Ay Se Sa 1 BEST ERS LAY VEN LENDS, =HANDAMAMA jocroaeR 1905 1985“Porky the Pig's great fun to make Bits ‘n’ pieces with Fevicol That's all it takes” Its a neat trick And it's quick All you de is think and stick. Stick what? Anything at all dust have a ball. Make.a pencil stand, a basket ~even a doll, Its not messy at all. How can that be? ‘With Fevicol. ‘With Fevicol MR you could go on and on... and whatever you make, ‘will last and last Because Fevicol MR Teally sticks to its job.You will need: 1, One balloon (medium size) 2. A few sheets of newspaper 3, Velvet paper in the following colours pink, blac, blue and yellow 4; White chart paper A. tate tatoos we empeciy 5, Pink thread Sik Gavel ee etal etopes 6. Fevicol MR Adhesive Tobe stoned tet ee aber tcl: (Cui newepaper Into 1" 1" square pleces. Soak 6 water for 0-15 minutes Hac pees one by ane on balloon “Each plece should slighty tbs obes. caver ne tsle lle surface. Pul Slayers ol newspaper In b silar manoer, ay ; 4. + When ballon dy wd bard pick ‘sth a plato burs balloons hell of ell eal Decorate with a al layer of 1" 1° square pieces of lak veloat paper ttlng Fevicol ME Adbestos themen the ballgon, Pub soch layers ina alilar manaer: Let kwiay for8-10 hours [fake 5 chart paper pleces of ine [IM x 57, From thea make S cyfloders J+ Make spsctacles apd ears from chart apes Sich black valut paper on los velvet par onispecinclen, Suck then In place: Make es Front Yellow velvet poper and eyeballs from black velvet paper. 7 Take two 1" 14" places of chast paper and atk piak velvet paper oo ‘therm Suck these oa ether ede of pla body fa form pockets or pee ose, sick a cirele of chart paper ‘covered with Black velvet opr. kl Oink! Porky the Pig is ready. will keep your pens safely now. t ae EVICOL ithetic Adhesive bn you do your best, you stick with the best (RS Ae na E00 rnd pte Pitre Tada Mara SPITE ROUTES PV, LTD, Biba 20621| : f Vol. 16 OCTOBER 1985 No. 4 i IN THIS ISSUE Mythology: Story of Rama = Page 9 ff i ee / The Dancer's Demand os Page 13 ‘The Beautiful wo Page 17 a S f The Jester and His Horse » Page 23 TEMPLE OF KONARK: interes eee The Coconut-Thief v» Page 24 legend behind the greet Shing to a The Copper Ring Page 27 “A bunch of interesting stories, (1 Live is Plonty vo» Page 31 Werte Curse ettectve Page 37 | The Silent Sacrifice -» Page 42 Sathi's Promise Page 46 The Change «Page 47 The Lazy Grows Busy Page 65 Picture: Stories: Oliver Twist o- Page 19 ] Can't-you go without Cheese : even fora Day ..Pege 36. Kashi. Viswanath Page 51 i : Features: i Anusuya—Characters from | Indian Classics --- Page 60 iW Gliding to Safety ~ Page 34 AND Newsflash, Do You Know, Let Us Know and Morel -GHANDAIAIANA) Controlling Editor: NAGI REDDI feurder: CHARRAPANI HOMAGE TO THE MOTHER In the month of October the country will celebrate the Dussehra and the Navarathri—all-invoking the Divine Mother: The manner'of the celebration will differ from fegion to region, but its two-fold spirit will ba the Same, to seek the Grace of the Divine Mother and to fejoice at the victory of the good over tha evil. Just as we all owe our origin to olr mothars, the jj 4 ancient Indians traced the whole creation to the Divine i Mother. For them the earth was a form of the Divine. § Mother—Bhumidewi, the country was a form-ot the s Mother’ too—Bharat Janani, This, was a great vision” i and today it assumes even greater importance. To harm the country or to pollute the earth is as heinous an action:es stabbing our mother. sLet.the Grace of the Divine Mother hey ourPo ae oe : ae Sch yaaa ea eee ee ce es s . ee ; a Super Rin strikes whiter. whiterthan any other detergentrabler or bar A quality product by Hindustan Lever= FLYING SAUCERS ; UFO or Unidentified Flying Objects: ere they true, lies or illusions? We are not sure. Ellen Crystal of U.S.A. is one who © seems particulary prone to seeing them. She had seen them umpteen times since 1971. Often she has led others to sees) them. “The metal on these craft seem to’ be transparent. They also seem to be# able to generate their own cloud forma- 7 tion.. When you photograph them, you: / don’t get what you see,” she says Scientists have not dismissed her experi-ags ence as hallucination, for she is toogs Serious in her research in UFO. SOLAR BOAT Kenichi Horie of Japan (46) has become the first man to cross othe Pacific in a= solar-powered boat, covering 6,300 km. from Honolulu to Chichijima island in 75 days. Solar energy absorbed by solar= battery panels converted it into electric power which propelled the boat. 1— ASIA’S LONGEST BRIDGE Asia's longest and the world's third longest bridge has just been completed, “It is 13:5 km long, linking Malaysia's norther Penang State with. the main- - land. =History’s greatest destroyer of books was Emperor Tsi Huany Ti (3rd century B.C), He thought that if he bumt all books (books in those days meant rolls of log with inscription), history Of civilisation, will begin from him! He buried alive hundreds of authors and scholars who would not part with their books. Arthur Thompson of Canada once made 103 golf shots in 1973. He was then 103 years old. The average orbital speed of the earth around the sun is 68,641 miles per hour. Czar Alexander Ill remarked on an application made by.a convict, “Pardon impossible, to be sent to Sibena.” The Czarina, who wanted to save the man, just altered the position of the comma, so that it read: “Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia.” The man was: released. Did Nero fiddle while Rome burned? a No. Fiddle was yet to be invented and Nero was. at Antium, away from’ Rome. aa[ SToRY OF - a eee A 'BANDITIN THE FOREST iA zigzag road passed. through the forest. Even though the jroad did not enter deep into it, ‘travellers avoided it as much as }possible, for it was made dan- igerous by bandits. And one particular bandit had grown notorious for his swift and cruel action. ‘He sat crouching behind bushes or per- | ched on branches of trees dense | with foliage and sprang up be- fore travellers causing great sur- prise, his axe raised ready for pbedainey plod His growl and gesture were terrifying enoarh| for the travellers to surrender at} once anything valuable they car-| ried. He would brook no delay. A slight hesitation could boat for the traveller. A lone sage was passing by| the forest, absent-mindedly seemed, when the bandit appeared before him, weilding} his axe and giving out.a nerve- wrecking cry. He was sure that} the traveller would step back inj panic and either swoon away or} begin pleading with him to be} = ¥ee of his life. IBut nothing like that happened. (The traveller raised his head and fixed his deep calm look on ithe bandit’s eyes. Even a subtle smile played on his lips. “Bring out your wealth!” ordered the bandit. “My wealth? All right. That will be yours. But what’s the hurry about it?” spoke the sage firmly but sweetly. Nobody had spoken to the bandit in such normal manner. He was surprised. But he did not give up his aggressive post-- jure. “Why I'm in a hurry is none of your business. Do as I said or Vil smash your head in no time!” | “Smash my head? Can you do | that? Have you smashed any other head?” The bandit laughed in a roar. “Any other head? You should} ask this axe of mine! Rarely aj day passes without this lucky} weapon tasting human blood,” ) he replied. | “Ts that so? Your head must} be very strong then, for the} burden of sin sitting on it must} be heavy!” | The sage’s words gave a jolt} to the bandit. j “What do you mean by that? I} have a family to look after. It is| for my wife and children that 1) plunder. If I am gathering any) sin, they will share it. My bur-| den cannot be too heavy!” he} said haltingly. “You're mistaken, I’m afraid. They are not likely to share your} burden of sin. Why don’t you go home and ask them about it?