Shina Utavani

Rathyatra festival is dedicated to Lord Jagannath (Lord Krishna), his sister Goddess Subhadra and his elder brother Lord Balaram. Significance of the festival: Rath Yatra commemorates the journey of Lord Krishna from Gokul to Mathura. The festival is organised in Puri. It is said that every year, Lord Krishna wishes to visit his birthplace Mathura. The yatra is conducted to fulfil his desire. It is organised from Jagannath temple to Gundicha temple in Odisha. The yatra is organised in a chariot. The chariots are the main attraction of the yatra. The trio of Lord Krishna, Goddess Subhadra, and Balaram spend a whole week in the Gundicha temple and then they are returned to their original places. This ceremony is called Badhu Yatra. All of them have a distinct chariot. Lord Krishna’s chariot is known as Garudadhwaja. Balaram’s chariot is called Taladhwaja. Subhadra’s chariot is named Padhmadhwaja. It is a great Indian festival with the utmost religious importance.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of Krishna and Rathyatra.

Rathyatra

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time there was a very rich and corrupt noble. He was the King’s most trusted man and thus had many responsibilities. He also had his own businesses due to which he was very rich and had multiple servants at his disposal.Often, while taking his breakfast in the lawns of his estate, he would witness the gardener and his son at work.He had known that the gardener’s son was a very intelligent young man and thus wanted to give him a job in his business.He approached the young man multiple times but he refused. One day he asked, “Son, why do you keep refusing to work at my company. We could use your skills over there and we could pay you better too”The boy smiled, “No, kind sir. Thank you, but I have everything I need.”The nobleman was truly confused and a little angry too. How could a poor boy like him have everything in this world. He was young and poor. The nobleman was already very stressed due to work and arrogantly asked, “Oh really? And what do you have exactly. Money? A big house? A wife?”The gardener’s son calmly replied, “I don’t have any of that, sir. But I have something that you do not have. Peace of mind.”The nobleman understood, and confessed to his crimes in front of the King, the very same day. Moral:Peace of mind is more important than any materialistic gain.

This is a story of gardener and king.Moral(s) of the story: peace

The nobleman’s lesson

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxaman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from “The Ramayana”.Ramayan is the Hindu Epic tale of India which describes the struggle of Lord Rama in rescuing his wife from the demon king Ravana. Lord Rama decided to build a bridge to reach Lanka in order to rescue Sita. This particular story describes the efforts put by the little squirrel in building the bridge.When the entire army of monkeys was busy making the bridge on the sea to reach Lanka to take Sita, a small squirrel living in the area watched the entire scene. Seeing them, the squirrel also wanted to contribute to building the bridge. But the squirrel was too small to even carry the sand or stone. So, the squirrel thought of an idea. It went to the sea and had a dip. Then, the squirrel rolled over in the sand. With the sand all over its body, it went between the rocks and rolled over it. She continued doing the process from sunrise till sunset. She did this for days effortlessly. No one noticed her for days.One day, a monkey noticed her and started making fun of her. He told her to stay away otherwise the rock would crush her. Everyone started making fun of her. The squirrel was in tears. Lord Ram happened to watch the actions of the squirrel. The squirrel was tireless and went on doing its job without any break until the project was completed. Lord Ram described to the army how the squirrel has worked as the connector between the two rocks. Lord Ram was pleased with the efforts of this little squirrel. He explained to all others the relevance of the squirrel and its sense of duty. He took the squirrel on his lap and showed his appreciation by moving his three fingers from head to tail. It is said that those are the three lines which we see today in a squirrel.Since then, the squirrels have carried white stripes on their bodies. Moral:No work is big or small. It is not the type of work that matters, but what you learn from working that counts. Never listen to people who tell you that the work you are doing is demeaning or would undermine your prestige.

This is a story of monkey, Ram and squirrel.Moral(s) of the story: effort

The Story of a Squirrel

Ravina Sewani

A Japanese Emperor had a set of twenty flowerpots. It was the finest collection and one of a kind in the world. The Emperor was very proud of his rare collection. One day, one of the officers of the Emperor broke a flowerpot by accident.The Emperor was very angry. He passed the death sentence on the officer. But before the man was put to death, an old man came to know about it. He went to the Emperor's court and said, "I know the art of repairing a broken flowerpot. Once I have repaired your flowerpot, it will look its original self."The Emperor felt very happy to hear the claim of the old man. He showed the old man the collection of his flowerpots and said, "Here are nineteen flowerpots. One flowerpot from the set of twenty is broken. Repair the broken flowerpot and I'll pay you whatever you ask for."The old man raised his stick and broke all the nineteen flowerpots. The Emperor was red with anger. He cried out, "You idiot! What have you done?" The old man coolly replied, "I have done my duty. Each of these flowerpots would have taken one human life. Now you can take only one life, and that is mine."The old man's wisdom and boldness pleased the Emperor. He forgave the old man and the officer, too. Moral:The wise can figure out the simplest of ways to solve any problem.

