Book Author

Much of Jawaharlal’s childhood was spent in the Palatial Building named Anand Bhawan spread on 16 acres situated very close to the University of Allahabad. So Nehru described his childhood as a "sheltered and uneventful one".Nehru received most of his primary education at home by many English teachers. Out of them only one managed to influence him. His name was Ferdinand Brooks—a part-Irish, part-Belgian theosophist. Under him Nehru became interested in Science and Theosophy. Nehru started taking interest in Theosophical Society at age thirteen by family friend Annie Besant. However, his interest in theosophy did not continue and he left the society shortly after Brooks departed as his tutor. Jawaharlal with Children / YouthChacha Nehru as the children fondly referred to him, was fond of both children and roses. In fact he often compared the two, saying that children were like the buds in a garden. They should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they were the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow. He felt that children are the real strength of a country and the very foundation of society. He was the ‘beloved’ of all the children who gave him the endearing name of ‘Chacha Nehru’. He started to wear a rose on his jacket after a child pinned one on it. He always said that children were "future of bright India". On his birthday, he used to have the children at his place to play and enjoy together. So he asked not to have any holiday for his birthday after his death but let the children enjoy the way they want. Nehru chacha’s birthday is celebrated as ‘Baal Din’. Nehru had invited all the newly elected MPs (Member of Parliament) of his party for a dinner held in the lawns of Teen Murti house. During dinner Nehru saw that some poor family children had climbed the boundary wall. They were sitting on it looking at the guests who were having dinner. So he took his plate and went to the wall and gave it to a young boy. Immediately all the MPs also gave their dinner plates to the children! On October 2, 1957, during the Ramlila celebrations in Old Delhi’s Ramlila Ground, Nehru along with some foreign delegates was watching the fireworks. Some sparks fell on the tent in which they were standing and it caught fire. A Boy Scout assigned to Nehru’s stand, grabbed Nehru’s hand and pulled him towards the dais. Then he climbed onto one of the poles, and with his scouts’ knife cut off the burning portion of the tent. This boy was Harish Chand Mehra. On February 4, 1958, a special programme was organised to honour Harish Chand and he was presented the award by Nehru at Teen Murti Bhawan. Nehru said that Harish needed no introduction, as he was himself an eyewitness to the whole account. He said it would be better if we could have more children of undoubted courage.Japan’s zookeepers had killed most of Tokyo’s wild animals to prevent them from escaping during World War II air raids. In 1949, Nehru delighted Japanese children by presenting Ueno Zoo with an Indian elephant.

Much of Jawaharlal’s childhood was spent in the Palatial Building named Anand Bhawan spread on 16 acres situated very close to the University of Allahabad. So Nehru described his childhood as a "sheltered and uneventful one".