| I'm willing to wait till your} return,” said the sage. | The bandit laughed. “Don’t you try to be clever with me. | You can’t give me the slip so| easily.” | “J mean what I say. I suggest that you tie me to a tree and make a swift trip to your home. | 10 pre Pe eee aYou should be sure of your position once for all.” ‘ The idea appealed to the ban- dit. He tied the traveller to a tree with a rope made out of a strong creeper. Then he sped towards his home situated in ‘another part of the forest. In- deed, the question the traveller raised had given him a shake. ‘He did not belong to any tribe of criminals by birth. It was by accident that he had fallen into their company when quite young. His new guardians had trained him up as a bandit. He had never given any thought to the consequence of his action! “Look here,” he told his wife on reaching home, “In order to feed you and keep you ina little ' jcomfort, I snatch from others what they have earned through their labour. I don’t know, but my doing this may be wrong. ‘Sometimes J wound or even kill people when they clutch to the property I demand of them. This may be even a greater wrong for me to do. I am told that the sin resulting from such actions will bring me much suf-_ _ |fering. But why should I fear? Are you not there to share my sin? Am I not doing ail this for your sake and for the sake of our children?” The bandit’s wife looked at him with surprise. “Why this Strange question today? Did you ever consult me about the choice of your vocation? Were you not already a bandit even ‘before marrying me? Let me tell you pointedly, my husband, that it is your duty to maintain me and to bring up your children. How you do that is entirely your business.” The answer stunned the ban- dit. He grew furious, but he realised that his fury was not going to alter the truth. He tumed to his eldest child, a boy grown-up enough to understand|his question. The boy, who heard the dialogue between his parents with great attention, anticipated what his father was going to ask him. He said, “Father, I’m grateful to you for }the care you bestow ‘on me. } When you are old or sick, I will }look after you to the best of my ability. But I hardly know how | you earn the means for bringing me up. I cannot be expected to share the consequence of your action, for] had never approved cof it!” . The bandit felt as if the earth was fast shifting beneath his feet jand he was dropping into a dark {pit unfathomably deep. He {threw away his axe and ran }away. He set the sage free. Tears | flowing down his cheeks, he fell jat the sage’s feet, speechless. The sage lifted the bandit up and embraced him. “Ratna-| kara!” he said, “I knew about} you. I knew that you were criminal not by nature, but by} circumstances and habit. Yo mind was clouded, but th clouds could be removed. It was} high time you saw the light of truth. You can change your own destiny if you take a vow to do} sole { Tt was difficult for Ratnakara to speak. He was sobbing. At last when he could gain some control over his emotions, he asked, “But, how, how on earth can this sinner see the light of} truth? Who can unburden me of} my sin?” “The Grace of the Lord can!” answered the sage who was none other than Narada. To continueMatketeur was just ‘a Village ‘on the banks of the river Mandakini. Yet it breathed an air of culture. Its people held many festivals and functions. The joy and devotion which these programmes generated made little Markatpur quite famous all over the kingdom of Vishala. In this village lived a danseuse named Malavika. Matchless for her beauty and art, she was respected by all. The annual Vijaya festival held in the temple of goddess Mandakini was the greatest of all the festivals the villagers held, It was the occasion when Malavika would dance. That would be the grand finale of the. celebrations. The great day arrived. But Malavika, alas, was unwell. She could not participate in the programme. And without her dance the festival.lost much of its charm, The people of Mar- katpur were unhappy. The next day her admirers went up to her and said, “Malavika, without your dance the festival was life- less. When we celebrate it next year, you must not fail to give a show. We will not féel satisfied otherwise.” She felt flattered and it went to her head. So, Markatpur’s festival was lifeless without her! The people were missing her dance! Pride filled her mind at such thoughts. Another year passed. The organising committee, as usual, went ahead with arrangements for Malavika’s performance. But Malavika sent them a mes- Sage asking them to see her before the celebrations begin.j They were surprised. This had jnever happened! However, that |very evening two of them met }her at her house. _ She would not even show |them the normal courtesy. |Look here,” she said as soon as jthey entered, “every year you |people have been giving me a |purse of merely a hundred gold }coins for my show. That is not enough. You will have to jarrange for two hundred gold jcoins if you wish to see me dance.” The callers were dumb- |struck. More than her demand | for money, what hurt them was | her unbecoming manners. After jan embarrassed silence, they said, “All right, we'll discuss it] among ourselyes and inform} you of our decision.” | The organisers checked their} budget. Alas, without collecting} fresh funds it would not bej possible to pay Malavika her} enhanced fees. The committee did not know what to do. The laws of the land did not permit} them to raise their funds beyond} a fixed limit. The king’s permis-| sion was necessary to cross that} ceiling. | King Krishnadeva of Vishala} was a very learned and pious) tuler, A representative of the committee presented to him] their petition regarding the de- mand of Malavika. The king heard the whole story and said, “Go and inform the other mem- bers of your committee that it will not be necessary to raise more money from the public. I shall give the extra hundred gold coins. Now, we have as our) guest a sage named Chan-| drashekhar. I wish to request him to visit your village. You] may request him to address the} people, as is your custom, on) the last day of the celebrations.” Malavika was informed that her demand had been accepted. | The festival began and it went). 14on very well. On the last day, before Malavika was to present her dance, the sage gave his discourse. Malavika heard him, seated in the front row. “Compassion is just another aspect of love. Bringing forth a child from herself, -a woman shows herself as an embodiment of love. As a mother as well as a wife she bestows her compas- sion on all. If her child comes to her, crying, ‘O Mother, where had you been? I was so fright- ened!”, the mother’s heart melts in compassion and she resolves never again to leave the child alone. When her husband fond- ly complains, “You were not pero Pe ee) a a a LT home yesterday. That made’ things so difficult for me!’, she decides never again to cause him any inconvenience. Like a mother, a true artiste bestows her love on all. When she understands that people are missing her art—I mean her dance or music—her heart, liké a mother’s, grows anxious to} fulfil their yearning. Only a greedy person will seek to profit by the gift with which God, the Supreme Artiste, has made her tich. Such an artiste is ignorant} of the very existence of love and} tries to evaluate their love and} respect in terms of money and busy herself on amassing}wealth...” -] With such words of wisdom and advice the discourse went on. Facing the sage, Malavika felt more and more uneasy and a deepening anguish filléd her heart. Fe As soon as the discourse was ‘over she rushed into the cham- ber of the organising commit- tee. With tears in her eyes, she prayed to be forgiven’ “Arro- gance and vanity had blinded. me,” she confessed. “No more do I want that gold. Greed made me forget my dharma— lose the dignity and sanctity of my precious art,” she said. The committee members ere surprised and pleased. Soon a calm and stately figure entered the room. Krishnadeva himself had joined the audience. iin disguise. Now he revealed himself, a smile of satisfaction playing on-his face. “Malavika, I am proud of you. When I heard). of your strange demand I would not believe it, for you were a true artiste. Look how your sincere heart has rekindled the nobility that was for a time covered up by the clouds of vanity. Henceforth you are the State Artiste of the kingdom of Vishala and will enjoy special} privileges.” Soon she progressed to grea- ter heights and justly earned the highest honours her vocation could bring. But never again did she lose the humility and com- passion which the sage had in- spited in her. And never did she allow anything to prevent her from offering her dance to the goddess Mandakini at the annual festival. i |‘his happened centuries ago. There was a woman who jworked for the queen. She swept the queen’s apartment and the queen trusted her very }much. Sometimes the woman picked up pearls of gold beads which had fallen from the queen’s many necklaces and other orna- ments. She faithfully restored them to the queen. Sometimes | the queen was so happy with her [that she let her keep a few such [precious things for herself. The woman’s little son lived at his maternal uncle’s house. It was because the uncle was aj teacher and a number of boys lived with him for their educa-| tion. One day the boy returned to his parents’ house. At night he saw the pearls and the gold beads his mother had stored. “How beautiful these are!” he exclaimed. “They are beautiful. But, my son, only if you see the queen} adorned by ‘such preciousithings, you'll know what true jbeauty is,” commented the |boy’s mother. The boy fell silent. He went jout and did not return even jafter hours had passed. The {anxious parents began looking {for him. Neighbours also co-op jerated with them in their search of the boy. But he was not to be iseen. | Years later the mother re- |ceived a message from her son: | “Mother, I had heard from my juncle that the sun, the moon, | the stars, the sky, were all orna- ments of God. Your comment that while the ornaments were beautiful, the queen who put them on was much more beauti- ‘ful suddenly inspired in me a different urge. The sun, the moon, the stars are so beautiful. How magnificent must be God whom they adorn! I went out in search of Him. You will be happy to learn that I have found Him. He is so maginficent that words cannot describe His charm!” The mother wept, but she was also happy that her son had! found God.