Baalgatha : Children's Stories From Panchatantra, Jataka Tales

The Grey Brown is a story written by Gauri Awasthi. This story was submitted by her for the Baaglatha Storytelling Competition. We found this story to be very interesting, and very different from the stories that we have published so far. In Gauri's Own Words, "I have written a story called 'The Grey Brown'. The genre of the story is thriller. The protagonist of this story is Nancy, a young girl, and other characters are Luna, Lily, Amelia Brown and the teacher. The story traces a young girl going to school after Christmas holidays. She sees a statue she did not see in the school before. Strange things began and she wants to unravel the secret of the grey statue. I like reading thrilling books and like watching thriller, horror or suspense movies, that is why I chose to write a story based on this genre. Hope you like the story. Have a nice day." For her award winning submission, she has received a coupon from Earth Baby. Visit www.earthbaby.in

This is the story of a donkey who wears the skin of a lion. This is a Jataka Story. Here the ass’s master puts the lion’s skin over his beast and turns it loose to feed in the grain fields during his travels. The village watchman is usually too terrified to do anything but finally one of them raises the villagers; when they chase the ass, it begins to bray and betrays its true identity. The ass is then beaten badly. You can learn more about this story by visiting www.gaatha.co/gadha

On occasion of the festival of Holi, we present to you The Story of Holi. Rather, this is a collection of short tales and legends from different parts of India that are associated with this festival of colors. These include the story of Holika and Prahlad, and of course the story of Radha and Krishna. How do you celebrate this festival?  How to Subscribe to Baalgatha Podcast? You can subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, JioSaavn, Castbox, Deezer, Hubhopper, Radio Public, Storiyoh, Tunein, Stitcher, and many other fine websites and apps where you listen to podcasts. Visit gaathastory.com/baalgatha to learn more. If  you have any comments or feedback about Baalgatha Podcast,  write to us at contact@gaathatory.com or send us a voice or text message at +91-9850800464 Baalgatha podcast is available in English, Hindi, Marathi and soon in Telugu.

On occasion of Womens' Day on March 8th, we bring to you a story about an incredible woman- Onakke Obavva. This is a story of her bravery, but also is an example of the dedication of women. Onake Obavva was a woman who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (Onake) in the kingdom of Chitradurga of Karnataka, India. She is regarded as the foremost women warriors and patriots. You can learn more about her by visiting www.gaatha.co/obavva.

यह कहानी पंचातंत्र से है, जिसमें हम यह सीखते है की अगर हम दल बदलते रहेंगे तो हमारा कोई भी साथ नहीं देगा। चमगादड़ का उदाहरण देकर यह कहानी हमें यह समझती है। इस कहानी के बारे में अधिक जांने के लिए जाइए www.gaatha.co/swarth पर यह कहानी अंग्रेज़ी में हम The Selfish Bats इस नाम से प्रकाशित कर चुके है। This is the story involving birds, animals, and the bats. There is a war between birds and animals, and the bats decide that they will support the winning party. In the end, the birds and animals sign a truce and the birds are forced to hide in the caves. This story teaches us a moral that we should not try to waiver in our decision. The English version of this story was published on Baalgatha as The Selfish Bats. http://www.gaatha.co/bats

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was an Indian pro-independence activist, lawyer, politician, poet, writer and playwright. We present a story from his life- where he told the police that a pen is mightier than a sword. You can learn more about Veer Savarkar and his life by visiting http://www.gaathastory.com/savarkar 

On occasion of Mahashivratri (the grand night of Lord Shiva) we bring to you two short stories related to this festival. The first story is about a tribal who accidentally showered 1,000 leaves from a bilva tree on to the Shivlinga. In the second story, we narrate how Shiva settled a dispute between Brahma and Vishnu. You can learn more about this festival by visiting www.gaatha.co/shiva

यह कहानी पंचतंत्र की कहानियों में से एक है। इस कहानी से हमें यह शिक्षा मिलती है की हमें सोच समझ कर निर्णय लेना चाहिए। इस कहानी को आप हमारी वेब्साइट www.gaatha.co/wise-monkey पर भी सुन सकते है। In this story, a wise monkey, who is leader of the monkeys, saves his clan by his presence of mind. This is a story with a moral that one needs to do their proper research before jumping for an opportunity.

