A Story And A Fun Game For Children…

and for us too I think.

A group of children were given an exercise. A scene, not very unusual, was put to them. And they were asked to take the story forward.

The scene: “A house-owner hears noise coming from the back of his house. When he opens a creaky door and walks to the spot, he finds a girl standing under the mango tree frantically signalling to her friend atop to come down quickly. On the ground there were here and there a few half-eaten ripe mangoes taken from the tree.  The man, tall and hefty, looks menacingly at the boy trapped visibly up in the tree at a height too risky to jump down and flee.”

After a while they were called in turn to present their conclusion. Here’s a selection from the many stories presented:

**

The boy on the tree said to the owner: “Sir, we were not stealing your mangoes. See, we aren’t carrying any in our hands or bags. You know between us we had argument before coming here on who is the biggest land-owner around here. I was saying it was you. And I knew I was right. My friend here was not agreeing to it. I decided there was a way to convince her. I climbed up this tree and was showing her how far the lands owned by you stretched on all sides – like the palm tree seen there in the distance stands on the eastern corner of your property and so on. That’s when you came here. If you allow me, I’ll show her the rest.”

**

The trapped boy gathered his wits quickly and said to the owner standing below: “Dear Sir, we were passing by your yard talking among ourselves about an upcoming outing on Sunday. That’s when heard a racket…made by a bunch of squirrels feasting on the mangoes.  And if the fruit they bit into was a little less than ripe, it was discarded and they moved on to try another. Look at all these fruits half-eaten lying on the ground – it’s all their doing. We could not bear to see those luscious fruits so dear to you being ruined by these pests. So I said to het I would climb up the tree and drive them off. And that I did and as I was coming down, you came here, Sir. We were anyway planning to come in to tell you about all this. Surely you, a large-hearted person, wouldn’t be sending us back empty handed?”

**

The boy said to the owner: “Sir, we’ve no idea why you look upset. We were passing by minding our business when your man standing over there called us in. He said his master would pay if we could pick off the tree a bag full of mangoes, waving a cloth bag at us. We accepted the assignment. I went up, plucked the fruits one by one and dropped them down for him to catch and put away in his bag.  When the bag was full, he signalled me to stop. Taking the bag, he went this way promising to be back in a jiffy with our payment.  I was climbing down when you came in… we were expecting your man with the money as promised. Don’t know who you are. If you’re the owner, kindly pay us what you owe and we’ll be gone before you turn your back. You wouldn’t gyp a couple of kids of their legit earnings, would you?”

**

Interesting?

End

Source: Based on a short piece read in Dhina Thandhi, a Tamizh daily, several years ago. Image from Elango Velur Thiruturaipoondi Tiruvarur‎இயற்கை மற்றும் பசுமை and artstation.com

Living Is…

Sanmargam

End

Source: Said to be a Chinese proverb; image from gr8byz4u.com

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What You See Is Not What You Get

Sanmargam

The weather was threatening to turn for the worse accompanied by lightning and thunder dazzling the sky with their fireworks. The trees were swaying perilously to heavy winds.

A little sparrow struggling to hold itself aloft approached a large tree standing on the banks of a river seeking shelter.

The tree refused point-blank asking it to go somewhere else, all its pleas falling on deaf ears.  Thereupon the dejected sparrow went up to another tree that was located some distance away. The second tree obliged, taking the bird under its wings and ending its search.

Shortly after, the clouds unloaded their goods with a ferocity that caused the river to swell in no time and break its banks.  The deluge washed away the ground soil causing the trees standing on the banks to topple.

The sparrow was saddened to see the nay-saying tree falling down and being swept away mercilessly…

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A Tale From A Mango Tree (100 Words)

The Wise One chatted up: ‘A Guru has come into the village.’

‘I know,’ said the Mango Tree.

‘You know? How?’

‘They rested right here under on their way to the village.’

‘Oh…last evening, had gone to the hut where he is staying…a steady stream of people kept up going in.’

‘Hear any wise words from him?’

‘No, there was no pravachan. Just people fussing about…he seems to enjoy all their attention and adulation…just like us.’

‘Well, his way of staying connected with the world for what it is, I would think. And be reminded, yes, he’s just like us.’

End

 

A Tale From A Mango Tree (50 Words)

Rushing past the Mango Tree, the Wind mocked: ‘Don’t you feel sorry you can’t move, go places, meet people…?’

‘No more than you do, my friend’ the Tree shrugged and smiled, ‘when you can’t stand for a moment and savor the beauty of those places and people on your way.’

End

 

 

A Tale From A Mango Tree (100 Words)

‘Tomorrow it’s going to be a feast for us too, you know? Zamindar celebrating his son’s marriage…everyone invited… followed by a sumptuous lunch.’

‘Telling me, silly bird? I know exactly what happens in the village and for miles around.’  

‘Oh, you do?’

‘How many eyes and ears you have?’

‘Why, a pair each.’

‘I’ve hundreds. Your feathered friends here – when they return at nightfall, I hear it all. And, these passers-by pausing under my shade for rest – they aren’t tongue-tied either.’