‘There was 2 crash and Oliver staggered back. Sikes appeared and took Oliver b the collar, “Come on. bay,” he shouted} “Run for your life!” Upon saying’ that, Sikes dragged Oliver into the darkness, | with Toby following close behind them.; “They've hit him,” Sikes said.Seeing! that Oliver could, go no further, Sikes stoppediand kept low, resting the, ‘boy against his knees, He looked for his pursuets; but there was little to’ be made’ oul in themisi and darkness. Iwas at this) paint that Toby panicked and beat a hasty fetrest, “Stop, you whitedivered robber Sikes shouted’alter him,The gentlemen in. question were Mr. Giles, the butler and general, steward of the house, and Brittle, hi ‘Together they carried the fainting boy into the hall. Insthe midst of all this disturbance § there was heard’a gentle Voice: The voice belonged to Miss Rose, who shared the: ‘house with Mrs. Maylie, her aunt. “Is the poor creature much hurt?” she called out from the stair-head. “Wounded desperate miss,” It began to rain heavily and this aroused “Oliver enough for him to-be able to look about him. He saw that at no great distance, there was a house which, perhaps, he could reach. Summoning his Strength, he bent his faltering steps to- Wards it. lt was for this reason that presently the two gentlemen who were " inside the house, opened it to a faint knock and found young Oliver on the doorstep. assistant. 4 Teplied Giles. After going back for a hasty consultation with her aunt, the same gentle speaker returned and bade them carry the wounded person upstairs, and to send with all speed for a constable and a doctor. The doctor was the first to arrive.“So-so,” retumed the doctor. “I'm afraid you have got yourself in a trap, Mr. Giles. Aboy comes to this house very ill, and you ‘assume that he was the bay you saw. last night. Now tell me this! Are you both going to take it upon yourselves to swear that the boy who now fies upstairs is. the same boy you saw?”THEJESTER | AND HiS HORSE The king was very fond of laughing at his jester’s expense. It was, of course, hot so easy to do that. One day the king was out fora stroll, accompanied by his courtiers. The jester was coming from the opposite direction, riding his horse. He dismounted as soon as he saw the king and bowed to him. “Hello, my good jester, is it not funny that your horse is so strong and stout while you are so lean and weak? observed the king. “My. lord, | feed my horse, whereas | am fed by Your Highness!” quipped the jester. lt was with difficulty that the courtiers controlled their laughter.M2ze2! was a gardener appointed by Kishore to Wook after his orchard. Mangal loved the saplings in the lorchard. He watered them regu- arly and took utmost care of them. He was happy to see them grow. However, being very poor, he could not maintain himself with _|the small salary. One day he requested his master, Kishore, “Why are you in such haste, ‘Mangal? You are going to be ‘with us for long and when the trees grow big Pil mcrease your pay,” réplied Kishore. Mangal worked harder in the orchard. Soon, the trees started giving fruits. The young gardener 1E COCONUT-THIEF approached Kishore one even- ing and requested him again for a raise in his salary. “Look here, Mangal, it is true that the trees have grown. But did you make them grow? It is the good soil of my land, the plenty of water ayailable in my pond and the sunlight that made them grow. Why should I pay you more?” asked Kishore. Poor Mangal returned, very disappointed. He had thought that by working honestly he would get a higher salary. But, his master deceived him. Soon, to his dismay, Kishore found that coconuts were missing from| his orchard. He called Mangal) and ordered, “From tonight you| sleep in the garden and see that} the coconuts are not stolen.” “Sir, I’m ready to sleep in thegarden only if you agree to increase my pay,” replied Mangal. “What nonsense! J shall never increase your pay. Begone!” shouted Kishore. - In the evening, Kishore went to the village temple and told the priest, “Punditji, I promise to perform a special Puja if the deity can show me tonight the thief who is stealing away coco- nuts from my orchard.” “Vil convey your prayers to the deity,” replied the priest. A few minutes later Mangal also came to the temple and told the priest, “I do not know who steals my master’s. coco- nuts. But I’m going to teach my|_ master a lesson so that he will) tealise the very need for paying, me more. Please tell the deity to protect me. I shall offer Her five coconuts!” At midnight, Mangal climbed’ up the coconut tree that stood| near the orchard-well. He' plucked a coconut and threw it far. He thought of fooling his master. But, Kishore was a clever! man. He had already seen someone climbing the coconut} tree, although, he could not recognise the thief. He shouted! loudly, “You thief! You t that you can direct my attention!elsewhere! I’ve seen you already. You have no chance of escaping now.” | Suddenly, there was a {splashing sound in the well. | Kishore, thinking that the thief had jumped into the well, dived into the well determined to catch him. Meanwhile, Man- gal quickly climbed down the jtree and escaped in the dark- jness. Needless to say, he had thrown only a coconut into the well. Next morning, Mangal went and offered to the goddess five jcoconuts, in gratitude. | Soon after that, Kishore went jto the temple and told the |priest, “I saw the thief but I jcould not catch him. I will not loffer the goddess any Puja.” “Kishore, you wanted the }goddess only to show you the thief and you have been able to} see him. Haven’t you? I’m afraid the goddess did not be- lieve you. Since you did not} keep your promise to Mangal, one who has brought you so} much benefit, how can she be sure that you will keep your promise to Her?” Kishore went back, his head} hung. He realised that had he} increased Mangal’s salary, he could have saved his coconuts. Also, he would have gained the respect of Mangal and the priest! The next day, he called Man- gal and informed him that his salary had been increased.| There were no thefts in the orchard any more and Kishore} became rich by the money he} got from the sale of the fruits.|Ss ridhar had lost his parents in his childhood. He was- ‘brought up by his grandfather. Being the only grandson, he was Much pampered. So Sridhar grew up to be a young man but without knowledge of any speci- fic work. After losing his grandfather, Sridhar tried to get a job in his village. But, no one would give him one. “What work do you know? Have you ever learnt any work all these days? You lazy fellow! Begone!” said everyone. . Sridhar decided to go to the town, where people did not know him, and seek work. But, there the business people said, “You are a stranger to our Village. How can we trust you? Sorry, we cannot employ you!” Disappointed, Sridhar spent his days in a dharmasala. One night, he heard- running footsteps in the house adjacent to the dharmasala. When he peeped over the dividing com- pound wall, he saw to his sur- prise a young maiden running towards a’ well. He jumped over the wall, ran and caught hold of the maiden just when she was about to jump into the well. “You foolish girl, what are you doing?” scolded Sridhar. “[ve decided to end my life,” Teplied the sobbing maiden. “Whatever your difficulties, you should never commit suicide. Its a great sin,” saidSridhar. “Sin or no sin, I can’t help it. How can I marry a man of sixty years and a cruel man at that? It is better to end it this way,” teplied Vijaya. Vijaya’s step-mother was very unkind to her. She tormented her, heaping on her all the household chores while she pampered her own daughter. She wanted to give Vijaya in marriage to an old wealthy man. so that the money received from the old man could be used to find a wealthy and handsome young man for her own daughter. After hearing the sad tale from Vijaya, Sridhar managed) to send her back that night. Next morning, he went! straight to the parents of Vijaya| and asked for Vijaya’s hand in! marriage. “What a foolish man youl are!” said Vijaya’s step-mother. “You have neither a home nor a} job for yourself, and you want again went in search of a job. Evening came and still he had no job. Not wanting to return to, the dharmasala, he walked, absentmindedly and remorseful- ly, into a forest and lay down! under a big banyan tree. At midnight