Jawaharlal Nehru’s Childhood

Ravina Sewani

Once, a village merchant named Vardhmanaka was going to Mathura on his bullock cart. His two bullocks, Sanjeevaka and Nandaka, who had always served him faithfully, were pulling the cart. As they were walking along the bank of river the Yamuna, Sanjeevaka all of a sudden stepped into a marshy area and got stuck. He tried to get out of the marsh with all his strength. The merchant also tried to get Sanjeevaka out of the marsh, but nothing worked. Ultimately, Vardhmanaka was left with no choice but to leave Sanjeevaka there and go on with his journey. So, Sanjeevaka was left there, stuck in the marsh. He thought sadly, “I served my master faithfully throughout my life and this is how he has treated me. Now, there were only two options for Sanjeevaka—either to try with all his might to escape from the marsh or to give up and die there. He thought, “It is said that God helps those who help themselves. I will not give up. I will try my best to get out of this marsh.” So, Sanjeevaka used every bit of his strength and energy to struggle against the marsh that was pulling him down, and finally he managed to get out of it.Now, Sanjeevaka had nowhere to go. He did not want to return to his master’s house after his master had deserted him so heartlessly. So, he started walking along the banks of the river. He wandered about, eating fresh grass in the nearby forest and drinking water from the river. Soon, living in the natural environment, he regained his strength and became healthier than ever. He started bellowing like a lion. His bellows sounded like thunder and could be heard from miles away.One day, the king lion of the forest, Pingalaka, went to the river to drink water. There, he heard the thunder-like bellowing which scared him so much that he ran back to his cave at once. His ministers were two jackals, Damnaka and Kartaka. When Damnaka saw that the king seemed to be afraid of something, he went and asked the king about it. “What is the matter, my lord? Has something scared you?” he asked. “Tell me, and I will bring it in front of you at once.”Though the lion, being the king, did not want to admit his fears, he ultimately told Damnaka about the frightening thunder-like sound. Damnaka at once left to investigate the source of the sound. Soon, Damnaka brought Sanjeevaka to the court and said, “This is the animal who has been making those frightful sounds, My Lord. He says that Lord Shiva has sent him to roam around in our forest.”King Pingalaka was pleased to meet Sanjeevaka. Soon, they became friends and spent most of their time chatting with each other. Gradually, the lion started becoming more and more spiritual. He started neglecting his kingdom and even stopped hunting for his prey. This made Damnaka, Kartaka and his other subjects very worried.Then, Damnaka came up with a plan. He went up to the king and said, “My lord, Sanjeevaka has evil plans about your kingdom. He plans to kill you, take over your kingdom and become the king himself.”And the next day, he went to Sanjeevaka and said, “King lion is no true friend of yours. He has planned to kill you and distribute your flesh to the whole kingdom. You should kill him with your sharp horns before he kills you.”Sanjeevaka was very furious on hearing this. He went to the king’s court and started bellowing in a thundering tone. The lion, who had already been misinformed by Damaka as to Sanjeevaka’s intentions, was himself very furious. Like a flash, the lion pounced on Sanjeevaka with a loud roar.Both, Pingalaka and Sanjeevaka, were strong. They had a gruesome fight at the end of which, Pingalaka killed Sanjeevaka with his sharp claws and ate his flesh. Though he had killed Sanjeevaka, Pingalaka felt sad about it. Sanjeevaka had been is friend. But since Damnaka had convinced him that Sanjeevaka was a traitor, he had no choice but to kill him. Damnaka was later made the chief minister of the kingdom. Moral:One should never be friends with a natural enemy.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of bull, jackal and lion.Moral(s) of the story: friendship

The bullock and the lion

It so happened that once, Emperor Akbar misplaced his ring somewhere. When Birbal arrived in the court, Akbar told him, “I have lost my ring. It was very dear to me as my father had given it to me as a gift. Please help me find it!”Birbal said, “You need not worry, Jahanpanah! I will find your ring right away.”He further added, “Your Majesty, the ring is here in this court itself. It is with one of our courtiers. The courtier who has a straw in his beard has your ring.” The courtier who had filched the Emperor’s ring was shocked and immediately moved his hand over his beard. Birbal was waiting for this reaction from one of the courtiers. He immediately pointed towards that particular courtier and ordered the royal guards to search him. The guards frisked the courtier and found the Emperor’s ring lying in the pocket of his achkan.Akbar was pleasantly surprised at another wonderful example of Birbal’s wit and asked him “Birbal, tell me how were you able to find the culprit?” Birbal then told the Emperor, “Your Majesty, I just shot an arrow in the dark. As they rightly say that a guilty person is always scared, the real culprit revealed himself by moving his hand over his beard.” Moral:A guilty mind is always scared. The courtier was so scared of getting caught that it was revealed in his actions and gave away his crime. Birbal used his presence of mind and wit and caught the guilty person at once.

This is a story of Akbar Birbal and ring.Moral(s) of the story: alertness, smartness and wisdom

Akbar’s ring

Shina Utavani

The festival is celebrated on Full moon day of the Ashadha month. The festival is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists to honour their spiritual leaders or teachers. On this day, people express gratitude towards their Gurus.Story:The festival of Guru Purnima was first celebrated by the Buddhists to honour their Guru, Gautam Buddha. Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon (a lecture by a preacher) on this day.Vyasa Muni was one of the greatest Gurus in ancient Hindu traditions. He was also the author of the Hindu epic ‘Mahabharata’. Hindus follow this festival by paying tribute to Vyas Muni.The day is also celebrated as the birth anniversary of Veda Vyasa. Therefore, Guru Purnima is also known as Vyas Purnima.The main purpose behind celebrating the festival is to follow the teachings of our Gurus and to pay tribute to them. People worship and show gratitude towards their Gurus, teachers for guiding them. It is a festival of honouring Gurus/ mentors of our lives. Moral:Always respect your Gurus in life and be grateful to them.

This is a story educator, Guru Purnima and student.

