The town barrel-maker had repaired some barrels for the innkeeper. When he had finished the work he came to the inn and the lady-innkeeper of “The Sun” brought him a glass of wine. “Well, my good woman,” said the barrel-maker, “how is it going?” “No good at all,” answered the woman. “Those people in the town are all going to …
Read More »A Kind of Magic – Girija Rani Asthana
Rrrr…ing. The shrill sound of the call bell filled the house. Nita looked at the front door and frowned. ‘Who could it be so early in the morning? We hardly know anyone here.’ The summer vacation had just started and Nita and her family had recently shifted to this multi-storey building and were still in thee process of settling down. …
Read More »A Fly’s Mischief – Aziz Moradabadi
One morning Saurabh was eating pudding for his breakfast in the hostel mess. At that time, there were about 20-25 boys present. Saurabh was reading a magazine along with relishing his pudding. All of a sudden, a fly came and squatted on his pudding plate. Seeing this, Saurabh was enraged. Without losing a single minute, he attacked it with his …
Read More »A Devoted Son – R. Vishwanathan
Jamadagni was a rishi. He lived a pious life with his wife Renuka. One day Renuka and the rishi were making a shivalinga from clay. Just as they were giving in the finishing touches, Renuka’s concentration was distracted by the sound of hooves. The shadow of the Kshatriya king who rode that way fell on the shivalinga. Rishi Jamadagni who …
Read More »A Cup of Coffee
I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice (Italy), the city of lights and water. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat at an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order saying, Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall. We …
Read More »A Crow In The House – Ruskin Bond
A young crow had fallen from its nest and was fluttering about on the road in danger of being crushed by a car or a tonga, or seized by a cat, when I brought it home. It was in a sorry condition, beak gaping and head drooping, and we did not expect it to live. But my Grandfather and I …
Read More »A Clever Trick – J. C. Mehta
Sheru, the tiger roared into Runu bears ear, Ghurr aa aa Little Runu bear sprang up with a shock. Oh! Keep quiet, Sheru, Runu bear scolded. Sheru was a good friend but Runu did not like such roaring. But Sheru loved to roar. Ghuraar he would roar at the top of his voice. Sherus loud roaring troubled everyone. When Sheru roared, monkeys …
Read More »A Brother’s Story – Vanita Srivastava
LET’s SHOW our love while we can, while people need us. That is something I learnt from an incident in Bhopal. I saw a little boy daily near the Hanuman temple, always in a white tee and black pants, with a small Hanuman pendant around his neck. He sat with a basket of fresh floral garlands. Be it at six …
Read More »भूख – आनन्द प्रिय शर्मा
बाक़ी दिनों की तरह आज भी मै अपना काम ख़त्म करके फेक्टरी से घर के लिए लौट रहा था। पिछले कुछ दोनों से नए प्रोजेक्ट की जद्दोजहद जो मेनेजमेंट के साथ चल रही थी आखिरकार ख़त्म हुई, उस पर खुशी ये की जीत मेरी हुई। अपना पसंदीदा गीत गुनगुनाते, बाजार से गुजरते हुए नजरें मिठाई की दूकान पर टिक गई …
Read More »मज़बूती – सुरेन्द्र कुमार अरोड़ा
आतंकवाद, अपराध और फिरौती की घटनाओं से शहर और प्रदेश की हवा भय और असुरक्षा की आंधी में बदल चुकी थी। हर दिन किसी न किसी वारदात से लोग सहमें हुऐ थे। वे भूल गये थे कि प्रदेश में सरकार या पुलिस भी है। वे चाहने लगे थे कि शीघ्र चुनाव हो और सत्ता उर्जावान, ईमानदार नई पौध को सौंप …
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