From Idlis to IIM

Dear Kids,

I'm sure that your grandpa must be telling you to read the newspaper to improve your vocabulary.

I would strongly urge you to listen to your grandpa - It will improve not only your vocabulary but also your knowledge of a wide range of issues including:

• Politics
• Sports
• Business
• Movies
• Special achievements of people

From time to time, I'll recommend some links of nice articles which will be worth reading.

Today is one such day when I came across an inspiring story of a truly poor boy who achieved great heights through sheer will power, intelligence, hard work and perseverence.

Please read the following link from Economic Times, a popular newspaper published in India.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=RVRDSC8yMDA3LzA4LzIxI0FyMDIzMDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Gift from the student

Gifts for the teacher

Dear Kids,

Teacher's day is fast approaching. Nowadays, children have started giving lots of nice gifts for their teachers on this occasion. Here's a joke that I read on the net recently about one such teacher's experience:

On teacher's day, a kindergarten teacher was receiving gifts from her pupils. The florist's son handed her a gift. She shooked it, held it over her head, and said, "I bet I know what it is - flowers!"

"That's right!" said the boy, "but how did you know?"

"Just a wild guess," she said.

The next pupil was the candy store owner's daughter. The teacher held her gift overhead, shooked it, and said, "I bet I can guess what it is - a box of candy!"

"That's right! But how did you know?" asked the girl.

"Just a lucky guess," said the teacher.

The next gift was from the liquor store owner's son. The teacher held the bag over her head and noticed that it was leaking. She touched a drop of the leakage with her finger and tasted it. "Is it wine?" she asked.

"No," the boy replied.

The teacher repeated the process, touching another drop of the leakage to her tongue. "Is it champagne?" she asked.

"No," the boy replied.

The teacher then said, "I give up, what is it?"

The boy replied, "A puppy!"

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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The Clever Leader

The Clever Leader

Dear Kids,

Once upon a time there lived in a village a man by name Dhanapalan. The people of that village were all good-natured. They led a very virtuous life. However, Dhanapalan alone was a troublemaker teasing someone or the other.

A sadhu by name Venkatesan also lived in this village. Suddenly, one day Dhanapalan said to Venkatesan,"You have borrowed ten thousand rupees from me. Return it at once. " Hearing this a very scared Venkatesan said, "I have not borrowed anything from you. Why then are you saying so?"

Dhanapalan replied, " A month back I had a dream in which you asked me for a loan. I lent you ten thousand rupees." The perplexed Venkatesan took his problem to the village Panchayat. The panchayat leader was a clever man. He asked Venkatesan not to worry over this matter and within a day or two called for a meeting of the panchayat.

All the villagers took part in this hearing. The panchayat leader asked for a big mirror and placed it in this court. He then placed Rupees ten thousand in front of the mirror. He called for Dhanapalan and said to him, " Venkatesan borrowed the money from you only in the dream and not directly. Hence you can take the cash seen in the mirror. Dhanapalan not knowing what to do stood with his head bowed. Venkatesan felt relieved. The villagers praised the smart judgement of the panchayat leader.

The story goes to show that there is always a person smarter than one is.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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How Many Crows are there in the Kingdom?

How Many Crows are there in the Kingdom?

Dear Kids,

One day Akbar was strolling in his palace gardens with his dear minister Birbal. Many crows were flying around. The King enjoyed their flying. Just then he thought of a way to corner Birbal, and asked him: How many crows are there in my kingdom?

Birbal thought a moment, and promptly said, "They are ninety-five thousand, four hundred and sixty three (95,463) crows in your kingdom, Huzoor."

Akbar was stunned: "How do you know that for sure?" the King asked.

Birbal was ready with his answer - "You can get them counted, Huzoor." Birbal said.

The king again said, "If there will be less than that, then?"

Birbal replied immediately, "That means that the rest of them have gone on vacation to some neighbouring kingdoms."

"Or if there were more than that, then?"

"Then it means that other crows are visiting your kingdom, Huzoor."

Akbar was very pleased with these answers and gave Birbal a whole lot of nice gifts in appreciation.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Failure - and facing it

Failure - And lessons from failures

Dear Kids,

Too often, it seems to me, people lose their courage in facing life because of past failures or fear that they may fail in the future. One good way to cure such fears is to remember the story of a man who actually built a life of great accomplishments out of defeats, many of which would have made any other man give up all hopes.

