Hello friends,

This post is especially for all the little kids and their lovely moms. Share it; read the story aloud to your naughty ones and let them spin their own web of imagination and morals!

The blog has been revamped with a refreshing theme and much better presentation, keeping in mind both the tablet and mobile users as well. But above all, we have a superb cartoonist ‘Tara Sethi’  here at our blog. It goes without saying that she is a Star!

Kyun re Mandir-Masjid ke chakkar roz lagata tu?

Bhagwaan to tere mann mein hai!

Tere karam mein hai!

Church mein moam-batti pighla-pighla ke kya karega?

Uska dil pighlaaega?

5 baari namaz padh ke kya karega…

Sheesh jhukaake, mattha tekk ke kya karega…

Jab tere dil mein hi khot hai!

Apne andar ko to saaf kar le pele o manas!

Doodh isse pila…dahi khila isse…

Moortiyon ne to khoob chakkh ke thook dia,

Iss bacche ki hi bhook mita de!

Shaitaan to tu pele se hi tha!

Ab shaitaan baccha hi bana le isse…

Vishnu to bheetar hi leta tha o pandit!

Vo bhi mitti ki chaadar odhe;

Ek ganga-jal mein dooba pohcha

Andar bhi laga deta…

                                              –    Nandish Malhotra

Once upon a time, there were 2 brothers Gopi and Kishan. Gopi was the elder of the two and was 5 years elder to Kishan. Their father was a gardener and owned the most fertile 5 acres of mango orchards, in the village. The trees bore the fruit in plenty. Not only that, their orchard was believed to bear the sweetest lot of the entire village produce.

After their father died, the land was divided such that 4 acres were allotted to Gopi and Kishan got the remaining acre. But Kishan never complained about the unfair division of land. He was happy and content with his share.

A year after their father died, the village Brahmins approached Gopi with a special request. They requested him to allocate a small piece of land to them so that they could build a Maha Lakshmi temple.

The head priest approached Gopi and whispered in his ears.

“Gopi saab, Lakshmiji ka mandir banwaaoge to aap par khoob kripa hogi. Dhan ki varsha hogi.”

Gopi replied hesitatingly, “Lekin humein kaafi aam ke ped kaatne pdenge.Uski bharpai kaise hogi?”

“Saab, jo aam ki lakdi hogi…usse sukha ke hawan mein istemaal krenge. Mandir ki zameen se nikli hui lakdi ki aapko muh maangi keemat bhi milegi. Iske alava Lakshmiji ke mandir mein khoob chadawa chadhega. Usmein bhi sabse bada hissa aapka hoga.”

“Vo to theek hai, lekin chadawa ke paise rakhna kya theek baat hai?”

“Haan Gopiji bilkul, thoda bahut humein bhi daan karr dena, brahman ki dua lagegi.”

Gopi thought for a moment. He knew that all the villagers were big devotees of Goddess Lakshmi; he knew what exponential gains he could make by exploiting their beliefs. With a sly smile, he nodded his assent.

Just days after, an NGO Anjali approached Gopi with a much similar request.

The village head of Anjali had heard about the recent bestowment of land to the village Brahmins and he was optimistic about his request too.

“Gopiji humein aapke aam bageeche mein, ek chota sa primary school kholna hai, 8 saal tak ke bacchon ke liye. Aap chaahein to mandir ke hisse ki hi kuch zameen humein de dein. Lakshmi ji ki kripa bhi bacchon pe bani rahegi.”

Gopi replied shrewdly, “Par ismein humara kya faayeda hoga?”

Taken aback by his comment the head replied.

“Ji aapka hi kya, poore gaon ka faayeda hoga! Gaon ke bacche hissaab seekhenge; hindi aur angrezi ke akshar seekhenge aur padhenge, aage jaake bade officer banenge; aur aapko itni bacchon ki duaaen lagengi…fir aapka chota beta Chunnu bhi padh likh kar aapka naam roshan karega…aur uski padhai ki poori fees maaf hogi.”

Still unconvinced whether it was a profitable deal, Gopi asked for some time to think before coming to a decision.

In the evening, a letter addressed to the village head of Anjali was sent. It was terse and rude. There was a big ‘NO’ written in the centre of the parchment paper.

The head had no other option but to request the younger brother, Kishan. Accordingly, the very next day, he knocked at the door of Kishan’s humble cottage.

Kishan welcomed him inside and over a cup of masala chai, biscuits and namkeen, heard him out till the end. But as soon as the conversation was over, he expressed his apprehensions.

“Pradhan saab mere paas kum hi zameen hai par agar aapko itne nek kaam ke liye chahiye to main zaroor ek chota hissa aapko dunga. Lekin meri 3 maangein hain – Munnu aur Munni dono hi aapke school mein padhenge; aur doosri ki school ki zameen ke liye, kum se kum aam ke ped kaate jaayein. Meri aakhri binti ye hai ki akshar aur hissaab ke saath saath bacchon ko ped paudhon aur pashu palan ka bhi gyaan diya jaaye jisse ki humaare gaon mein aur khushali aaye.”

A delighted village head readily nodded to all the conditions, Kishan demanded. He thanked him for his generosity and left very pleased.

Within few months, two major developments were noticed in the heart of the village. There were two display boards which read as follows.

Anjali – offering a great future… 🙂

The second display board read as follows.

Maha Lakshmi Mandir (with a note of thanks and appreciation in bold letters, addressed to Gopi Chander).

                                                                                                                       ( to be continued…)