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

The emperor and the old man

There was once a little grey planet that was very sad. The people living there hadn't looked after it, despite them having all the inventions and space ships you could ever need. They had contaminated the whole countryside so much with rubbish and pollution that there were no plants or animals left.One day, a little boy was walking on the planet, when he passed a cave and noticed a small red flower inside. The flower was very sick - almost dying - so the boy carefully dug up the flower, with roots, soil and everything. Then, he started looking for a place where he could look after it. He searched all over the planet, but everywhere was so contaminated that there was no place the flower could possibly live in. Then he looked up at the sky and noticed the moon. It seemed to the boy that maybe the plant could survive there.So the little boy put on his astronaut suit, and climbed into a space ship. He put the little red flower in the back, and off they went to the moon.Far away from all that pollution - and with the boy visiting it every day to tend it - the flower started to grow. The flower was so well cared for, that it had soon germinated, giving birth to others, and these other flowers spread onto other flowers. Before long, the whole moon was completely covered with flowers.That's why, whenever the little boy's flowers open up, for a few minutes the moon takes on a soft red sheen, like a warning light. Maybe it's telling us that if you don't look after your planet, a day will come when flowers will only be able to grow on the moon. Moral:Earth is the only planet we have. We keep earth happy, earth keeps us happy in turn. Save environment.

This is a story of Moon, planet, space ship and flower.Moral(s) of the story: carelessness

The Red Moon

India gained independence from the Britishrule on 15th August 1947. Since then every year, 15th August is celebrated as Independence Day in India to commemorate India’s freedom from the 200-year-old British government. The struggle for India’s independence began in 1857 in Meerut. Later, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, in the 20th century, the Indian National Congress launched an independent movement. After a lot of struggle and hard work, on August 15th, 1947, colonial powers were transferred to India. India’s struggle for freedom was a long process and witnessed the sacrifice of many freedom fighters. This day remarks the bravery of our freedom fighters. It reminds us of the sacrifices made by our forefathers, freedom fighters and leaders to free our motherland.&nbsp; For India, 15th August is a day of her re-birth. On 15th August 1947, India’s first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru unfolded the tricolour flag of the nation. On this day, people pay homage to leaders who fought for the freedom of the nation. Flag hoisting ceremony along with various cultural programs are organised at various places on this day including schools and colleges.

This is a story of Independence day.

Independence Day

A man went to a barber shop to have his hair cut and as the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.They eventually touched on the subject of God; the barber said, “I don’t believe that God exists.”“Why do you say that?” asked the customer. “If God existed, would there be so many problems in the world?” The barber said.The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument.The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barber shop, he saw a man in the street with long, dirty hair.The customer returned and told the barber “You know what? Barbers do not exist. “How can you say that?” asked the barber.“I am here,and I am a barber. And I just cut your hair!”“No!” The customer said, “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”“But barbers do exist.” The barber argued, “ I can’t do anything if people do not come to me.” “Exactly!” The customer said, “God exists too.” Moral:Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. There is no point in putting down others' beliefs because of your own.

This is a story of barber.Moral(s) of the story: faith

The barber and his argument

Sachin- the one who is known as the God of cricket. He is very passionate about cricket. Here, there is an incident that describes his immense passion for cricket.Sachin played the entire tournament of the world cup 2003 with an injured index finger. His finger was hurt so badly that after the tournament he had to go to the USA for operation. He was very worried about surgery’s impact on his batting. He was so worried that he asked his doctor not to split his palm during the surgery. He was very concerned about his finger because any damage to it would affect his batting. Even though anaesthetics were administered on him, he woke up in the middle of the surgery. He then asked the doctors to show him his hand.This was not the only time he demonstrated his passion for the sport.&nbsp;In 2004, when Sachin was diagnosed with a tennis elbow injury, he was very upset at being unable to play the Australia Test series. When his doctors asked him why he was so upset about it, he answered, “It would be like missing my own wedding reception and there is no way I want to do that!”The incidents above describe the love and passion of Sachin towards cricket. It shows his dedication for the sport. His passion and hard work are the reason behind his success in cricket. Moral:If you want to achieve something, be passionate about it and work hard without any excuses.

This is a story of Sachin Tendulkar and his passoin.Moral(s) of the story: dedication and passion

Sachin's passion for cricket

Sam’s mother takes him to get his first haircut. He is seven month old and already has a mop of long, curly hair.He is too tiny to fit in the chair at the shop so they place him on a pillow.Sam’s clothes are covered by a white coverall. The barber is very kind and thinks that Sam is a very happy baby.The barber sprays a little water on Sam’s hair and he giggles. The barber begins cutting with a few different types of scissors. It takes a lot of time.But then the barber is done and Sam looks cleaner with shorter hair. His clothes itch and he wants to play with the water spray.Sam goes home and takes a bath. His first haircut looks really pretty.

running stories

Stories help in improving a child's imagination. Here are a few interesting ones for you to narrate to your child.