Shina Utavani

Lohri is a harvest festival celebrated every year on 13th January. It is an important festival for Punjabis. The festival is widely celebrated by people living in North India.&nbsp; For the festival, huge bonfires are organised in various places and people gather around it to offer their prayers. They throw puffed rice, sweets, popcorn into the flames of the bonfire and offer their prayers. The festival is celebrated to observe the new harvest season. It is termed as the festival of farmers in north India. On this day, agriculturists show their gratitude towards Almighty for a good harvest season and seek blessings for their future. The festival is celebrated with much pomp and show. In this festival, it is a tradition to eat Gajak, Sarson da saag with Makki di roti, ground nuts and jaggery. It also a tradition to eat ‘til rice’. The important food item of Lohri is radish which can be harvested between October and January. In some of the places of Punjab, about 10 to 15 days before Lohri, groups of young and teenage boys and girls go around the neighbourhood collecting logs for the bonfire.&nbsp; Women sing folklore named ‘Sunder Mundriye’ on this day. The song is associated with a story from Akbar’s rule. It is a tale of a man named Dulla Bhatti, who lived in Punjab during the Akbar’s reign. The man used to rescue girls from being taken forcibly to be sold in slave markets. He saved those girls and arranged their marriages to the boys of the villages. Among all the girls, two of the girls’ names were Sundari and Mundri. The folklore Sunder Mundriye came from their names. The song is sung to commemorate this story. The celebrations are accompanied by traditional Punjabi dance forms - "gidda and bhangra".

Lohri

Yesha Desai

A pet shop owner had put several animals up for a sale and as expected, a lot of children soon gathered around.A girl came up to the shop owner and asked him the prices of different cats that he had in his shop.The girl frowned because she did not have so much money and the shopkeeper smiled since he knew the girl from around the neighborhood, “It is alright child, you can pay me back later.”The shopkeeper took the girl to see all the animals.All the puppies and birds around them made eager noises, except for one.Toby, a stray cat, hid in his box, away from prying eyes.The girl asked the shopkeeper, “What is wrong with him?”The shopkeeper slowly brought Toby out and the cat whined before sadly limping away.The girl looked with determination, “Sir, I want to take Toby home.” and handed the little money she had to the man.The man shook his head, “Child, you do not have to pay for him. It is alright. I can give him to you for free as no one wants a limping, mean cat. People keep returning him.”The girl shook her head, “No. His worth is just as much as the other animals. His physical status does not matter and neither does the fact that his previous owners could not understand him.”“But, he won’t be able to play with you like the other kittens. He won’t be able to run fast or anything.”The girl smiled and showed him her metal leg. “Good, because I cannot run fast either.”Toby was brought to a home where his human played with him while considering his physical limits. The girl would always be very thoughtful of Toby’s needs. In return, the girl found companionship in Toby.Toby lived happily ever after, with a girl who loved him and understood him. He was never returned back to the shop. Moral:We are not meant to fit in with everyone. Sometimes we just need people who understand us.

This is a story of cat and pet store.Moral(s) of the story: understanding

Toby- The Cat

Atal Bihari Vajpayee apart from being a great leader was also a great orator. He was known for his public speaking abilities. His speech was full of enthusiasm and encouragement, establishing himself as one of India’s greatest orators.Atalji was from a family of poetry enthusiasts. He had an early exposure to various Kavi sammelans where he started developing an interest in writing, poetry, and speaking. His interest in politics and poetry likings helped him carve a niche for himself in the Lok Sabha where he gave some of the most impactful speeches.Poetry, humour and wonderful speech helped Atalji in winning the hearts of people. He used this skill to answer or dodge questions from the press. When Atalji gave a speech in 1957 in parliament, Jawaharlal Nehru was impressed and even said, “This young man will become the Prime Minister of India one day”. This became true and Atalji Ji served as the Prime Minister of India for three terms.The man of his words was awarded the Bharat Ratna in the year 2015. It was Atalji’s exemplary leadership that set the foundations for a strong, prosperous and inclusive India.

