Tell me a story!

Once upon a time a monkey used to live on a tree on a river bank. The crocodile who lived in the river became friends with the monkey. The crocodile would give rides to the monkey in water and the monkey would give the fruits of the tree to the crocodile. One time, the wife of the croc said to him, "I feel like eating the heart of that monkey. Hmm.. It must be so yummy ! I just have to have that. Dear husband, why dont you get it for me? I have seen you giving rides to that little thing" When the crocodile retorted saying that the monkey was his friend, the wife got very angry and threatened to throw him out of the house.
Somehow the wife's threat won the moral battle over friendship in the crocodile's brain, and he went to the river bank and invited his friend, the monkey to come for his daily ride around the river.
The monkey, who by this time had come to trust his friend, didnt question when crocodile, instead of taking him back to the tree, steered towards his own home in the middle of the river.
After reaching in the Crocodile's home, the wife told the monkey that she was about to eat his heart. The monkey felt betrayed and hurt and very afraid, but did not lose his cool, and he said, "Oh ! Why didnt you tell me earlier, dear friend?? If I'd have known that your wife wanted to eat my heart, I would've brought it with me!"
The wife exclaimed, " What!! You left it home !!? "
The monkey, having realised that it was working, gained confidence and said, " Of Course !! My heart is so precious. I never carry it with me!. But since dear croc is my friend, you can surely have it! " .
The croc carried monkey back to his tree, and the monkey having learnt his lesson of trust, never looked back.


I love stories !
Apart from providing entertainment, they are the best learning tools invented by humankind. Just like a seed travels in the flesh of the fruit, a message needs a story to wrap it in its delicate folds, giving every member of the audiance the freedom to digest the message according to their power, strength and capability. Stories just give a bigger message than anything else.
These days when parents are busy and grandparents are away, the more common media of stories are books and movies.
I've personally always preferred books over movies. Books, because they give you the liberty to imagine, and create a world of your own in the framework of what is provided already! Movies- only some of them really hit home. Those are the movies for which we tolerate the rest of them.

Stories are part of us from even before we are born. The mystical connection, between us and the different stories cannot be understood in a day or a month or sometimes in lifetimes. Stories of love, friendship, morals, humanity, patriotism, kindness, wisdom, smartness, loyalty, truthfulness, bravery, faith, belief make us what we are, who we are. Stories have always been our tradition- The jatak kathayein, panchatantra, ramayan, mahabharat... these are the stories that surpass all dimesions of imaginations.
These stories should not be lost. These stories should not be seen, but read, and even better- be told and listened to.. this is our culture. This is our tradition.
These are what have made us what we are and tell us how we reached here. And we are on the verge of losing it all. Losing ourselves.