On occasion of birth Anniversary of Shivaji, we are presenting a story from his life. Shivaji was a great warrior King and he established the Maratha empire in the second half of 1600s. In this story, Shivaji used guile to overpower Afzal Khan, who was a very powerful warrior. The moral of this story is that with wit and guile, one can overcome even a powerful enemy. You can learn more about this story at www.gaathastory.com/blog/shivaji

This story teaches us that we should not listen to others' taunts and teasing, and we should stand up for ourselves. A little mouse with seven tails gets seven wishes from her grandmother. Upon getting teased by her classmates in school for having so many tails, she makes one wish everyday and ends up losing one tail. Finally, she is left with no tails at all! You can learn more about this story at www.gaatha.co/seven-tails This story is from the Storyweaver collection from Pratham Books. Author: Bapsi Sidhwa . Illustrator: Sanjay Sarkar

इन कविताओं का सेट Minwa Aur Dumpwa Ke kartoot, डॉ वी रघुनाथन द्वारा लिखित छोटी छोटी कहानियों की अगली कड़ी हैं। These short poems are the sequel to Minwa Aur Dumpwa Ke kartoot, written by Dr. V Raghunathan.

This is a story from Panchatantra which teaches us a moral that there are very few people who are our true well wishers. In other words, we should not fall prey to false praise! A King who is very benevolent is taken advantage of by his subjects, One day, he realizes that something is wrong- and that he cannot have so many well wishers! After consulting with his minister, he comes up with a plan that helps him discover that none of his so called well wishers come to help him. You can learn more about this story by visiting www.gaatha.co/well-wisher

This is a Hindi story from Pamchatantra which teaches us a moral that one should be careful in choosing one's company. यह कहानी एक ग़रीब ब्राह्मण के बारे में है, जिसे एक चोर और एक दानव क्षति पहचाना चाहते है। लेकिन क्या चोर और दानव अपने कोशिश में कामयाब होंगे? जांने के लिए सुनिए इस कहानी को। अधिक जानकारी के लिए जाइए www.gaatha.co/chor-danav इस वेब्सायट पर। Summary of this Panchatantra story in English: A thief decides to partner with a demon- the thief wants to steal a poor brahman's goats, while the demon wants to eat the brahman. Listen to this story to rind out what happens to both of them.

On occasion of Vasant Panchami (which also indicates that Spring has begun in India), we bring you a story from Storyweaver Collection from Pratham Books. A little girl describes the sights and sounds of Spring, and what it means to a child.  This book is written by Mala Kumar and Manisha Chaudhary, and narrated by Sheerali Biju. You can learn more about our podcasts by visiting www.gaathastory.com/podcasts

यह रामचंद और प्रेमचंद, दो पड़ोसियों की कहानी है। रामचंद एक ग़रीब किसान था, और प्रेमचंद एक साहूकार था। एक दिन प्रेमचंद ने रामचंदको थोड़ा धन रखने के लिए दिया इस वजह से रामचंद पर क्या बीतती है यह जान्ने के लिए यह कहानी सुनिए। इस कहानी का इंग्लिश अनुवाद सुनिए The Poor Man's Wealth इस कहानी में। This is the story of Ramchand and Premchand, two neighbors. You can learn more about this story by visiting www.gaatha.co/dhan

Lion and the Hare is Panchatantra story that teaches a moral that we can win against a powerful enemy through wit. शेर और चतुर ख़रगोश एक पंचतंत्र की कहानी है । यह हमें सिखाती है की हम बुद्धि के माध्यम से एक शक्तिशाली दुश्मन के खिलाफ जीत सकते हैं।

This is the Hindi version of the story Hot Tea And Warm Rugs. यह कहानी माला कुमार और मनीषा चौधरी ने लिखी है। इस कहानी में एक छोटी लड़की सर्दियों के सुखद वातावरण का वरणन करती है। आप www.gaatha.co/chaay पर इस कहानी के बारे में अधिक सीख सकते हैं।

In this story, a little girl describes the sights, sounds, festivals and of course food that makes winter enjoyable. This is from the Storyweaver collection of Pratham Books, written by Mala Kumar and Manisha Chaudhary, illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. You can learn more about this story at www.gaatha.co/Hot-tea This story  was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses 4.0 and the story is narrated by Sheerali Biju 

January 12th marks the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, who was a Monk, an intellectual, and a role model for the youth in his day. In today's episode, we bring you two stories with morals- these are anecdotes from the life of Swami Vivekananda. The first story teaches us that we should not believe other peoples' words on face value, and we must verify others' claims. In the second story, we learn the the importance of honesty and integrity. You can learn more about Swami Vivekananda by visiting www.gaathastory.com/vivekananda

In this story, a troupe of elephants travels from the area where a colony of mice live. In the process, many mice get killed. The King of the mice requests the King of the elephants for help. Listen to the story to learn what happens next. The moral of this story is that one should not underestimate others.