he heard a terri- fic sound and he woke up star- tled from his sleep. He saw in front of him a weird form. “You mortal! I’m amazed at your audacity. How dare you ‘occupy my place of rest?” asked the spirit. “Well, Tye known human beings much more cruel than you Spirits can be. Why should I be afraid of you?” “What do you say? Are men worse than us? How is that?” asked the spirit. Sridhar then told him about,his sad story and said, “Men are heartless. They are harsh too!” “Do not bother, young man,” jsaid the ghost. “I shall help you. We spirits are better than the human beings! Didn’t you say so?” The spirit then went to a nearby tree, dug out alittle hole Jat its roots and brought out an lold copper ring. Giving it to |Sridhar, he said, “Put on this |ring. It will bring you whatever you wish for. But, mind you, fyou can get only three wishes jout of it—not more.” Next morning, Sridhar went to the wealthiest merchant in jtown and said, “I would like to have a job in your shop.” “Surely”, said the merchant. }*In fact, L was looking for some- Jone like you. Please join us right away.” He was one of the merchants who had earlier re- fused even to listen to Sridhar. That evening, Sridhar went to | Vijaya’s step-mother and said, |“Mother, now that I’ve a job, IV'll be happy if you let me marry | Vijaya.” | “I'll be happier if you do so;” |replied the step-mother. “We tea fix an auspicious date for ithe marriage right next week.” | And, Sridhar and Vijaya were married the next week. | A few days after their ae riage Vijaya asked her husband, “How could you get a job inone day and then make my step-| mother give her consent to our marriage, especially when she} was so particular about a very| wealthy son-in-law?” | Sridhar then told her about} the magic of the copper ring. Vijaya gave out a shriek. | “What happened to ee asked Sridhar. “About three days back, | when I was cleaning the house I found the ring in a trunk. Seeing| that it was an old rusted ring, 1| threw it away at the back of the]Jhouse,” s sobbed Vijaya. | “Donot be upset aboutit. We }have no use of it any more,” |said Sridhar. | But Vijaya searched for it and |retrieved it from a heap of dust jand broken things. “The ring has such great |magic power and how very silly of you to have asked for just two simple things!” said Vijaya. |“You should have asked from jthe merchant a share in his | business, and, you should have _|demanded a house from my | parents! In any case, the ring | has granted you only two boons. | A third one is yet to be got out of it!” She put on the ring and said, “] hope you have no objection if HI ask for the last boon, have }you?” “Surely not,” replied Sridhar, jand then he laughed. “Why, what has _ happene ? asked Vijaya, puzzled. | “Well, the third wish is Gver! You asked me for something and I consented to it—so your} wish is realised,” explained] Sridhar. | Vijaya was disheartened. She} began to weep. “It is no use crying now. One| should not be greedy. Did you} not tell me few weeks back that | you would be most happy if you | married me and that you desire | nothing else? Well, you see, this | is how man’s greed increases} endlessly bringing sorrow and} disappointment in the way!” ex- | plained Sridhar. | After a few days, Vijaya | « quietened down and one day} she told Sridhar, “I’ve now real-| ised how beautiful it is to be contented with the little things | of life.” |LITTLE IS PLENTY Mery years ago, there lived in ‘a small town a rich trader. His name was Shivgupta. One day he fell ill. His fever lasted for many days. Seeing his helpless condition, his clerks and workers began to mis- appropriate and his business ‘was ruined. One by one they left him He had no other way but to sell off his wife’s jewellery and the expensive things at home to ‘buy medicine for himself. A few months later he reco- vered his health. But pus eats lwas a pauper now. Not knowing what to do, he went one day to a friend of his. His friend Jayram received *|him well. After a while Shivgup- ta told him about his misfortune and requested him for a loan of one hundred rupees. “Dear friend,” asked Jayram, “if a person earns his living by plucking coconuts and if by ill luck he falls down and breaks his legs, should he try again to climb a coconut tree?” Shivgupta understood what Jayram was hinting at. He re-|_ plied curtly, “Dear Jayram, if, the coconut tree climber breaks his leg once, he’ll try-to climb next time with greater caution. But, he'll not leave his profes- sion.” Jayram saw that Shivgupta was quite annoyed. In order to appease him he said, “You have come to me at a time when my_jown business is not running well. I cannot give you the money you need. But, here are five rupees which I can spare for you. Please do not bother to return the money.” And he gave « a five-rupee note to Shivgupta. Next, Shivgupta went to three other friends of his. All the three responded more or less in ithe same manner as Jayram. Disappointed, Shivgupta re- turned home and told his wife jall about his friends. “Because I am bankrupt now, no one wants ~ to. help me,” he said. ‘They are only showing me sympathy by donating a few coins!” Shivgupta added with a note of anger and disgust. “But, do you have only four friends in the whole town?” asked his wife, Shanti. “You have spent all your life here. Don’t you have more friends?” “Yes, [have. But of what use are they?” questioned Shivgup- ta with a sigh. “That is for me to decide. Please prepare a list of all your friends giving their addresses, and give it to me,” requested Shanti. That night, Shivgupta sat at his table and wrote down the names and addresses of all his friends. He handed over the list to his wife. Next morning Shanti called her son and said, “My son, here is a list of all the friends of your father. Go to each one of them and tell them that your father would like to have a Joan of one hundred rupees. If any one is ready to give the loan, tell him that your father will meet him and collect it.” The boy left early in_ the morning and returned home in the evening. In his hand was a bag full of money. His parents were surprised to see the amount of money he had brought with him.“Who gavé you- all “that money?” asked Shivgupta. “No one. None is ready to give you a loan of one hundred Tupees. But, many gave a small sum of two rupees or five rupees each and said that you need not return the amount,” replied the son. : The bag contained about five} — hundred rupees and with it Shiv-|” gupta began a small business.| Within five years he regained] his old wealthy status. He remained ever grateful to} his wife but for whom he could not have revived his business.ty {NATURE'S KINGDOM) Sr Sry Qys Sy ys Or BA GLIDING TO SAFETY When flying equirrels find themesives in trouble in their tree-top homes, they simply stretch thelr “wings”, jump off—and take the quick way down. Hist above the watching crowds, tiny figures: irop from the open door of a big aircraft. At first they fall ike stones, then suddenty the sky divers spread arms and legs and at once change their descent to a series of graceful dives and swoops, Sometimes the divers: wear special dress with wide-cut sleeves, giving eis 2 erenoely b batlike appearance as they dnift ase it Seems as though these: daredevil performers are really flying, But of Course they ara not. However graceful their passage - through the air may be up to the final opening of the parachute, they are falling ell the time. Even their names admit this: sky divers, free fall Parachutists, perhaps, but never flyers: All of which seems to be rather unfair when one remembers that the fascinating animals we readily call flying squirrels operate in exactly the same way. Flying squirrels, potauristinae, are an excel lent example of how nature allows creatures to adapt themselves to their environment. There ara no less than 37 species of this furry little mammal spread over Europe, Asia and North America. Strictly speaking, they should be called gliding squirrel, because, like sky-diving, ‘man, they can only swoop and plane through the air and have no capacity for true flight. Nevertheless; what they can do is astonishing enough. This is achieved by means of a membrane of fur-covered skin that connects the wrists of the forefeet and the ankles of the hind feet, with a rod of cartilage acting as a ‘spreader. Leaping outwards into space flying squirrels spread their gliding membranes and Sail, sometimes 50 metres or more, to a lower ‘anding-place. Flying. squirrels preservation from predators and because their share of nature's housing plan is in the world of the high trees. Some flying squirrels do, in fact, glide to the ground in search of the odd nut or fruit. Yet almost the whole of their lives is spent - ‘amiong the upper branches that provide their food and where they make their dens, swoop- "tly" as a means of self _ ing from one place to another with ne more concem