The following list of failures, is a living and eloquent example of what happened in a real person's life in the United States of America. At the end of the long list of failures, you'll find the name of the person.

1. Lost job, 1832
2. Defeated for legislature, 1832
3. Failed in business, 1833
4. Elected to legislature, 1834
5. Sweetheart (Ann Rutledge) died, 1835
6. Had nervous breakdown, 1836
7. Defeated for Speaker, 1838
8. Defeated for nomination for Congress, 1843
9. Elected to Congress, 1846
10. Lost re-nomination, 1848
11. Rejected for Land Officer, 1849
12. Defeated for Senate, 1854
13. Defeated for nomination for Vice-President, 1856
14. Again defeated for Senate, 1858

The man who failed so repeatedly throughout his life: Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest leaders in the history of United States of America.

What happened next:

• Elected President of USA, 1860

Hence, dear kids, you must always remember that even the greatest of people tend to fail in various stages of their life. What makes them great is their confidence and ability to overcome all their negative thoughts that accompany those failures, learn proper lessons from those failures, and go right ahead to try and achieve even greater heights.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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TRANSPARENCY OF ABDUL KALAM, THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT OF INDIA

TRANSPARENCY OF ABDUL KALAM, THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT OF INDIA

Dear Kids,

Those of you who are from India would be familiar with our beloved Abdul Kalam - A great president, and more importantly, a loveable human being.

All of you must have heard many stories about his various positive qualities (besides his great intelligence) - simplicity, transparency, honesty, etc.

Here is an example:

This anecdote is a revelation - so far kept under wraps at Rashtrapati Bhavan (under Presidential orders): In May 2006, President Kalam's relatives from the South decided to descend on him (as relatives tend to often do).

On instructions of the President they were welcomed by his staff at the railway station, and were looked after right up to the time they departed.

But the Controller of Household was under strict instructions to keep a meticulous account of all the expenses incurred on behalf of the relatives - all 53 of them. Not once was an office vehicle used for any of them.

It was made clear by the President that he would pay - not only for the transport of all his relatives to and from Delhi, and also within Delhi. He would also pay for the various rooms occupied by them at Rashtrapati Bhavan and the food that was consumed by them - the rooms at the prescribed rate, the food on the basis of expenses actually incurred.

When his relatives left after a week's stay, the President was of course sad to see them all go, but he was also lighter in his pocket: the total expenses debited to his personal account was Rs 3,54,924/=!

As practising lawyers often say in court, "the facts speak for themselves". President Kalam has set a high benchmark of rectitude in public office - worthy of emulation. And, as a living embodiment of 'Transparency-National', his parting words of advice were: "Don't accept gifts." Delicately put: what he meant to say of course was: "Don't accept gifts for favours in return."

This is indeed a rare example of transparency and honesty in the midst of all the negative examples that we read in newspapers about people giving and accepting bribes, misusing their official position, etc.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Mercury and the Axe - Part II - If you're greedy, you will lose everything!

Mercury and the Axe - Part II - If you're greedy, you will lose everything!

Dear Kids,

Whenever you get sweets from your mom, you must share it with your brothers, sisters and friends. Otherwise, you will become greedy, and end up suffering. Just see what happened to the greedy man in the following story:

The woodcutter in the old story about Mercury and the axe was happy to get back his axe. He patiently finished chopping all the wood that he needed for the day.

After he had finished chopping his wood for the day he went back to his friends who were working in another part of the wood, and told them of his good luck. As they listened, one of the men thought that he too would like to get an axe from Mercury.

So the following day he went down to the river's edge, and threw his axe into the fast flowing waters. When it had disappeared he sat down on the bank and, began to cry as loudly as he could. In a little while Mercury appeared again, and asked the man why he was so sad.

'I've lost my axe,' said the man. 'It just slipped out of my hand as I was cutting wood. It's fallen in the water and I can't find it.'

Mercury felt sorry for the man and once more dived into the cold waters of the river. He soon appeared and shouted to the man, 'I can see something down there. Is your axe a golden one?'

The eyes of the man lit up. 'Oh yes,' he said, 'it is made of real gold.'

