Wit and Humour: Birbal and the Pot of Khichdi

Hi there! Today's story is from the Tales of Birbal. It's about how a small ray of hope is enough to inspire one who is ready to work hard to turn his dream into a reality.
Let's go!

On a chilly winters' day, Akbar and Birbal went for a stroll in the Dehli Palace complex. They talked about various political topics. They criticized the courtiers, who didn't take a liking towards Birbal. He would always outsmart them with his unmatchable wit.
As the pair started to stroll out of the complex, Akbar came across a near-frozen lake, which looked terribly cold. He dipped his finger into the water and he pulled it right out, shivering. He blew on his finger, he licked it too. He tried all means to make it warmer. But, it slowly turned warmer and warmer. Akbar clenched his finger in agony, as it reluctantly warmed up. Birbal stood watching the emperor's antics in amusement. He sniggered seeing Akbar's foolishness. Anybody who was everybody would make out that the lake would have been bone-chillingly cold, but the emperor just dumped his finger right in!!! He was so silly, that he tried to heat his finger up by rubbing it on his kurta!!
Eventually, Birbal's finger calmed down, and he regained his serenity. He exclaimed, "I don’t think a man would spend an entire night in the bone-chilling water of this lake for money.” Birbal replied, “I am sure I can find such a person.” Akbar then challenged Birbal to find such a person and said that he would reward the person with 100 gold coins.
Birbal looked far and wide, scouring the empire for someone who would take up this elephantine task.

Eventually, he found an old man who was desperate enough to do the challenge. Birbal brought him to the chilly lake along with a few soldiers accompanying him. 
Birbal explained the rules and regulations to the old man, "You must stay in the pond for the coming night. Don't look at any form of light. Get out as soon as you see the sun and come to the palace to collect your reward," the old bowed down to Birbal and went to dive into the cold lake. Birbal went back to the court and informed Akbar, "JahanPanah, the old man has gone into the water. Tomorrow morning we shall check on him," Akbar nodded his head in agreement and went to his room to sleep.

The whole night passed. The soldiers guarding the old man came to the court with him at the break of dawn. "JahanPanah, this old. man has violated the rules!!!! He didn't abide by the rules you had set!!!!" Birbal clenched his fists in shock!! He called the old man, who was weeping madly, "JahanPanah, JahanPanah!!!!!! These men are lying!! I stayed there for the whole night!!!!! They are lying!!!!" The soldiers barged in and shouted, "JahanPanah, This old man had a form of light with him!! There was a streetlight near the lake and we think that he must have looked at it the whole night!!!!! He must be lying, JahanPanah!!!!" Akbar stroked his beard in confusion. He took minutes to decide that the old man was lying. "Put him in prison!!!!" Akbar shouted to the soldiers. They bowed down and pulled the old man to jail. The old man protested, "The streetlight couldn't have provided me with any heat or warmth at all!!!!! It was miles away!!!!!!!!" The soldiers nodded their heads, but they, too, had their own way of looking at things, "It was not like that, O Emperor!!!! The streetlight was very far away, we agree, but the light and the warmth would've reached the man, right????" Screaming in agony, the old man called to Birbal, "O Birbal!!!! O Birbal!!!!!! Please, save me!!! SAVE ME!!!!!!" Birbal heard the old man's cries and stroked his chin. He got really annoyed with the Emperor and devised a sneaky plan to teach Akbar a lesson…

The next day, Birbal didn't turn up to the court. 
The next day too.
Then the next day.
Then the next day.
Then the next day.
Nearly a week had passed and Akbar shouted in anger, "WHERE IS BIRBAL?!??" None of the minsters buckled up and told Akbar. Nevertheless, they didn't even know where Birbal was!!
Suddenly, one of the king's spies ran into the court, shouting Jahanpanah!!! Jahanpanah!!!! Akbar stomped down from his throne and grabbed the spy by his shoulders, "Where is Birbal!!?!?!!!" The spy quivered and whispered, "Birbal's at his house. He said that you had to come and eat lunch at his house with him," Birbal roared in anger. Birbal, his favourite minister in court, hadn't turned up and Akbar had so many court cases to finish!!! He stomped back to his throne, silencing the whole room.
The hours passed and Akbar didn't know what to do!! Should he go to Birbal's house or should he wait for him to come here?!?!? He clenched his fists in dilemma.
Akbar finally made the decision to go to Birbal's house for lunch. He mounted his horse and went to  Birbal's house in a fit of rage.
"BIRBAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted Akbar as he reached his destination. Birbal didn't react, he just sat outside his house, waiting for Akbar to stomp in.
Akbar eventually found Birbal in his garden, blowing on a small fire he had made. Akbar asked, "What is this, Birbal?!?!? Why haven't you come to the court?!?!? Why do you sit here????" Birbal replied, "JahanPanah, please do sit inside and have some refreshments. I shall meet you shortly. I am just making some khichdi for lunch." Akbar went inside Birbal's house and plopped his butt on the sofa.
10 minutes passed.
Then half an hour.
Then 45 minutes.
Then an hour.
Nearly 3 hours had passed and Birbal had shown no sign of coming!!! Akbar's rage grew with every passing second. He roared with anger, as he bashed his feet on the floor. 
Eventually, he ran over to the garden where he found Birbal sitting there still. Akbar roared, "WHAT IS THIS, BIRBAL?!??!? WHY DO YOU MOCK ME LIKE THIS?!?!?!" Birbal showed Akbar the fire burning in front of him, with a heap of wood beneath it. And in front of it was a very, very, VERY tall tree. And at the tippy-top of that tree was a small pot of khichdi, tied with a few pieces of rope. Birbal asked, JahanPanah, do you think the khichdi is cooking??" Akbar roared. Birbal whispered, "I'll take that as a no." He added in a larger voice, "Just like this, do you think the poor old man got any warmth from the faraway streetlight? Hmm??" Akbar widened his eyes in shock. He forgot about his anger and grasped Birbal by the shoulders, "Thank you, Birbal, for you have shown me my mistake. I am sorry, old friend," Akbar embraced Birbal.