than a bird in. flight. Study of close-up and slow-mation cine film shows that this aerial travel is not quita as simple as it may seem, Before making ajump, a flying squirrel will sway its head from side to side, 63 if estimating the distance to the proposed landing-place. It then launches itself with considerable force, spreading its mem- brane es it heads for its objective. Just before landing, it raises its large tail, ‘which effectively pulls its head up, thus tuming. its “wings” into an air brake to slow it for landing. The moment its feet touch the tree, the flying! squirrels instinctively scramble round to +the other side of the trunk in order to escape ‘any waiting predator. Good Camouflage Flying squirrels are a. good deal more cautious than their more commen cousins. Their coat takes on the shades and pattems of the trees; and they seek their food largely at night, spending the day curled up asleep or, if the ‘temperature is too high fer comfort, stretched ‘out/on a branch with their jed mem- branes acting as an aid to cooling. ‘As this may seem curiously cautious for a ‘creature 30 wall equipped for self-preservati but it is possible that flying squirrels pay q dearly for their special ability. Cetainly, tye eye ‘of the American flying squirrel is not as complex an instrument as that of tree squirrel, as it has, a blind spot. Moreover, the gliding membranes interfere With the mobility of the limbs, s0 that daylight competition with ordinary tree squirrels would probably be difficult. They also glide at tho remarkably slow speed of 6.5 km/h, which would make them an easy prey in daylight to ‘the larger predatory birds. Flying squirrels are by no means unique as gliders within the. animal kingdom, in tha Philippines. and Malayan Peninsula, there are two species of colugo; sometimes wrongly called “fying lemurs". Members of the Dermoptera (skin-wingod) ‘order of mammals, colugos have voluminous double folds'of skin joining the front and hind limbs and tail. These folds of skin give the colugo the appearance of being wrapped in a ‘woolly blanket when itis at rest, hanging head ‘upwards on a tree trunk, with its sharp claws ‘dug into the bark. z This cat-sized animal lives mainly on fruit and flowers, and has curiously divided front teeth‘that resemble tiny combs. Experts ere unable to ‘agree as to whether this odd dental formation is Used to strain juice from fruit or simply enable the coluge to groom his fur efficiently. ‘Australia has no true flying squirrels, although ithas tree gliders thatresemble them so closely ft that it Is easy to be deceived. But these ara | ___ flying phalangers (phalangenidae), and not ordin- ary mammals. They rear and carry their young in pouches like those of the kangaroo The largar species are remarkably good glid- t ers: the sugar glider (Petaunus breviceps) can cover distances up to 15 metres, and the great glider (Schoinobates volans) has been known to Swoop 200 metres In sb successive olides Although the fying squirrel has never been known to achieve flight, one species has been observed to flap its membranes and succead.in- landing one full metre highs! its take-off point. This may have been: a. ‘exceptional parformance, but Its quite possi t the fying squirrel is still evolving:eS Laughs from Many Lands: CAN’T YOU GO WITHOUT CHEESE EVEN FOR A DAY? In Isfahan lived a miser who asked his son, on the latter's birthday, what he would have as a gift. The son wanted some cheese to eat with bread, => (One day the father ratuming home from e ‘Walk. saw the son rubbing his bread on the kitchen-door, “i'm rubbing my bread against the door because the cheese-hottle is locked in- sida," he explained. putit ina bottle and said, “Sonny, instead ‘of eating up the Cheese, we can very well rub our bread against the bottle. Thereby |} we can enjoy the cheese for long!” “Look here,.my son, can’t you go Without cheese even for a day?” said the father stemly. “How are you going to remain rich?”New Tales of King” Vikram and the Vampire. ig! the atmosphere. It rained from time to time. At the inter- vals of thunderclaps and the moaning of jackals could be. heard the eerie laughter of spir- its. Flashes of lightning showed fearful faces. But King Vikram swerved not. He climbed the ancient tree once again and brought the corpse down. However, as soon as he began crossing the deso- late cremation ground with the corpse lying on his shoulder, the) vampire that possessed him said, “O King, what do you lack that you should take up such an unusual task at such an unearth- ly hour? Are you obliged to do} this under any curse? Whether a) curse brings one misfortune or| not is a big question. Let me} narrate an incident to you. Pay attention to it. That might bring you some relief.” The vampire went on: In the! city of Shripur lived a wealthy! merchant named Dhanagupta.| He had a palatial house flanked] by gardens and orchards and he|‘commanded a number of ser- |yants. But he was not happy because he was childless. He heard from a traveller that |i the forest spread along the ~ |frontier of the kingdom lives a hermit named Brahmananda. |His blessings can result in cou- jples having children. One morning Dhanagupta set jout for the forest. He spent |three days and three nights on | the way. Then he saw the forest. It was evening. He spent the jnight in the village close to the jforest. The villagers told him jmany things about Sage |Brahmananda and also told him Jone must proceed alone to meet. [the sage if one desired any boon 3 from him. Dhanagupta left his chariot in the custody of the villagers and entered the forest alone. He had} to walk for hours before he saw} the sage’s hermitage. Extremely | tired, he set down under a tree. He saw a boy sweeping the hermitage campus. He called} the boy and said, “Will you massage my legs for a while?” I'll pay you for your service.” “You need not pay me. Will you massage my legs in return for my service?” asked the boy. | Dhanagupta flared up. “How dare you say so! Don’t you have} any reverence for age, you fool? Am I not much senior to you?” The boy laughed and ,said,| “Suppose you had a son. Do| you think your servants whol would serve him would be} necessarily younger than he?” | Instead of calming down,) Dhanagupta grew even more] angry at the boy’s clever answer. “How dare you com-| pare my son, if I had one, with] yourself? My son would inherit} my property amounting to a crore of rupees. You are a mere} sweeper. Don’t you understand) the difference?” he shouted. The boy laughed once again.} “Tt is difficult to say who i is rich}and who is poor. You're here to |beg something of my master. In other words, you are a beggar. I have no need of anything. I’m rich.” With these words the boy sat jdown for massaging Dhanagup- }ta’s legs. But Dhanagupta moved his legs away with such force that it appeared as if he |kicked the boy. ‘The boy sprang up. “You may |be blessed with a son through jmy master’s blessings, but you |deserve to suffer the pangs of jseparation from your .son, jnevertheless!” he said in a man- |ner that sounded like a curse. The boy left the spot in a huff, ‘An elderly inmate of the jAshram walked towards Dhana- * \gupta and asked him, “Why did ‘Gopal grow so angry?” Dhana- gupta told him all that had |happened. | “It is a pity that you angered |Gopal. He may be a small boy but he is a Sadhak. He has some jpower. His curse may become a |fact! | He was only probing your jego,” said the inmate. Dhanagupta woke up to his - folly. “But how can Gopal’s curse befall me? If I am blessed ‘with a son, I'll guard him like {the ne apple of my. yet” ‘said he. “My friend, if something is to} happen, it may happen in any of the many ways. Suppose,*soon after its birth your child gets| mixed up with someone else’s| child. Will that not separate you) from your child?” answered the} inmate. | The inmate then went in and} informed Sage Brahmananda about Dhanagupta’s visit. The} sage called him in. Dhanagupta bowed down to him —and appealed to him to grant him a rn. | The sage gave him a talisman. } “Tie this to your wife’s arm. | Your desire will be fulfilled,” eT said: —_——— ee| Dhanagupta expressed his ae gratefulness to the sage and, after some hesitation, re- __ |ported to him all about his * |quarrel with Gopal. “O Sage, do you think Gopal’s curse will }be effective? I was tired and I Jacted like a fool,” he said, “Dhanagupta! No curse can fact on one who is egoless or who jdepends on God and always jseeks His protection. Don’t you [worry If at all the curse works, |Gopal himself will one day set jyou free from its effect,”~ jassured Brahmananda. Dhanagupta returned home |Gopal’s curse hung on his head jlike a cloud. A year passed. His wife fell seriously ill when it was time for her to give birth to her child. She had to be carried to a} famous physician’s house where | there were several other pa-| tients. Soon after Dhanagupta’s