Authorship and Copyright Notice
All Rights Reserved: Satya Sarada Kandula
Bala Krishna danced on Snake Kaliya’s head
Bala Krishna Kaliya Mardana : Courtesy : Rangoli Artist : Bhama Sridharan
Little Krishna was the one who rolled the ball into the lake with Snake Kaliya. All the other boys, said that since it was his fault, he had to be the one who got it back.
Krishna disappeared into the water for a long time. The children ran and called his mother and other village elders.
By the time they were back, here was Krishna dancing on the head of Kaliya!
Bhama drew a picture on the floor with different kinds of shiny colour powders! And I took a picture of it for you to see!!
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
How Daksha named the stars!
Please find this lovely story at : How Daksha named the stars!
Authorship and Copyright Notice : Satya Sarada Kandula : All Rights Reserved
The White Cobra’s evening visit!
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
“Kanna and you stay upstairs! I am locking all the doors, there is a Cobra inside the house”., said Kanna’s Thatha.
“Kanna, thatha is alone downstairs with a cobra, he has locked us out!” Amma told her son.
“Really! Let’s go down!”. Kanna raced down the stairs and found the door locked.
“Even at 70, thatha thinks he is a hero! I am a young man of 20. In every other house they would call their young men first when there is danger. I will have to hang my head in shame in front of my friends.” said Kanna, as he and Amma sat fretfully on the staircase outside the door.
“I have localised the Cobra now. It is behind the dining hall closet. I have lighted a tortoise mosquito coil. It hates the smell and is staying behind the closet. I called the society people.. some one should be here soon” said Thatha.
“Wear your shoes Kanna, I will change into some day clothes and wear my shoes too. Your Ammammma will be back by 8.30 pm and thatha will have to open the door, we can sneak in”, said Amma.
Ammamma came as predicted, pooh poohed Thatha’s injunctions and went straight to her downstairs bedroom. She locked herself in there with the television and a cell phone. No trivial Cobra was going to keep her away from her tv serial. Anyway, her husband and grandson would know what to do.
Thatha showed Kanna the cobra. Kanna was very excited. “I’ll call my friend Vel, he will have the phone number of a snake catcher!” Amma was surprised, “Why would Vel know?” she asked. “Oh he knows everything”.
Kanna called Vel, got the number of the snake catcher, Mukunda and called him. He told Thatha that Mukunda would charge 1000 rupees whether there was a snake or not. Thatha’s society friends came, bu they had no idea who to call or what to do. They were scared of snakes and waited outside.
Kanna called Mukunda and Mukunda promised to get there in 45 min. Then he got himself a stick to guard himself, a book to read, a chair to sit on and sat reading with a happy smile on his face. Amma sat next to him on the steps, watching the closet.
Thatha ran back and forth checking alternately on the society friends outside and the snake status inside. He was very impressed with Kanna and his cheerful bravery. Ammamma kept calling kanna from inside her bedroom for updates. Kanna’s friends were excited too, and there were was much SMS traffic. Vel worried about the Cobra. “I hope the poor guy isn’t too uncomfortable”, he said.
Mukunda arrived with a stick, gloves and a blue bag. The cobra was too slippery for the gloves and stick. So Mukunda threw them off and caught the snake by the tail. It is a cobra, he confirmed. Thatha told him about all the cobras he had encountered since childhood.
Mukunda took the cobra out and made it bite the bag a few times. That way its venom was used up. Amma saw for the first time in her life, the beautiful mark under its hood. “What a beautiful Cobra, not like the horrid ones I have seen in my nightmares”, she thought.
Then Mukunda lifted it up and put it in the bag. He put the bag in his motorbike side case, receive his payment and distributed his visiting cards. “I will come anytime of the day or night, you may feel free to call” , he said.
Amma was concerned about the snake. “What will you do to it? Will you extract its venom for antidotes?” she asked this fair, tall and professional looking snake catcher, who looked like he stepped out of an MNC or out of discovery channel. “It is illegal to extract snake poison. I will keep it at home till I collect 8 such snakes. Then I will release them in Bannerghatta National Park, where they can live freely. I don’t know why humans fuss so much about snakes. All they want to do is to eat frogs and sleep. Check my web-site to learn more”, he said.
“I have seen him on TV”, Kanna said. “That is how I knew about him and called Vel for his phone number”. Amma was impressed by Kanna’s knowledge, action and smile. “This is exactly how Krishna faced all danger, with a smile”, she said.
Kanna listened to all Thatha’s snake stories that night, including the one where a snake held its hood up over his head. “That is why you became a great man,” Amma told her father. Ammamma laughed. “No, that is why he got to marry me”, she said.
That night, it was Kanna, who put his mother to bed and tucked her in. “Thank you for saving my daddy”, she said, “And thank you for saving the cobra. Some ordinary construction workers may have just killed it.”
“It was nothing mommy, anyone could have done it!” Kanna said.
“Anyone could have, maybe. But none of us had the knowledge. You knew and you acted. You are the hero today evening” Amma said.
“And Vel, and Thatha and actually Mukunda”, Kanna said as he went to his room to sleep.