Guru Purnima

Pallavi Hota

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from The Mahabharata.Sri Krishna and Arjuna once were guests of a widow. The widow had no children, nobody. She was all alone. But she had a cow. This cow was her only means of support. She used to sell milk, and by selling milk she used to sustain her life. At the same time she was a great devotee of Sri Krishna.When Sri Krishna and Arjuna visited her in disguise, she was so happy to see the two divine guests. She fed them with whatever she had in her house. Sri Krishna was extremely pleased with her surrendering attitude and her devotion. On their way back, Arjuna said to Krishna, ìYou were so pleased with her. Why didn't you grant her a boon? Why didn't you tell her that she would be prosperous soon, now that you are pleased with her?îìI have already granted her the boon that her cow must die tomorrow, replied Krishna. ìWhat? Her only means of support? She has only the cow, and nothing else. Without the cow how can she live on earth? asked Arjuna. Krishna answered, You don't understand me, Arjuna. She always thinks of the cow. The cow has to be fed, has to be milked, has to be bathed and so forth.ìI want her only to think of me, and when the cow is gone, she will think of me all the time, twenty-four hours. Then soon the time will be right for me to take her away from this world, and after a few years I will give her a better and more fulfilling incarnation. When she has nobody on earth, not even the cow, she will try and spend all her time, day and night, devoting herself to me. Otherwise, this way she will linger on earth and constantly think of the cow and not of me.

This is a story of Arjun and Krishna.

Krishna, Arjuna, the widow and her cow

Long, long ago, a man called Buddhichand took from his neighbour Laxminandan a loan of rupees one thousand on the occasion of his daughter’s marriage. Only a few days after the marriage, Laxminandan asked Buddhichand to repay the loan.Buddhichand said, “I will repay every pie of yours. But you know very well that I am a poor man. I will need some time to repay the loan.”Laxminandan said, “I thought you were an honest man. But now I feel that I was wrong in my judgement.”Buddhichand said, “Please have patience, my dear friend. I will surely repay your loan. I am an honest man. Laxminandan said, “If you are really an honest man, as you say, come with me to the Kazi’s court and sign the papers saying that you have mortgaged your house to me against the loan.”Buddhichand said, “There is no need of going to the court. Please trust me and I will repay the loan as early as possible.”But Laxminandan would not listen to Buddhichand. He insisted that Buddhichand must go with him to the court and sign the papers. Actually, he wanted to take over the house of Buddhichand.Buddhichand saw through the evil design of Laxminandan. So he said, “I don’t have a horse to ride to the court.” “I will give you my horse to ride,” said Laxminandan. “I don’t have good clothes to wear,” said Buddhichand. “I will give you my clothes too,” said Laxminandan. “I have no sandals to put on,” said Buddhichand. “I will give you my sandals also,” said Laxminandan.When Laxminandan supplied all his needs, Buddhichand agreed to go with him to the court. Buddhichand put on Laxminandan’s clothes and sandals. He mounted Laxminandan’s horse and rode to the court.When Buddhichand’s name was called out, he stood before the Kazi and said, “Your Worship, my friend Laxminandan claims that my house and all my possessions belong to him. He quarrels with me all the time. He has forcibly brought me to the court. Please allow me to ask him a few questions.”The Kazi called Laxminandan and ordered him to answer the questions put to him by Buddhichand. “Whom does the cap on my head belong to?” asked Buddhichand. “It belongs to me,” said Laxminandan.“Whom do the clothes I wear belong to?” asked Buddhichand. “They belong to me,” said Laxminandan. “And whom do the sandals on my feet belong to?” asked Buddhichand. “The sandals also belong to me,” said Laxminandan in an offending tone.“And whom does the horse which I rode to the court belong to?” asked Buddhichand. | “The horse also belongs to me,” cried out Laxminandan excitedly. “The cap, the clothes, the sandals and the horse are all mine.”All the people in the court laughed more and more loudly at Laxminandan. The Kazi, too, stifled his laughter with difficulty. Everybody in the court believed that Laxminandan had gone mad. He stood aghast amidst the peals of laughter. The Kazi, finally, dismissed the case.Buddhichand made Laxminandan a laughing stock at the court and thus foiled the evil plot of Laxminandan. Moral:A quick wit is the way out from difficult situations.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