This is a story of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee- a Skilful Orator

Ravina Sewani

Once, in the town of Patliputra, there lived a merchant named Manibhadra. He was a rich and charitable man. But once, misfortune struck him and he lost all his wealth. He became poor and his social status also diminished. He became very depressed.One night, he was lying in bed feeling depressed and cursing his fate. He also thought of committing suicide by starving himself. But soon, he fell asleep. In his dream, he saw a Jain monk appear before him and speak to him. The monk said, “You have no cause to worry. I am wealth. I was gathered by your forefathers and you have a legitimate right to possess me. I will come to your house in the form of a Jain monk tomorrow. Hit me on my head with a stick and I will turn into pure, solid gold.”When the merchant woke up the next morning, he could hardly believe his dream. That day, the merchant’s wife had called the barber to the house to massage her feet. While the barber was there, a Jain monk appeared at the door of the merchant’s house. The merchant remembered his dream and welcomed the monk inside. After having the monk seated and offering him water, the merchant hit the monk on his head with a stick. Immediately, the body of the monk turned into gold. The merchant was very happy. He collected all the gold and kept it in his safe. The barber who had witnessed this scene was astonished. He thought to himself, “I should also invite some monks to my house. When they come inside, I will hit them on their heads and they will turn into gold. Soon I will be the richest man in the town.”So, the barber went to a monastery and invited the head monk to dinner at his house. But the head monk refused saying, “We are not Brahmins that you are inviting us for food. We collect alms. We do not live to eat, but we eat only for survival.” The barber then went outside the monastery and when he saw some monks coming towards him, he requested them to come and conduct prayers at his house.Some of the monks agreed and the next day, they went to the barber’s house. As soon as they entered the house, the barber hit all of them on their heads with a heavy stick. Some of the monks died on the spot while some got seriously injured. Soon, as talk of this incident spread around the town, the barber was arrested for his crime and was made to appear before the court of law.In the court, the judge asked the barber for an explanation of why he had committed this crime.“I saw the merchant doing it,” the barber replied.So, the merchant too was summoned to the court. He told the judge the whole story about his dream and the monk turning into gold.The judge ordered a death sentence for the barber for having killed and injured many people.It is true that blind imitation is always dangerous. Moral:Not everyone has the same fate decided or the same path to be walked upon. Do not be greedy and blindly copy others in the pursuit of fame, wealth, or success

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

The merchant and the barber

Mahatma Gandhi, honored as the father of India, was a very special person. The following story illustrates one of the reasons for him to be called ‘Mahatma’ (great soul).Once, Gandhi went on an expedition to collect funds from various cities and villages for an organization to help the poor. He went to several places and finally reached Orissa. He organized a meeting in Orissa.There, he gave a speech to the public, requesting them to give him funds for the organization. At the end of his speech, a very old woman with bent back, tattered clothing, white hair, and shrunken skin got up. She requested the volunteers to allow her to reach Gandhi. However, the volunteers stopped her. She did not give up. She fought with them and reached Gandhi.She touched the feet of Gandhi. Then she took out a copper coin kept in the folds of her saree and placed it at his feet. Then the old lady left the stage.Gandhi very carefully took the coin. The treasurer of the organization for the poor asked Gandhi for the copper coin, but Gandhi refused to give it.“I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees,” said the treasurer. “Yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin!”Gandhi said, “This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands. If a man has several lakhs and gives away a thousand or two, it doesn’t mean much.”This poor old lady gave away the only coin she possessed. She did not even have proper clothes and could not even afford good food. Yet she gave everything she had. That is why Gandhi regarded the coin as very precious.

This is a story of Mahatma Gandhi.Moral(s) of the story: gratitude and helpfulness

The Value of a Copper Coin

Once there lived a big, strong lion in the jungle. He was very strong and fierce. As he was strongest of all, he used to bully every other animal. All the animals were very scared of the lion and they could not live peacefully. They all decided to have a meeting so that they could find a way to stop the lion from bothering them.A hare said, “We have to do something to get rid of this lion. I think we need to find a champion among us who can teach him a lesson.” All the animals clapped and encouraged this idea. When it came to deciding who will initiate to fight the lion, no animal came forward. The tiger looked aside, the elephant was busy whistling and the Rhino continued to read his book.After some time, an Owl came forward and said, “Do not worry my friends, I will fight the lion.” After listening to Owl, some animals laughed and some thought he was crazy. But since no one else came forward to fight, they all accepted. The next morning, Owl was supposed to meet the lion at his den for a fight. The news spread everywhere and when the lion heard the news, he could not stop himself from laughing.The next day, everyone gathered around the lion’s den. The lion was wide awake waiting for the owl to come. All the animals came but the owl did not show up. Hours passed but there was no sign of the owl. The sun was starting to set and all animals started leaving when finally, the owl came.The lion screamed, “Why are you so late, owl?”. The Owl said, “I am sorry, Mr. Lion. But on my way, I saw a huge lion and I was scared of him. I had to wait for that lion to go to sleep so that I can easily come here. I am glad I had to fight you and not him!”. The lion could not believe that there was someone stronger than him. He said the owl to take him to that lion.The owl took the lion to the nearby well. The owl said, “Last time I saw Lion was when he went inside the well.” The Lion sneaked inside the well to see the lion. The lion saw his own reflection and thought there was another lion in the well. The lion roared as loud as he could. Due to the echo, he could hear a roar five times louder than his. Hearing the roar, the lion was very scared and thought that the lion inside the well was stronger than him. The lion was so afraid by the roar that he ran away and never came back again. The owl hence proved that “Being smart is what makes us stronger.” Moral:Being smart is more important than being strong.