The next day, the poor old man was taken out of jail by Akbar and was awarded 1000 gold coins!!! Birbal, too, got 500 gold coins from the Emperor, for he has shown him his mistake and that what he did was wrong.

Thanks for reading Birbal and the Pot of Khichdi!!!! Please type your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive emails about my posts!!!! Happy Reading!!!!!!

The Story of Bheemana Amavasya…

Hi there!! Did you know that today is the day of Bheemana Amavasya? It's the last day of the Hindu month of AashadaMaasa and is a no-moon day.
On this day, many wives or girls who are yet to be married pray for their husbands, and ask Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati to give them a good husband. They also wish for his long life and good health.
Here's the story behind Bheemana Amavasya…

There once lived an old couple in a town off the coast of Karnataka. They were ardent devotees of Lord Shiva, the Destroyer. They prayed to him every day and every night, singing shlokas and bhajans in his praise. They had a young daughter, who was very kind and caring. She used to take care of them with love and care.
One day, the old couple decided to go on a pilgrimage to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. They knew that the journey would be arduous, and they thought that their daughter couldn't go the distance. That day, they told her, "Little one, we have decided to go to Kashi on a pilgrimage. We…umm… we don't think you should come with us, because you might not be able to withstand the terrors of the journey. We think it best for you to stay here," the girl looked sad since she didn't want her parents to go all the way to Kashi!! Without her, too!! She pleaded them, "O father, mother, please stay back!! I don't want to be alone!! I shan't be alone!!!"
The couple looked at each other. Stroking their chins, they came up with an idea, "Why don't you stay with your brother and his wife?? They will give you a very good company!!" She smiled at the thought. She hadn't seen her bro in a long time. She would love to spend some good old family time with him!! She hugged her mom and dad, "Thank you, guys!! I really want to meet anna!!! It's been so long!!!" Her parents also chuckled and went with her to her brother's place.
When they reached her brother's house, her mom and dad called their son to speak with him in private. They whispered, "f we don't come back in a long time, please get your sister married. We would want her to get married before we aren't gone. Even if we are not there to witness it, her marriage will be a splendid one. We're sure of it!!"

The months passed. The old lady and her husband had gone for a very long time. But, their daughter wasn't dismal. She passed her time in her brother's house well, helping them out with all of their daily chores.
The years then passed. They anxiously waited for the old couple's arrival. Their son was pondering over the thought of getting his sister married. But, he didn't know what to do!!! He had the thought in his mind, but his other side advised him against it, saying that it would cost them a great amount of money!! Keeping that in his mind, the brother pondered over it.
Nearly 6 years had passed, when one of the king's advisors proclaimed, "HEAR YE, HEAR YE!!!!! The king's son had fallen ill and died!!! His dying wish was to get married!!!! But, none of the neighbouring kings have offered their daughter's hands in marriage. So, the king has said that whoever agrees to marry the late prince, shall be greatly rewarded!!!!!!!!" The old couple's son's eyes lit up with excitement!! He knew this was the opportunity he was waiting for!!!!
He grabbed his sister's hand and ran over to the advisor, "O advisor, my sister shall marry the late prince!!! She shall marry him!!!!!" In a state of shock, the old couple's daughter shouted, "That can't happen!!!!" But, her brother insisted. He nearly forced her to marry the dead prince.
Eventually, the wedding was fixed. The young girl's emotions weren't taken into account for. She wasn't for her marriage, but she had to go along with her brother's decision.
So, the wedding took place with pomp and pizzazz, though the prince couldn't see it.
After the wedding, the king and his new daughter-in-law went to the crematory with a group of close ones and went to cremate the body.

Suddenly, it started drizzling.
Then, it started raining.
Then it started to rain heavily.
Then it started to pour!!!!!!!
Nearly everyone ran out of the crematorium to get shelter. Everyone but the new bride. She stayed at her husband's body and prayed to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. She knew that they were the only ones that could help her now.
As she was praying, a young couple came and asked her, "Why are you sitting next to your husband's body??" Ahe explained that he was dead and she had come to cremate him. The couple replied, "He's not dead!!! Go ahead, shake him!! Wake him up!!!!!" She thought this was all codswallop, that her husband was ACTUALLY dead, but lo and behold!!!!!!!!! When she shook him, he woke up and recognised his new wife!!!!!!!! They jumped in ecstasy.
When she turned to thank the couple, the young girl realised that they had vanished. She knew that this was the work of only Lord Shiva and his wife, Goddess Parvati. She thanked them with all her heart.
The king returned to burn his son's body when he saw that he was alive!!!!! He ran to hug him, as the crowd gathered. The incident went down in history, being named as BHAGIRATI NADI HOGI.

Fun Fact Nº 1. When the young girl prayed to Shiva, she asked him to bestow her late husband with the strength of Bheema, the Pandava. That's why today is called Bheemana Amavasya!!!!

Fun Fact Nº 2. This is why many wives pray for their husband's long life and good health on Bheemana Amavasya!!

Thanks for reading the Story of Bheemana Amavasya!!! Please type your email in the box above the followers and click the blue button to receive emails about my posts!!!!! Happy Reading!!!!!!!!