English Literature

Tit for Tat: Hareshwar Roy This happened a very long time ago. There was a small princely state named Jitaura . The ruler of this state was Maharaja Jhauwa Singh . Under Maharaja Jhauwa Singh's kingdom, there was a village named Bachari . In this village lived two men, Baikunth , a barber, and Yamuna Pandit , a priest. Deep friendship existed between the two. Once upon a time, Baikunth had an urgent reason to leave the village and go to the city for a few days. He possessed a glittering silver dagger which he did not want to leave behind in his empty house for fear of theft. Therefore, before his departure, he shared his dilemma with his friend, Yamuna Pandit. Offering a solution to Baikunth's problem, Yamuna Pandit said, “Oh friend, is this even a problem? Leave your dagger with me, and as soon as you return, you can take it back.” Trusting Yamuna Pandit's advice without any hesitation, Baikunth handed over his dagger to his friend and left for the city with a mind at ...

Confidence Returned: Hareshwar Roy It was evening, around five-thirty. Sameer returned home from school. After changing his clothes and washing his hands and face, he went and sat on the easy chair on the balcony, as he did every day. In the playground in front of the balcony, many children were playing. Colorful kites were flying high in the sky. Various birds were returning through the sky to their nests. The sun was also just about to set, turning the sky a deep red. Watching the evening scene, thirteen-year-old Sameer, a student of class eight, lost himself in thought. “Only three months are left before my annual exams begin. I should throw myself wholeheartedly into preparing for the exams. I will have to work very hard to succeed.” “But will I even be able to pass the exam this year? No, no. Passing the exam is a uphill task for me. It's impossible.” Caught in the grip of despair, he kept thinking. “Last year too, I worked so hard. What was the result? I failed. I only sco...

The Fruit of Karma: Hareshwar Roy Prajapati Daksha was the son of Lord Brahma . One of his daughters was Sati . Sati was a great devotee of Lord Shiva . Her marriage was solemnized with Lord Shiva. Sometime after this marriage, Prajapati Daksha arrived at a pilgrimage site named Naimisharanya . Many gods, sages, and ascetics were present there along with Lord Shiva. Upon seeing Daksha, everyone bowed their heads and offered their respects to him. However, Lord Shiva did not do so. Daksha found this behavior of his disrespectful and became extremely furious. In his heart, he decided to take revenge on Lord Shiva. A few days after this incident, Daksha organized a grand yajna (sacrificial ritual) at a place called Kankhal . He got a good opportunity to humiliate Shiva. Therefore, he did not invite Lord Shiva on this occasion. All the invited gods, sages, and ascetics reached the venue of the yajna. Finding Shiva absent, Maharishi Dadhichi wanted to know the reason behind it. In res...

Meethu 's Freedom: Hareshwar Roy This is a story from a long time ago. A priest lived in a village. He had a parrot named Meethu. That parrot was his sole means of earning a livelihood. Every day, the priest would take Meethu in a cage and head to the city. There, he would set up his seat under a tree by the roadside. The priest was a fortune teller . With Meethu's help, he used to tell the future to interested people. The fortunes of the people remained enclosed in the envelopes placed in front of Meethu's cage. At the priest's gesture, Meethu would pick up one of those envelopes in his beak. The priest would extract the piece of paper inside the envelope and read it out in his own distinct style. After learning their future, the person sitting in front would give a donation to the priest. Meethu felt immense pity for the foolishness and superstition of the people who paid the money. Drawing out envelopes year after year, Meethu had grown tired of it. He wanted to ...