wife | was delivered of a son, her} maid-seryant saw an unknown | woman going out of her room. | The maid-servant shouted to} know who she was and what her business was in that room. But the woman ran away. | When Dhanagupta heard this | he was sure that Gopal’s curse | had become effective in the very way foreseen by the elder in-| mate of the hermitage. He took it for granted that the infant | child lying pear his wife was not theirs. Their child~had been} exchanged for someone else’s child. i He remembered the sage’s consolation that one day Gopal | can set him free from his curse. | He went to the hermitage again, | but Gopal was no longer there. | He waited for the day he would meet Gopal. Years pas- sed. The child they nurtured won all their affection, though | they were eager to find their lost | | son. Some seven peste EERE || One day Dhanagupta learnt ab- | out one Gopal Baba camping in |the nearby village. He paid a | visit to him and recognised him | to be the Gopal of Brahmanan- |da’s hermitage. “Gopalji, your curse became effective. Now, be pleased to | withdraw it,” Dhanagupta said | with humility. Gopal remembered his quar- | rel with him. He meditated for a moment and said, “Dhanagup- | ta! I don’t know what made you jthink’ that you are separated | from your son. The boy you are bringing up is none other than your son!” Dhanagupta was happy. He invited Gopal to his house and Gopal blessed his son. The vampire paused for a moment and then demanded of King Vikram in a challenging | tone: “O: King, how is it that Gopal’s curse did not work?} Was Dhanagupta egoless and prayful to God? Answer me, if you can. Should you keep mum despite your knowledge of the} answer, your head would roll of, your neck!” Forthwith answered King Vikram: “Who said that Gopal’s curse did not work? Gopal had said that Dhanagupta must suf-} fer the pangs of separation from his son. Although his son was with him, Dhanagupta took it for granted that his son had been exchanged for another’s son. That gave him the pang. Dhanagupta was not an egoless man nor was he that prayful. But he had repented for his rough conduct. That shoftened the period of his suffering.” No sooner had the king con- cluded his answer than the vam- pire, along with the corpse, gave‘A Tale from the Katha-sarit-sagara n the city of Vikrampura there lived, long ago, a king named Vikramtunga. He was famous for his statemanship, and though his sword was sharp, his heart was soft. Once a young Brahmin named Viravara, hailing from the country of Malava, came there to take service under the king. He had with him his wife, adaughter, and ason. He had at his waist a dagger, inone hand a sword, and in the other a polished shield. He demanded five hundred coins every day by way of salary. The king appointed him as the gate- Keeper of his palace and granted him that salary, thinking to him- self: “I will try his capacity soon!” The king set spies on him to find out what this man, would do with so many coins! Every day Virayara gave his wife a hundred coins for food and other necessities. With another hundred he bought clothes and gifts and so on; and he spent a third hundred, on theworship of Vishnu and Siva. The remaining two hundred he gave away in charity. Virayara remained day and night at the gate of the palace, sword in hand, except for the time set apart for bathing, saying prayers or taking food. One day a great storm broke forth. It rained heavily, but Viravara stood like a pillar and did not leave his station. King Vikramatunga saw him through the window of a tower and thought, “Surely, this brave and: faithful man deserves a high salary.” Suddenly the king heard a hwoman crying loudly at some distance. Surprised, he thought, “There is not a single distressed person in my kingdom. Who then weeps?” He called Vira- vara and said, “Go and find out who is weeping and what her sorrow is.” Viravara set out brandishing his sword. The king, moved by curiosity, came down from the tower and followed him, sword in hand, unobserved. Viravara proceeded in the direction of the noise. He reached a lake outside the city. He saw a woman crying out in the midst of it: “Ah lord! merci- ful one, how shall I live aban- doned by thee?” “Who are you and what Lord do you pray to?” asked Vira- vara. She replied,~“My son, know that I am the Spirit of this kingdom and Vikramatunga is my lord. He is to die on the third day from now.” “Tf there is any way for saving the king, pray, tell me,” said Viravara. “There is an image of a god- dess behind the palace. If you offer to that image your son, the lang will be spared by fate,” came the grim answer from the Spirit. 5 “J will go and do the needfulimmediately.” The king who followed him, saw and heard all. Viravara returned to his ‘house. The king followed him. ‘Viravara woke up his wife and told her what had happened. “We must do what is for the advantage of our king; so wake up our son and tell him,” said the lady. Then Viravara woke up his son and natrated the events to him. The child heard his father calmly and said, “Am I not fortunate that my life can profit the good king? Take me and sacrifice me to the goddess with- out any delay.” _ King Vikramatunga, who was standing outside said to himself, “All the members of this family are all surprisingly noble!” Vira- vara took his son on his shoul- der and his wife Dharmavati took their daughter on her back and the two went to the temple by night. _ King Vikramatunga followed them. When they reached the temple, the boy bowed to the deity and said, “Goddess, may our !ord’s life be saved by the offering of my head and may he tule the kingdom without an enemy to oppose him.” ‘ “Bravo, my son!” exclaimed * his father. Then, drawing his sword, he cut off the boy’s head| and offered it to the gotidess, saying, “May the king live long and rule the kingdom with truth and justice.” “Viravara, you have bes- towed life on your master by sacrificing the life of your son! How noble you are!” Viravara’s daughter embraced her slain brother and cried out, “Alas, my brother!” Then she died of broken heart. When Viravara’s wife saw that her daughter too-was dead, she clasped her hands together and said to Viravara, “Permit me to} enter the fire with my two dead[children, for what joy is there |for me, my two lovely children jhaving departed?” And she |swooned away. | WViravara murmured to him- jself, “I have done my duty |towards my master. Why should |I not propitiate the goddess by offering up myself?” He was. preparing to cut off his own head when a voice was heard, | “Do not act rashly, my son, for I am well pleased with this cour- age of thine. Ask of me a |boon!” “Tf thou art pleased, O God- dess, then may King Vikrama- tunga live long and may my wife and children return to life,” said Viravara. “So be it,” said the voice from above. And immedi- ately the three rose, as if no- thing had happened to them. Viravara, delighted, led home jhis family and then himself re- tumed to the palace gate. palace. He cried out from the} tower, “Who is on guard at the} gate?” Viravara answered, “I,| Viravara, am here. I went to find that woman but she vanished like a goddess.” | “Surely, this man is unique | for his heroism and nobility of character. How can I reward} one who secretly saved my life] making the greatest possible} sacrifice?” | In the morning the king called Viravara to the court and re-| lated his wonderful experience | to all. | All were surprised. They| found no language to praise Vira- vara. The king made the man his minister and rewarded him with lands, horses;~ elephants and jewels and asked the court- poet to sing the glory of hisphysical suffering, but also-mental confusion. | speak things | don’t mean and mean things | don't say.” “Don't worry. I'll try my best to cure you,” assured the doctor. "Will you? Thanks a lot. I'll donate one lakh rupees to your hospital,” said Sathji. A long time passed after Sethji was cured. One day the doctor met him and said, “I wanted to remind you that you had promised a donation of one lakh rupess to my hospital when you were sick.” “Had I? That is the thing! | was so sick that I said things! didnotmean and | did not say what | meant!” | | ‘Sethji-was very sick. He told his doctor, “My sicknass is causing me notonly | | | |THE CHANGE oO: the death of his old father, the young prince, Ajay Ver- ima, was crowned the king. The old chief minister, Prithvi Singh, had served for many years the late king. With the permission of the new king, Ajay Verma, he went out on a - {long pilgrimage. The young king was one day going along the streets of his city when he heard a farmer scolding his son. “J have made a great mistake by sending you to the school. What an idle boy you, have become! The schools are zeally. spoiling our children!” shouted the father. Back at the palace, King Ajay. ‘Verma immediately called a meeting of all his ministers and declared, “I