Children love to listen to stories; especially the ones that tickle their funny bone! Most of us grew up listening to the famous stories of the great King Akbar and one of his courtesans, Birbal. Birbal was a Hindu Kayastha, advisor and main commander of an army in the court of the Mughal emperor, Akbar. He is mostly known in the Indian subcontinent for the Folk Tales which focus on his wit. Birbal was appointed by Akbar as a Minister and used to be a Poet and Singer.
Once on a cold winter day, Akbar and Birbal were walking by a lake. A thought came to Birbal that a man would do anything for money. He expressed his feelings to Akbar. Akbar then put his finger into the lake and immediately removed it because he shivered with cold. Akbar said, “I don’t think a man would spend an entire night in the cold water of this lake for money.” Birbal replied, “I am sure I can find such a person.” Akbar then challenged Birbal into finding such a person and said that he would reward the person with a thousand gold coins.
Birbal took the challenge and searched far and wide until he found a poor man who was desperate enough to accept the challenge. Soon, Birbal found a poor man who agreed to undertake the challenge for a thousand gold coins. Guarded by two royal guards, the poor man spent the entire night standing in the freezing water. The next morning the guards took the poor man to Akbar. Akbar asked the poor man if he had indeed spent the night in the lake. The poor man replied that he had. Akbar then asked the poor man how he managed to spend the night in the lake.
The poor man replied, "My Lord, I kept looking at a lamp that was burning at distance and spent the entire night looking at it.” On learning this, Akbar said, "This man is not worthy of the reward as he could manage to stand in the lake because he was getting warmth from the lamp." The poor man felt heartbroken. He reached out to Birbal for help.
Birbal tried to say something in the favor of the poor man but Akbar refused to listen to him. The next day, Birbal did not go to court. The king wondering where he was, sent a messenger to his home. The messenger came back saying that Birbal would come once his Khichdi(Rice) was cooked. The king waited for a long time but Birbal did not come. Akbar sent another messenger to call Birbal but he also returned alone. Finally, the king decided to go to Birbal’s house and see what he was up to.
To his amusement, he found Birbal sitting on the floor near some burning twigs and a bowl filled with Khichdi(Rice) hanging five feet above the fire. The king and his attendants couldn’t help but laugh.
Akbar then said to Birbal “How can the Khichdi(Rice) be cooked if it so far away from the fire? Are you in your senses, Birbal?”
Birbal answered, “O’ Jahapanah! If it is possible for a person to stay warm by simply looking at the lamp burning at a distance, then it is also possible for me to cook this khichdi a meter away from the fire.”
Akbar understood Birbal's point and rewarded the poor man for completing the challenge.
Moral: A small ray of hope is enough to inspire the one who is ready to work hard to turn his dream into a reality.
These stories not only amused us, but they also taught us about the important virtues of life because they imparted us with a valuable moral at the end. If you wish to teach some good values to your child through story-telling, you can narrate the Akbar-Birbal stories to your little angle. Let's start with the first story from this series. "Birbal's Khichdi."
Once on a cold winter day, Akbar and Birbal were walking by a lake. A thought came to Birbal that a man would do anything for money. He expressed his feelings to Akbar. Akbar then put his finger into the lake and immediately removed it because he shivered with cold. Akbar said, “I don’t think a man would spend an entire night in the cold water of this lake for money.” Birbal replied, “I am sure I can find such a person.” Akbar then challenged Birbal into finding such a person and said that he would reward the person with a thousand gold coins.
Birbal took the challenge and searched far and wide until he found a poor man who was desperate enough to accept the challenge. Soon, Birbal found a poor man who agreed to undertake the challenge for a thousand gold coins. Guarded by two royal guards, the poor man spent the entire night standing in the freezing water. The next morning the guards took the poor man to Akbar. Akbar asked the poor man if he had indeed spent the night in the lake. The poor man replied that he had. Akbar then asked the poor man how he managed to spend the night in the lake.
The poor man replied, "My Lord, I kept looking at a lamp that was burning at distance and spent the entire night looking at it.” On learning this, Akbar said, "This man is not worthy of the reward as he could manage to stand in the lake because he was getting warmth from the lamp." The poor man felt heartbroken. He reached out to Birbal for help.
Birbal tried to say something in the favor of the poor man but Akbar refused to listen to him. The next day, Birbal did not go to court. The king wondering where he was, sent a messenger to his home. The messenger came back saying that Birbal would come once his Khichdi(Rice) was cooked. The king waited for a long time but Birbal did not come. Akbar sent another messenger to call Birbal but he also returned alone. Finally, the king decided to go to Birbal’s house and see what he was up to.
To his amusement, he found Birbal sitting on the floor near some burning twigs and a bowl filled with Khichdi(Rice) hanging five feet above the fire. The king and his attendants couldn’t help but laugh.
Akbar then said to Birbal “How can the Khichdi(Rice) be cooked if it so far away from the fire? Are you in your senses, Birbal?”
Birbal answered, “O’ Jahapanah! If it is possible for a person to stay warm by simply looking at the lamp burning at a distance, then it is also possible for me to cook this khichdi a meter away from the fire.”
Akbar understood Birbal's point and rewarded the poor man for completing the challenge.
Moral: A small ray of hope is enough to inspire the one who is ready to work hard to turn his dream into a reality.
Monday 10 February 2020