This is a story of forest, lion and owl.Moral(s) of the story: smartness

The owl and the lion

Once, a young milkmaid was milking her cows to sell the milk in a shop. After packing the milk in a container she started skipping towards the town to sell it in the farmer’s market.She was very happy because today her cows had given a lot of milk. On her way she thought about what she would do with all of that money.&nbsp;She dreamed about the ribbons she had seen in the town square and that wonderful book she had always wanted to read. Some money would still be left, she thought about buying another cow from that money.The other cow would give more milk and she would get richer. That money could be used to buy a new pair of fancy shoes or glitters! And another cow!The milkmaid was very excited.But in her excitement she tripped over a small stone and dropped all the milk. The milk seeped into the ground and she had nothing left.Moral:Do not count your chickens until they hatch and focus on the task at hand.

This is a story of a milkmaid who is filled with greed.Moral(s) of the story: greediness

The hasty milkmaid

Bihu is a festival celebrated in Assam in the month of January. The festival is a celebration of the change of the seasons. It is also known as the Harvest festival. In Assam, most of the people are associated with agrarian (cultivation of land) activities. Most of the people’s occupation is agriculture. This festival marks an important phase of farming in Assam. The word ‘Bihu’ is originally derived from the word ‘Bishu’. It means that people ask for prosperity from God for the harvesting season. ‘Bi’ in the word Bihu means to ask and ‘hu’ means to give. Both these words combine to form the name Bihu.&nbsp; The festival is celebrated for seven days wherein each day holds a significance. The first day of the festival is called ‘Raati Bihu’. On this day, all the women gather beneath an ancient tree or open field, surrounded by burning torches. The men participate mostly in ceremonial activities wherein they play Pepa (buffalo hornpipe) or Toka (it is a musical instrument made of split bamboo). The second day of the festival is known as ‘Goru Bihu’. On this day, livestock is washed with a combination of symbolic herbs. Then they are decorated with new garlands and harnesses. The cattle of the village are served various food items. The third day is known as Manuh (human) Bihu, where people take a bath with black gram and turmeric paste. They seek blessings from the elders. A traditional Bihu dance is performed by people, which is an important part of the festival. The fourth day of the festival is known as Gosai (God’s) Bihu. People worship idols after cleaning their homes. Varieties of food items are made such as Pitha, Ladoo, Khaar, and Xaak. The fifth day is called ‘Kutum Bihu’. On this day, people usually visit their relatives. They spend the day together.&nbsp;The sixth day is known as ‘Senehi Bihu’. This day symbolises love. People meet their beloved and give them gifts and celebrate the bond they share. The last day of the festival is known as ‘Mela Bihu’. This day involves a lot of celebrations. Fairs are organised in different parts of the state and people enjoy by participating in various activities.

Bihu

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” which describes the reason why we call Karna ‘Danveer’Karna was on his death bed amidst the battlefield and was gasping for breath in his last moments. Lord Krishna was confused about Karna’s generosity and wanted to check it. He went to Karna disguised as a beggar. Karna was on his death bed and seeing the beggar asked him what he needed. Lord Krishna as a beggar said, “Lord, I need some gold for my daughter’s marriage”. Karna showed his helplessness to the beggar and said, “I am sorry but I have nothing to give you as I am on my death bed. I feel worse that I am not able to give you anything. But you can ask gold from my wife in Angadesh.” Listening to this the beggar said, “I cannot travel so far for gold, Lord. I thought you are kind and generous and would help me.”Karna felt very bad and decided to give him the golden tooth he had. Karna took a stone and broke his golden teeth. The tooth was bleeding with blood and Karna did not want to give blood covered teeth to the beggar. He was injured badly and could not move. He took his arrow and bowed it towards the sky. The next moment rain broke out and then he gave the cleaned gold teeth to the beggar. Lord Krishna was shocked to see Karna’s sacrifice. He was proved that there was no one as generous and kind as Karna. Lord Krishna came into his real form and said, “You will live in the hearts of people. You will be remembered for your qualities Daan (Donation) and Veer (Heroic). You will be remembered as ‘Danveer.”That is how Karna got his name ‘Danveer”.

This is a story of Karan and Krishna.Moral(s) of the story: sacrifice

ears 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.