Repayment of the Loan

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata.” The King of Panchal (Drupad) had organised the swayamvar of his beautiful daughter Draupadi. The Pandavas who had heard of Draupadi’s celestial beauty, too wanted to participate in the swayamvar. So, the Pandavas, disguised as Brahmins, travelled to Ekachakra to attend the swayamvar ceremony of Draupadi. At the swayamvar assembly, the Pandavas sat next to other Brahmins, away from the royal dignitaries as they did not want to reveal their identity. No one in the assembly recognized the Pandavas. Lord Krishna was also present as an honoured guest. Arjun picked up the bow and an arrow. He looked at the reflection of the fish in the oil pan and drew the bowstring and shot the arrow. The arrow darted with a twang and pierced the eye of the fish. Duryodhana, who was also present, guessed that the winner must be Arjun, and the four other Brahmins must be the Pandava brothers he had planned to kill. The mighty Pandavas easily defeated all the princes and took Draupadi with them. When they reached their hut, the Pandavas called out to their mother, Kunti, "Look, Mother, what we have brought." Kunti replied from inside the hut, "Share it among yourselves," thinking that they had brought food. When she saw the bride and was told that she was Arjuna's wife, Kunti was very unhappy at what she had said. As a custom, the Pandavas would have to obey every word that she had said and Draupadi would have to become the wife of all five brothers. Just then Krishna came to their hut. He told Kunti that in her previous life Draupadi had worshipped Shiva to get a husband with five qualities. But Shiva had given her a boon that in her next life she would marry five men each having one quality. On hearing this Kunti felt satisfied and Draupadi became the wife of all five Pandavas.

This is a story of Pandavas, Arjun, and Draupadi.

Draupadi’s Swayamvar

Once, there was a king who had a beautiful daughter. In the forest next to the kingdom, there lived a giant. This giant was in love with the princess. But he could never come close to the princess as she always wore an amulet that kept all evil away from her. Nevertheless, the giant would frequently appear before her and embarrass her. The princess was fed up with this.One day, the giant was hiding behind the curtains of the princess’s room when he heard the princess talking to her friends. She was saying, “A very powerful giant keeps pestering me. Please suggest some way of getting rid of him.” On hearing about a ‘powerful giant’, the giant thought that this must be some other giant, more powerful than him. He wanted to know who this other giant was so that he could kill him. To find out more about the powerful giant, he transformed himself into a horse and started living in the palace stables with the other horses.One night, a thief entered the stable with the mind to steal a horse. He looked at all the horses and thought that the ‘giant horse’ was the finest. So, he mounted him and started running away. The giant, however, thought that this man must be the other ‘powerful giant’. He got scared and started running wildly. The thief whipped him and he ran even faster in fear. When the thief pulled the reins to stop the horse, the giant did not stop. He was so scared that he kept on running. Finally, in an attempt to get off the horse’s back, the thief caught hold of a Banyan tree’s branch above and clung on to it while the ‘giant horse’ just kept running ahead.On this Banyan tree, there lived a monkey who was the giant’s friend. He figured out that the giant must have mistaken the thief for a more powerful giant and called out to him, saying, “This is just a human being. Why are you afraid of him?” Now, things became clear to the giant and he headed back towards the thief to kill him and eat him. Just then, the thief who was hanging from the branch, saw that the monkey’s tail was dangling quite close to his face. He bit it hard and the monkey screamed out in pain.This again convinced the giant that the thief was no ordinary human but a very powerful giant who would kill him. So, he ran away into the forest as fast as he could. Moral:A fool is misguided by the smallest of things and thoughts.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of horse.Moral(s) of the story: foolishness

The giant and the horse thief

Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated every year on 2nd October. It is a national festival celebrated in India to mark the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandar. He was one of the prominent faces of India’s struggle for freedom. He is famously known as Mahatma and Bapu. He fought against the caste system and played an active role in abolishing the practice of untouchability. He is known as the ‘Father of the Nation’. Gandhiji’s words and actions influenced many people and as a result, people joined him for various protests. In 1930, Gandhiji with a huge number of people led the Dandi Salt March. He also launched the Quit India movement in 1942. Gandhiji also initiated Non-violence and Non-co-operation movement. To commemorate Gandhi’s non-violence philosophy, United Nations General Assembly had voted to establish October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence. The day seeks to spread the message of non-violence through education and public awareness. The day is celebrated by arranging various dedicatory activities and cultural events in schools and colleges. It is a day where the entire nation pays tribute to Bapu on his birth anniversary.

dhanteras stories

Kids moral stories help in improving their imagination & relate to real-world life. Here are age-specific bedtime stories for children by renowned storytellers.