have seen that the schools are misleading our young children—they are not training them properly. Let all the schools in our kingdom be closed right away!” “What a wise deci ion!” said an old minister. “The king is young but has a clever vision of the future,” said another, flatteringly. And, all the schools closed down the next day. A few days later, a wealthy merchant came to the court and complained to the king: “Maharaj, ten days ago a gang of robbers broke into my’ house and looted all my wealth;| jand escaped. I informed the |police about it. Twas assured by fae Superintendent that he will |catch the robbers and return my “money. But, Maharaj, up to now no efforts have been made jto catch them. Of what use are |these policemen? After all, they jare living by our money!” “Yes, Maharaj, I too have |heard many reports about their J inefficiency,” remarked a young | minister. The king kept quiet for a |moment. } “Lam convinced of your argu- }ment,” said the king gravely. }“No one should waste public }money. Disband the police Se es force immediately,” he ordered. | “Surely, Maharaj, your deci-| sion is wise. No other king had| ever thought of taking such a’ step!” “Maharaj”, joined in a senior} courtier, “in the last thirty years I have seen our army fighting only once. Are we not wasting our wealth maintaining such a} huge and unnecessary army?” | “What a bright idea! Indeed it is’ an absolute waste of our wealth. No more army from tomorrow. Send the men back home to their villages. Let them] work for themselves and earn} their living. They will serve the kingdom better that way!” de- clared King Ajay Verma, “We are all very proud of having such a wise king,” said the old flatterer, And so the changes came, one after another, and the king} felt very proud of himself. News spread to the neighbouring Kingdoms about the strange changes. One day, even Prithvi Singh, the chief minister out on a pilgrimage, came to hear of them. He immediately started on his return journey. As he entered his native kingdom, he was horrified to see the state of affairs.rithvi Singh,” said King Ajay Verma when he saw his fold chief minister, “you must fhave heard about the great |changes I have brought about in jthe kingdom. Our kingdom has become most modern!” | “Maharaj, your decisions are jpethaps wise. But, have you |tried to know the condition of the kingdom and the people’s |reactions?” asked Prithyi Singh. “J am sure they are all happy. That is what my ministers tell |me,” said the king. “Maharaj, I suggest that we |see the situation for ourselves.” The next day, both the king jand the chief minister disguised jthemselves as merchants and jwent to a nearby village. | There they saw the village jcouncil sitting in a meeting. A }member said, “My countrymen, |I've already lived a long life of |seventy years, but never have I }seen such a sorry situation in our kingdom. Children have no }schools, girls have no dance and jmusic schools to go to, and no jlady is safe any more. Robbers jand thieves are moving about in j broad daylight, plundering peo- |ple, as there is no police force to |stop them. I do not know how jlong we can continue like this.” Another person said, “There is now a greater danger. I have come to know from Secret sources that the neighbouring king is planning to attack us. We have no army and our kingdom will be swallowed up in no time.} We shall all lose the little that} we now possess.” “The only thing to do now,” said a young man from the crowd, “is to banish the king and to elect a new king to the throne. We shall all revolt} against King Ajay Verma and dethrone him!” | And the whole crowd cheered and shouted. “We shall protect} our kingdom and our culture.|fe . E We shall overthrow the king...” The king realised the great blunders he had committed. ‘The next day he made an lannouncement re-establishing ithe old institutions, the police and the army. The people were immensely happy with the re- turn of the old system and the neighbouring king who was. planning to invade the kingdom were misleading him and ruled the kingdom with caution and common sense.ca ee in Kas rs. The city is called Varane-— pees it is situated between branches. of legends refer sacred aoa Veranasi. He was” areal kin nd was en owed withape father was tired of telling the boy to take up some }work. He did not know what to do with his idle son. Anil loved to stay in bed all |day. He got out of it only to take his food or for cleaning himself. | No amount of scolding or advice by his parents could change the lazy young man. The father, Ramdas, had a | childhood friend by the name of }Chandrasekhar. His only daughter's marriage was fixed with a young man of the town. He needed money and decided to sell a plot of his land. Chandrasekhar’s land was |rich, with a big well atits centre. | He was confident that he will be |able to sell it off any day at a good price. So he did not bother {to approach anyone until a {month before the date of the 55 THE LAZY Marriage. The prospective buyers, knowing the reason for his selling the land, tried to} pressurise him to sell it at a cheap price. But that would have meant a heavy-loss for him. Greatly worried; he went to his friend Ramdas for advice. Ramdas heard the whole story but he kept quiet as he had no solution to offer. Suddenly, Anil said-from his bed: “Why don't you offer your GROWS BUSY. land to the zamindar? Your land} - is adjacent to the zamindar’s. He'll be glad to purchase it from you at a good price. Don’t you think so?” “What a wonderful -idea! Ij had not thought of it till now!” said Chandrasekhar and he Tushed out of the house. The zamindaf was only glad} to purchase Chandrasekhar’sHand. He offered a very good Jjprice. Chandrasekhar. per- formed his daughter’s marriage jin a befitting manner. “Anilkumar is a wise chap, I must say,” Chandrasekhar told this friend, Ramdas. | “What nonsense do you ispeak! He has become my headache. He does practically Jnothing!” said an irritated ‘Ramdas. “] think we have to hit upon the right way to set him to work,” drasekhar. Next day, Chandrasekhar went to Anilkumar, and waking him from his slumber, said, observed Chan-- “Anil, I hear from everyone around that you are lazy and good-for-nothing. Are you not ashamed of being called so?” Anil, managing to open his. drowsy eyes, replied. “Why care about what people say? I have become immune to their com- ments.” “But, Anil, I think that you are a very capable boy and that if you work a little you can do wonders!” “Thank you for the compli- ment. You are the first one in years to have spoken some good words about me,” said. Anil. “I am not trying to flatter you, Anil. Don’t you remember the sound advice you gave me before my daughter’s marriage? It shows how intelligént you are! ‘You do what I tell you and you'll see the result. Give me just a week’s time to put through my plan,” pleaded ‘Chandrasekhar. Then he told him what his plan was. “All right, Uncle. just a week and not more,” replied Anil. The next morning, Chan- drasekhar spread a mat on the verandah of Anil’s house and asked Anil to sit on it. He then hung a board in front of the house which read, “If you have{a problem, we have its solution: } Consult us.” } At the beginning passers-by }laughed at the board. No one ftook Anil seriously. On the sixth day, when Anil |was about to remove the board, ja shepherd came by and asked, | “What is written on this board? Chandrasekhar explained to }him about their ‘business’. “Then tell me, Anilbhai, the solution to my problem. It is like this: We are a group of shepherds living beyond the hill. There is a meadow abounding in good grass for our sheep. But the sheep are in constant danger of being lost to the wolves. All of us keep awake at night and keep a continuous watch over ‘our sheep. ‘Sill the clever wolves manage to whisk away a sheep every other night. What shall we }do?” asked the shepherd in an jearnest tone. “Listen, brother, the solution is very simple,” said Anil. “Firs- | tly, instead of all of you keeping Jawake at night you can take turns, one person guarding the }sheep one night and another the next night. This way you can all |have your sleep. Secondly, the }man on watch should beat. a {drum continuously. The sound a a 5? of the drum will keep the wolf away.” The Shepherd was overjoyed by the solution. The very next day he returned to Anil and paid him a few coins. Soon word spread about the} clever solution Anil had given to ihesnepherdenderileres bes gan visiting him with their prob-} lems. They received just advice from Anil. Anil started getting, some money. | ‘One day the zamindar called Anil home and said, “I’ve heard} a great deal about your sound} advice to the villagers. I too} have a problem. My son has) taken to drinking and I have failed in persuading him to give}up his habit. Can you suggest some solution?” “I suggest that you get some medicine from your