‘So you must know the town guys…’

‘What about them?’

‘Them…planning to clear up this area and about?’
End

 

 

Source: Image from wallsticker.co.za

The Tree, The Birds, The Squirrels And The Wind

A short story for children:

Part 1

The massive Tree, its girth rivaling a banyan and the branches reaching out at least a hundred feet, stood at the edge of the village beyond the water tank, set back from the high-road to the town. A host to many generations of birds and small animals – the unassuming Sparrows safely nested in the lush branches of the Tree while the Parrots in brilliant green and the Squirrels in their brown-grey fur made home in the numerous holes in the vast trunk. It was never by mistake a Parrot entered the abode of a Squirrel or the other way round!

All day long, the air was filled with the muted chatter of the Sparrows, punctuated by the occasional exuberance of the Parrots and the bouts of noisy drumming by a pair of black-plumed Woodpeckers that kept the Tree free of wood-boring insects.

The Tree ensured its lodgers had access to a generous year-round supply of juicy fruits.

I had almost forgotten all about him and how could I? There was a wise old Owl that kept the night-watch from the high branches of the Tree.

That wasn’t all. The Tree had visitors too. From the village came bathers to sit down and chat away under the Tree before and after their bath in the tank. On some days, there was even a traveler or two from the high-road pausing to rest under its shade.

But the Wind was a regular. It all started long ago when the Tree was young and growing:

‘You’re very fortunate – you get to see so many places. Here I’m standing rooted to this place.’

‘You’re the lucky one getting to stay put. Do you see there is no rest for me at all? All the time I have got to be on the move, or I’m dead.’

‘Well, I’ll lend you the fragrance of my flowers and fruits – you may carry them with you wherever you go.’

‘I’ll clean up all the grime off the leaves, remove the dead ones, and give a good massage to your tired limbs.’

And the Tree and the Wind became thick friends ever since.

It was an idyllic world until one morning…

The Wind brought the news. The heartless village Chief had, in a meeting, proposed to auction the Tree for its wood. It was expected to fetch a good price, enough to build a community center and more. And the auction was scheduled in a couple of days.

The Tree froze speechless. How could they come up with a thought like this? When the news reached them, the birds and the animals sinking their beaks and teeth into the juicy pulp of the fruits with customary gusto, drew back like from hot coal. Everyone was horrified pale. Life without the Tree was unthinkable.

But what could be done now? They felt quite powerless before the juggernaut – man’s self-interest in disregard of his eco-mates. Hours of deliberations yielded no solution. The Tree, in utter despair and mindful of its lodgers, advised them to move out to a safer place and leave it to face its fate.

They were not the one to give up. While chewing on the crisis, finally someone suggested they wake up the wise old Owl and consult him.

So they did. And they saw, for the first time, a glimmer of hope.

Part 2

It was the day of the auction. The Bidders from the village and the neighboring had gathered under the Tree. There was a quick inspection poking the Tree here and there, asking a question or two.

The birds went very quiet.

As the Bidders were waiting for the Chief to come in, from nowhere a strong gust of wind blew in knocking the turbans off the heads of a couple while others barely managed to hold onto theirs. Not an auspicious beginning, it was felt.

The Chief arrived with his ‘records’ man. After a short preamble the bidding commenced.

‘A 1000 rupees.’

‘2000, here’

‘They are low-balling it. The wood is teak like and my guess is it will easily fill up three cart-loads,’ the Chief muttered inaudibly into the ears of his assistant.

Before the next bid was shouted out, suddenly, as if on a cue, there was a minor commotion from the Squirrels gathering at the base of the Tree, purposefully drawing the attention of a Bidder standing closest. As his eyes came to rest on what he saw, for a moment he was speechless. When he regained his tongue, he cried excitedly: ‘Look here, look here, I know for sure – it wasn’t there before.’

Another Bidder, also drawn to it, exclaimed: ‘This is a miracle!’

A third Bidder joined: ‘A clear sign of disapproval from the Gods.’

In a short while they all had seen it. They hurriedly conferred among themselves and turned to the Chief resolutely: ‘Drop it, Chief. We are mercifully saved just in time from committing a grave sin.’

As a vexed Chief walked up to see what made the proceedings go awry, advice came from the eldest among the Bidders: ‘Chief, let us bring offerings, light a lamp and get the priest to do the pooja and build a decent shrine here.’

The Chief too was awe-struck when he saw a panel of a clear likeness to Hanuman freshly carved in relief on the bark at the base of the Tree. There were even flowers and fruits strewn about in the front as offerings.

As the Bidders dispersed, the Tree let out a sigh of relief and thanked, from the bottom of its heart, the Woodpeckers, the wise Owl, the Parrots and the Sparrows, and the Squirrels and not forgetting the Wind that embraced them all in cool comfort.

End

Hanuman is the son of Vayu, the Wind God.

http://nagpurbirds.org/ has these beautiful photographs and a whole lot more of our feathered friends sighted in and around Nagpur.