poems of A.K Ramanujan – A.K.Ramanujan (1995)
A.K. Ramanujan was one of the finest English-language poets of modern India. The Collected Poems of A.K. Ramanujan was published posthumously in 1995 after the demise of the author. The book consists of the three volumes of poems published during the lifetime of the poet and also includes the fourth volume which was left unpublished at the time of his death. Some of the famous poems of A.K. Ramanujan, such as The Striders, A River, Still life, Extended Family, and Astronomer are added to the poetry collection of this book. The poems published in this book reflect the lifelong interest of the poet in structuralism, anthropology, folklore, and biculturalism.
Mera Kuch Samaan: My Poetry Collection – Gulzar (2014)
Mera Kuch Samaan: My Poetry Collection was published in English on 1 August, 2004. The book contains the selected poems of the Indian lyricist and poet, Gulzar. The book is a collection of four volumes which includes the original Hindi poems with their translated English verses. The three-hundred-page book also includes the collection of poems known as the Green Poems, which celebrates the poet’s innate connection with nature, along with the lesser-known poems hand-picked by him. The book also features hundred memorable lyrics of Gulzar along with the beautiful illustrations by the poet himself.