Jadavar : Hareshwar Roy This happened a very long time ago. In the Shahabad region of Bihar province, there was a small fiefdom named Jagdishpur . The owner of that fiefdom was Babu Kunwar Singh . His Bhojpuri-speaking subjects respectfully called him 'Babu Saheb'. Babu Saheb was a man of straightforward and firm temperament. He was very popular for his bravery, courage, sense of justice, and generosity. He was always ready to work for the welfare of his people. Thus, during his reign, peace and order prevailed in Jagdishpur, and the people were content and prosperous. In Babu Saheb's court, there lived a jester (court jester) named Basawan . He was an extremely clever and sharp-witted man. All the courtiers were very fond of him, and Babu Saheb himself was convinced of his talent. In moments of leisure, Basawan would entertain Babu Saheb by telling jokes, proverbs, satirical stories, and poems. His remarks were so witty that Babu Saheb would burst into fits of laughter...

Kukurdayi Temple : Hareshwar Roy It is a common belief among the people living in the villages of Chhattisgarh that long ago, Chhattisgarh had days lasting six months and nights of equal duration. This story belongs to that time. A money-lender named Ramnath Sahu lived in a village. He maintained his family by trading in rice. Once, due to a lack of rain, a severe famine struck Chhattisgarh. The paddy crop was completely ruined. Ramnath's business came to a complete standstill, and his financial condition became extremely pitiable. He became desperate for every single grain of food, and his family began to starve. Therefore, he went to a landlord ( Malguzar ) in a neighboring village to ask for a loan. That landlord was very miserly and ruthless. Despite much pleading and entreaty, he was not ready to grant a loan to Ramnath. To obtain the loan, Ramnath ultimately had to pawn his dog, Tipu, with the landlord. It was agreed that Ramnath would take Tipu back when repaying the loa...

The Twentieth Chapter of the Gita: Hareshwar Roy Long ago, there was a small village named Dihra in the Bhojpur region . Outside the village stood a grand temple. In the courtyard of this temple, there was a huge peepal tree with a paved stone platform beneath it. Once, a revered saint made his seat under this tree. He had a charming personality and a very sweet voice. The villagers were deeply impressed by the saint and requested him to give a discourse ( pravachan ), which he could not decline. Word was sent to nearby villages informing them of the event. A stage was set up, and all other necessary arrangements for the discourse were made. On the day the discourse was to begin, a large crowd gathered in the temple courtyard. Before commencing the discourse, the saint asked a question to the assembled audience, “How many of you have read or heard the twentieth chapter of the Gita ? Please raise your hands.” Hearing this, almost everyone raised their hands. The saint's heart ...

Kurta-Pajama of Masterji: Hareshwar Roy There was a small village named Jamuaon . There was a primary school there, which had arrangements for classes from grade one to five. The amusing thing was that there was only a single room in the name of a school, and even that solitary room was in a dilapidated condition. All classes were conducted together in this very room. In one corner of the schoolroom lay an old wooden chest. That very box played the role of the school office. When school was dismissed, materials such as the school register, chalk, duster, clock, broom, bell, and hammer were neatly placed inside this box. In terms of furniture, there was nothing in the school except a dilapidated wooden chair. Even that chair wobbled unsteadily whenever someone sat on it. The school children had nicknamed it Masterji's 'Chakuni Elephant.' To sit, students brought jute mats from their homes. In front of the school was a small garden. It was quite green and beautiful. Colorf...

My Mummy is So Nice: Hareshwar Roy It was morning. Sunlight spread across the paved platform in the garden in front of the house. Tiny dew drops on the colorful flower petals sparkled like pearls. A mat was spread on the platform. Ambu and his mummy were sitting on it. Mummy was busy knitting a sweater, while Ambu was absorbed in drawing a picture of his mummy with colored pencils. In between, he would show the picture to his mummy and ask, "Look mummy, is the picture good?" To encourage Ambu, his mummy would look at the picture, smile, and say, "Oh wow, son! It's very beautiful." Ambu was a fifth-grade student. Everyone affectionately called him Chhotu . While drawing his mummy's picture, Chhotu got lost in thought, 'My mummy is so nice! From morning till evening, she stays busy with my work. She always takes care of me. She doesn't scold me at all. Bathing me, feeding me, polishing my shoes, getting my bag ready for school, these are all part of...