The god was angry now, for he knew the man was lying. 'What a shame,' said Mercury, 'the axe that I have found is just an ordinary one. I cannot find your golden axe anywhere in the river. As this is not your axe I'm afraid I cannot help you. I must go and find out who this axe belongs to.' With that Mercury and the axe disappeared.

Left on the bank, without any axe, was a sadder but wiser man.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

ps: Dear Kids, I'll be out of town (and offline) for the next 10 days, and will not be posting any new stories for you. Hence, during this period, be nice to your friends, parents, teachers and everybody around you. Hope to share more stories with you soon!

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The King's Choice - Part II

The King's Choice - Part II

Dear Kids,

You'll remember the old story of how the camel was saved. Here's what happened next, because the camel was foolish!

The lion had given up hope of tasting camel's meat. But the clever fox thought of a plan. Off he ran into the desert, saying, "I will bring some help." After some time, he found the camel. How surprised the camel was to see a fox in the desert! "Hurry up, friend," said the fox." Our king wants you at once." "Our king? Who is that? I don't know any king. I know only my master, for whom I carry loads across the desert." "Our king is a lion. He has killed your master. Now you are free. The lion invites you to live at his court. Come along." So the camel followed the fox.

When the fox and the camel reached the lion's camp, the crow and leopard were surprised. Even the lion was pleased, in spite of his burned paws. The camel was presented to the king. "Get on the camel's back, your Majesty," said the fox. "We will return home." The lion at once jumped on to the camel's back. The fox and the leopard sat behind him. With the crow flying ahead as the guide, they set off on the long journey back.

By the time they returned to the forest, they were tired and hungry. The fox, the leopard, and the crow looked at the camel. Then they looked at each other and smiled. They had brought the camel along for the king. Now it was time for dinner. The lion knew what his courtiers were thinking. He turned to the camel. "Friend," he said, "I have to thank you for saving my life. You are welcome to live with us as long as you like. I promise you protection." The courtiers were shocked. Had they not risked their lives to get him camel meat? And now the king wanted to let the camel live.

How could they say anything? After all he was their king. Now, the lion's paws were so badly burned that he could not hunt. He was very hungry indeed. "Fox! Leopard! Crow!" he roared." Don't you see I am ill and hungry? Go and get me some food!" The courtiers had to obey the king. So they went, but not far. They sat down to discuss what to do. "I know," said the fox after a while, " we shall make the camel request the lion to eat him." He told the others of his plan. They agreed it was a good idea. Back they went to the king.

First the crow stepped forward, bowing low. "Your Majesty, we have found no food. But we cannot let you suffer. I am a little creature. Please eat me." The fox pushed the crow aside. " I have more flesh on me. Please eat me, Sir." The leopard rushed in. " I'm even bigger, your Majesty." He camel felt he should not be found wanting in loyalty to his king. "Your Majesty," he said, "I too am willing to sacrifice my life to save yours. These friends are more useful to you than I am. Eat me, instead." At these words, the crow, the fox, and the leopard got ready to pounce on the camel.

Thus, due to the foolishness of the camel, it was about to die.

Fortunately, the lion was a true leader and a great king.

Hence, the lion stopped them. "You are all good and loyal subjects. I am touched by your offers. I accept them all. I shall eat you one by one." There was not a moment to lose. Away flew the crow. Away ran the fox and the leopard. The lion had a hearty laugh. Then he turned to the camel. The camel stayed put, quiet and calm. "You have been loyal and good. You shall be my friend as long as I live." The camel was grateful and happy.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Miser and the Pot of Gold - Part II

Miser & the pot of Gold - Part II

Dear Kids,

Remember the old story of the miser that you read a few days back?

The miser followed the advice of the Sanyasin, and picked up a big pot, filled it up with stones and buried the pot at the same place near the old wall.

He continued to look at it daily.

After looking at it, he went and hid behind the wall to keep an eye on who comes near the spot.

Lo and behold, the same old workman who stole the gold coins came after a week and started digging the hole to find out the new treasure!

Needless to add, the miser caught hold of him and gave him a good thrashing, following which the poor workman confessed his crime and returned the pot of gold coins ot the miser.

Moral of the story:

1. Even if you are a thief, don't be greedy
2. Even if you are a miser, if it is your hard-earned money, it is likely to come back to you
3. If you are dumb, you lose money - whether you are a rich miser or a poor thief!
4. Last but not the least, you must neither be a miser nor a thief

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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