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
Sailed away.
Poem : Courtesy : http://insipidbanana.wordpress.com/ All Rights Reserved.
Image Source : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Boat_Sailing_up_Padma_River_Bangladesh.jpg
I bought my self a little boat
put in all the songs I wrote
didnt even to stop to gloat
and sailed away.
A king in a distant land
was sitting in a frying pan
jumped onto my litttle can
and we sailed away.
A merchant in his sturdy ship
had some problems he culd skip
hopped aboard my little skip
and we sailed away.
A maiden from a distant town
shed her claims to the crown
came along with just a gown
and we sailed away.
A monster creeped out of the ocean
he had green eyes which held a notion
we set about in frantic motion
as we sailed away.
The king took out his trusty sword
with one swell swoop it fell off board
the monster grunted at the foolish goard
as we sailed away.
The merchant tried to negotiate
tried to barter a wealthy fate
if the monster would not keep them too late
as we sailed away.
The maiden with an angry frown
yelled to the beast “go around!”
It slunk away without a sound
and we sailed away.
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Ekadantha
Thousands of years ago, a very brave, powerful and wise warrior, the commander-in-chief of all the hordes of the Lord of the Himalayas, protected all the people who lived in the country from the mountain ranges of the north to the seas of the south. The people of this country viewed him as benign and lovable, as a deity who would destroy all obstacles to their prosperity. The people of the neighbouring countries viewed him as a terrifying being, who needed to be placated out of fear. The people of the country celebrated his birthday in style. They made wonderful asanas for him to sit on, offered him water to wash his feet and hands. They gave him clear water to drink and worshipped him with beautiful flowers and fragrant incense and sandalwood. They made him so many delicious things to eat. They made sure that he was shaded by a white umbrella and that there was plenty of sugarcane about. He had a big head, big ears and a large stomach. He was very fond of sweets. He was very talented. There was nothing he could not do. He could sing, play music, dance and fight. He was an expert in all that was there to know. Once one of his friends (Chandra) laughed at his big stomach. He turned half a horde (danta) of his on Chandra. Chandra was very sorry and apologised at once. Vinayaka ruled that no one should invite Chandra home again and offer him hospitality and worship. Chandra asked for a lighter sentence. Then Vinayaka relented a little. He said that if he was invited and worshipped first and this story was remembered then it was alright for people to look at Chandra and be friends with him.
Artist and Photographer : Satya Sarada Kandula : All Rights Reserved
Vinayaka loved small children and would help them with their questions and studies. He knew all the answers. He could explain things in a way that children would understand at once. Children used to keep all their books ready for Vinayaka’s visit. Vinayaka had a deep and understanding heart. When grown-ups took their problems to him, he not only solved their problems, but he also removed their sorrow. As the people of the country prospered and multiplied, and with the passage of time, people started making pictures and images of Vinayaka and showing all their love, devotion and respect to the image. They told their children that Vinayaka now lived in their hearts. So that the children could eat all the delicious things made for Vinayaka as long as it was offered to Him first. Children would keep their books under the image of Ganesha as the asana and make umbrellas for him out of paper. The people would offer him water, flowers, salutations and delicious snacks as they always had, from times immemorial. They entertained Him with their music and dance. And Vinayaka would help the children with their studies and the grown-ups with their problems and needs as He always had done. They loved Him as their dearest friend and He protected them.
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
Once upon a night in a faraway land.
- Once Upon A Night In a Faraway Land : Artist : Gautham S.B. : All Rights Reserved.
Once upon a night in a faraway land, the clouds covered all the stars. The little people got out their pointed rain hats and came out for a chat. The streetlights were on and so were the bonfires.
They shopped and chatted and warmed themselves, waiting for the clouds to clear so that they could see the moon and the stars.
They became very good at these things but they always thought that the movement of clouds was random.
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
Cothi can type!
Image Credit : Gautham S.B. : http://insipidbanana.wordpress.com : All Rights Reserved.
“I am really good at this” Cothi said! ” I can see that,” I agreed, “What are you typing?”
” A story of course! ” he said, “It has do with Thathas and magic grains and little boys”.
“I think I already wrote that story,” I said, “And it is a really good one!”.
“Then, I shall finish the dragon and his boy”, Cothi said.
“That would be awfully nice of you, thank you” , I said.
Then Thimma came along… “See what I can do!” he said.
“That’s really neat, what are you writing?” I asked. “Poetry!”, he said.
“Wow! that’s so nice! I can always use a good poem on Thatha and the Magic Grain, thank you”, I said.
Image Credit : Gautham S.B. : http://insipidbanana.wordpress.com : All Rights Reserved.
Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
Ila Slovly fell asleep…
Ila Slovly fell asleep waiting for the story.
“Oh Dear!” I thought, “Have I left her for so long? I shall have to arrange to have the story sent to her in her dreams! I hope she remembers when she wakes up.”
Authorship and Copyright Notice: All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula
Image rights: Sabrina Vincent
Saraswathi Namastubhyam.
Authorship and Copyright Notice: All Rights Reserved:Satya Sarada Kandula. I wrote the stories and took the photographs.
