English Literature

Confidence Returned: Hareshwar Roy It was evening, around five-thirty. Sameer returned home from school. After changing his clothes and washing his hands and face, he went and sat on the easy chair on the balcony, as he did every day. In the playground in front of the balcony, many children were playing. Colorful kites were flying high in the sky. Various birds were returning through the sky to their nests. The sun was also just about to set, turning the sky a deep red. Watching the evening scene, thirteen-year-old Sameer, a student of class eight, lost himself in thought. “Only three months are left before my annual exams begin. I should throw myself wholeheartedly into preparing for the exams. I will have to work very hard to succeed.” “But will I even be able to pass the exam this year? No, no. Passing the exam is a uphill task for me. It's impossible.” Caught in the grip of despair, he kept thinking. “Last year too, I worked so hard. What was the result? I failed. I only sco...

The Fruit of Karma: Hareshwar Roy Prajapati Daksha was the son of Lord Brahma . One of his daughters was Sati . Sati was a great devotee of Lord Shiva . Her marriage was solemnized with Lord Shiva. Sometime after this marriage, Prajapati Daksha arrived at a pilgrimage site named Naimisharanya . Many gods, sages, and ascetics were present there along with Lord Shiva. Upon seeing Daksha, everyone bowed their heads and offered their respects to him. However, Lord Shiva did not do so. Daksha found this behavior of his disrespectful and became extremely furious. In his heart, he decided to take revenge on Lord Shiva. A few days after this incident, Daksha organized a grand yajna (sacrificial ritual) at a place called Kankhal . He got a good opportunity to humiliate Shiva. Therefore, he did not invite Lord Shiva on this occasion. All the invited gods, sages, and ascetics reached the venue of the yajna. Finding Shiva absent, Maharishi Dadhichi wanted to know the reason behind it. In res...

Meethu 's Freedom: Hareshwar Roy This is a story from a long time ago. A priest lived in a village. He had a parrot named Meethu. That parrot was his sole means of earning a livelihood. Every day, the priest would take Meethu in a cage and head to the city. There, he would set up his seat under a tree by the roadside. The priest was a fortune teller . With Meethu's help, he used to tell the future to interested people. The fortunes of the people remained enclosed in the envelopes placed in front of Meethu's cage. At the priest's gesture, Meethu would pick up one of those envelopes in his beak. The priest would extract the piece of paper inside the envelope and read it out in his own distinct style. After learning their future, the person sitting in front would give a donation to the priest. Meethu felt immense pity for the foolishness and superstition of the people who paid the money. Drawing out envelopes year after year, Meethu had grown tired of it. He wanted to ...

Jadavar : Hareshwar Roy This happened a very long time ago. In the Shahabad region of Bihar province, there was a small fiefdom named Jagdishpur . The owner of that fiefdom was Babu Kunwar Singh . His Bhojpuri-speaking subjects respectfully called him 'Babu Saheb'. Babu Saheb was a man of straightforward and firm temperament. He was very popular for his bravery, courage, sense of justice, and generosity. He was always ready to work for the welfare of his people. Thus, during his reign, peace and order prevailed in Jagdishpur, and the people were content and prosperous. In Babu Saheb's court, there lived a jester (court jester) named Basawan . He was an extremely clever and sharp-witted man. All the courtiers were very fond of him, and Babu Saheb himself was convinced of his talent. In moments of leisure, Basawan would entertain Babu Saheb by telling jokes, proverbs, satirical stories, and poems. His remarks were so witty that Babu Saheb would burst into fits of laughter...