physician which, mixed with wine, will make your son unconscious for a while. Once your son regains his consciousness, let the physi- cian himself tell him that he fell unconscious because of the wine which he cannot stand any lon- ger. Let him also threaten your son that if he drinks again, he ‘might lose his. life.” That very evening the zamin-, dar acted according to Anil’s advice. By morning, he saw the miraculous change in his son— the young man and thrown away sg all his bottles and had resolved never to drink again. The zamindar was so happy that he conveyed the good news to the king. King Vishal had been sick suffering from a back pain for several months. On receiving the reports of his condition, the king of the neighbouring king-| dom suggested that King Vishal | should surrender his kingdom to him. His suggestion was accom- panied by a threat. Not knowing how to face the imminent dan- ger, King Vishal summoned Anil and told him about his problem. the enemy king was camping in the city. He had a battalion of his best sqldiers with him. There was no time to lose! Zo “Maharaj,” said Anil, you'll have to win this war more through the tongue than through strength! Spread word throughout the kingdom that your illness is not true and that it is all a feigning. You are concentrating on secret strate- gies to attack the neighbouring Kingdom. Let your enemy hear that you have purposefully lured them to your capital—to cap- ture them here and to attack their land in their absence. The}plan might work, Maharaj.” King Vishal’s face brightened up. He called his chief minister and told him about it. Soon the Inecessary Tumour was spread. People began to talk in whispers labout their clever king’s strategy. They-looked with con- tempt at the enemy soldiers icamping there. As expected the enemy king icame to know from his spies about King Vishal’s plans! Not prepared to be caught in King Vishal’s trap, he left the city, along with his soldiers, under the cover of darkness! Anilkumar, though very young, became one of the minis- ters to King Vishal and inscourse. of time he came to be loved and respected by everyone in the: kingdom.Characters from Indian Classics ANUSUYA Sage Atri and his wife Anusuya lived in a hut in the shadow of a mountain cliff. Their hut was surrounded by trees bearing fruits and flowers. Anusuya was beautiful — so much so that even the birds and animals were never tired of gazing at her. It was not her mere physical beauty wh proved so charming, it was the beauty of her nature. She loved all like a mother; her mind was constantly fixed on God. No worldly pleasure had any attraction to her. “Is it true that she can look upon all as her children?” once the great Gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, were asked by some sages. “Let us see if she can,” the Gods answered. They. of course, knew that she could. But they wanted to prove her greatness for others. They took the form of three grown-up human beings and approached Anusuya when she was alone in her hut and said, “We want to take some rest in your hut, but, you must nurse us while we lye in your lap.“ Obviously they wanted to put her to a test. How can a young lady let three strangers lie on her lap? Anusuya smiled and said, “Come on, my children!” Lo and behold, the three Gods were reduced to three infants, Anusuya held them in her lap, sang to them and breast-fed them! Deeply impressed by her power, the Gods, when they returned te their original forms, offered her a boon. She wanted all three ef them as her true sons. Thus she gave birth to Soma, an emanation of Brahma, Dattatreya, an emanation of Vishnu and Durvasa, an emanation of Siva. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana met the sage couple when in exile. Anusuya presented to Sita garments and ornaments which were never to be —Towards Better English MORE ON HORSES It was evening. Grandpa Chowdhury was sipping tea on the terrace when Rajesh was back from his class. “Grandpa, | hope you haven't forgotten about the horse—! mean, to tell us- more about phrases and proverbs featuring horses!” shouted Rajesh, gasping for breath as he climbed the stairs. “Hold your horses, please!" said Reena. “What do you mean?” asked Rajesh. “I'll tall you. She asks you not to be in such a hurry!“ Grandpa answered on Reena‘s behalf and he continued, “Well, | will come to the subject Straight. One of the most common phrases is A Trojan Horse. Do you know. what it means?” = “No, though the phrase is not unfamiliar to me.” “It means a deception or a concealed danger.” “| can link it with the story of the fall of Troy. Those who attacked Troy left a wooden horse and retreated. The Trojans carried the horse into their fort. At night the enemy soldiers hiding inside the wooden horse came out and wrecked havoc on the ci said Rajesh. “Did the same even give birth to the proverb, The Wooden harse of Troy?” asked Reena, = “No, this has nothing to do with the Trojan episode. This means, #vhen you receive something as a gift, do not inquire into its intrinsic value. After all, you have received it without paying for it. Well, there are many more “phrases and proverbs with the horse, like Straight from the horse’s mouth, which means, direct from the highest authority, a report that cannot be’ questioned. Then there is Flogging the dead horse, meaning any attempt at reviving interest in any subject that is out of date,” concluded Grandpa.Let'me know the names of the “Three Wise Men of the East” who ‘brought gifts to the infant Jesus. —V. Venkatachalam, Cotrnbatore They are Melchior which means “King of Light’. Gaspar, which means “the white one" and Batthazar which means “the Lord of treasure” The Cathedral of Cologne is believed to have preserved their relics. Are the Indian tigers an encengered species? —8&rij Khandelwal, “Delhr Yes. In 1972 their number had gone down to 1,928. Now because of many” _ Steps taken to preserve them, the number is around 4,000. In the forest of * Sundarbans we have 264 tigers. = What does the word Kindergarten mean? —Sumitra, Jabbalpur It is a German word meaning a children’s garden. Friederich Froebel (1782-1852), a German educationist, founded a school for very young children where learning was made possible through objects of interest, games and songs. What are X-rays and who discovered it? : cs - —Biswanath Ghosh, Kanpur. X-ray was discovered on November 8, 1895 by a German professor of physics named Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (1845-1923). Therefore, it is also known as Rontgen Ray. _ X-rays are electromagnetic waves which are capable of ‘going “through solid substances except bones and metal.rPHOTO CAPTION CONTEST 3 S.B, Prosad Madhind:Ssnars, ‘Can you formulate a caption ina few words, to suit these pictures related to. ‘each other? If yas, you may write it on a post card and mail it to Photo ‘Caption Contest, Chandamama, to reach’us by 20th of the current month, A reward of Rs.50/- will go to the best erinyanhich will be published in the ~ issue after the next. The Prize for August ‘85 goes to:— Maithreyi: Mohan Na. 3: Nowroji Road Chetpet, Madras 600.031 The Winning Entry:— ‘Silent Contemplation’ & “Peaceful Relaxation’ PICKS FROM THE WISE ‘Many of our cares are but a morbid aN, of looking’ at our privileges. —Sir Waiter Scott Dirt is: not ‘ire ‘ut only. matter in the wrong place. 2 —Lord Palmerston The! best way to study human nature is when nobody else is present. Tom Masson dTO OUR READERS AND PATRONS It has been our mission to bring to you as much Joy as we can—through stories, legends, mythol- ogy and pictures—without causing you any in- convenience. We are always prepared to strug- gle against odds, but there are times when wa cannot continue in the struggle without your co-operation. In the recent past the cast of production of the Magazine has gone up very high while we have stuck to its old price. But now: there is no alternative to increasing Its price if we have to retain its present volume and quality. From its November issue, Chandamama will Cost fifty paisé more. Per copy will cost Rs, 2.50 and the annual subscription will be Rs. 30.00. We have no doubt that you will appreciate the situation and continue to lend your support to Chandamama, the magazine of light and delight. The Publisher.New Power Packed Surf. Bursting with a formulation more powerful than ever before: washing deep down clean, Keeping all your whites the whitest, all your coloureds the brightest Yet protecting the fabric to proteng its ewness: keeping every shir, every sheet as fresh, as clean; as while es new. Wash after wash! Fresh New Perfume tt stays on your clothes: ‘80 clean, $0 {resh, 80 nica to.be near to! ‘Smart New Pack it matches the new power packed formulation inside. ‘Come. Gat new Power Packed Surf today. Surf washes whitest...keeps all your clothes likenew! 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