This week The Story Birds starts a new, additional, feature, On the Wire.
We have received many insightful and informative responses to our stories via the Comments at the end of each story and through email. Thank you very much for these and we hope that you will keep these coming. This feature has been inspired by your wonderful responses. We hope that in this forum, you will interact and share opinions, ideas, and thoughts not only with us but also with each other.
The Story Birds will, of course, continue to bring you a story every week.
The sparrows were sitting in a crowded row upon an old wire stretched across two ancient telegraph poles. It had been a busy morning, and they were taking a much-needed break from searching for seeds and insects.
“Budge up, will you!” grumbled one, pushing his neighbour.
“If I move any more, I’ll fall off!” replied the neighbour, indignant.
Another pair flew up. “Please adjust,” they said bossily, and inserted themselves between the squabbling neighbours.
The other sparrows glared at them, but flapped their wings and resignedly made space, doing their best not to fall off. Farther down the line, another squabble broke out. Before that could escalate into fisticuffs, a sparrow, more diplomatic than the others, casually began to tell an exciting story. The others, drawn into his tale, forgot their grumbles and settled down to listen.
This avian diplomat, while collecting stories, had noticed the profound effect stories can have. Stories, he felt, could change life in a moment.
Do you agree with the avian diplomat? Are there any stories you remember that have changed anything for you ?
We received the following message and story from one of our readers, Mrs Usha Bubna. We are putting this up here with her permission and our thanks. :)
Some stories affect us more than others. One story that has stayed in my mind is the Jain story of Mainasundari. Long ago, King Pahupal ruled in Ujjain. He was a wise and noble king. He had two daughters, Sursundari and Mainasundari. He wanted to give his daughters a good education so that the families they would marry into would be proud of them. When they were old enough, he asked them what kind of education they wanted. Sursandari asked for a Hindu pandit to teach her, and Mainasundari asked for a Jain teacher.
When the girls finished their education and were old enough to be married, the king asked his daughters to choose a husband. Sursandari picked a prince she liked and who pleased her father as well.
Mainasundari refused to choose and said, “I do not need to choose or find a husband for myself. I will get the husband that I am destined to get, for everything that happens to us is dependent on our own karma.”
The king was furious at his daughter’s reply. “I rule this kingdom and whatever I wish, happens. It is I and not karma that determines what happens to you.”
Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Champa, the king, Ajitsen, had been killed. The queen, Kamalaprabha had fled with her son, Prince Mahipal to the forest where they had taken refuge in a colony of lepers. There, Prince Mahipal also contracted leprosy. The lepers, impressed by the young man’s wisdom and nobility, had elected him their king.
King Pahupal, who did not know Mahipal’s true identity, decided that the king of the lepers was the husband his daughter deserved. He invited Prince Mahipal to Ujjain and asked that he marry Mainasundari.
“You should not marry your daughter to me, a leper,” protested the prince.
But the king was determined to teach his daughter a lesson. “She insists it is karma and not I who decide her life,” said the angry king. “So let her marry you and live a a life of misery! Let us see how karma helps her then!”
So Mainasundari and Mahipal were married. Despite her mother’s tearful protests, the princess insisted on returning to the forest with her husband. There she set up a shrine to Rishabhdev and for several years she performed pujas and observed various fasts. Every day after her puja she would use the water that was used to wash the image to anoint her husband’s sores. Whatever of the water was left over, that she would give to the other lepers. This water, called gandodak, is considered very pure and sacred by the Jains. In time, the gandodak healed her husband’s sores and that of the other lepers. It was now revealed that the king of the lepers was no other than Mahipal, the rightful king of Champa. In time, Mahipal, because of his goodness, regained his kingdom and also amassed great wealth. And he and Mainasundari lived happily together for a long time.
Thus it was proved to King Pahupal that no individual can control what happens in their life or those of others.
This is an interesting story on many levels. It's about so many things, about karma, of course, but also about judging only from what you see, and about humility and generosity too
What you said about the profound effect stories can have and how they make us settle down to listen is so true. Apart from loving the visual of the sparrows all jostling their round little bodies trying to make space, it made me think how a story immediately shifts the action from the physical plane, which is so limited, to the mental arena. A powerful transformation then begins to take place.
Yes. So true- There can be major shifts from the physical to the mental arena- and to the emotional arena too. We are not only rational, but emotional beings. Stories are able to touch the emotions and create mood shifts, diffuse tension (or create it) and make a world of difference to the way we lead our lives.
Sometimes, fiction is regarded as a guilty pleasure or even a waste of time. This puzzles me , when it actually can assist us to escape just for a little while to diffuse our tensions, or even make significant changes to the way we live our lives. Having revelled in fiction all my life, I believe stories can even contribute to mental health. As my co-writer Rohini was pointing out to me the other day, a story allows us to unwind, relax, laugh, or cry with the characters in a story. It can be a metaphor for our experiences and a vehicle for our desires.
The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein changed my perspective about human nature. I had starting teaching and read an article about a rolling stone looking for its missing piece - how it met the wonderful things in nature. I wanted to know the full story. I took this idea to explain to children, the proverb - Rolling Stones gather no moss. Years later I discovered this book, with the story I was looking for and could relate to it so well. What a wonderful way to explain that we are all designed with imperfections and flaws and that that’s ok.
Thanks for sharing about Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece. I read it with new eyes thanks to your sharing.
For me I think a Navajo story about the Spiderwoman was a real game changer for a similar reason. The Navajo weave beautifully patterned rugs but always leave a little black line in the corner which does not conform to the pattern and represents imperfection. I was fascinated by this on many fronts, as I love crafts and the dedicated thought that crafts people put into their crafts.
The story itself is a powerful one, easily available on Youtube, and reminds one not to get so lost in the quest for perfection that we get frozen into inaction, which is something that often happened to me often before I read - and later heard the story.
We received the following message and story from one of our readers, Mrs Usha Bubna. We are putting this up here with her permission and our thanks. :)
Some stories affect us more than others. One story that has stayed in my mind is the Jain story of Mainasundari. Long ago, King Pahupal ruled in Ujjain. He was a wise and noble king. He had two daughters, Sursundari and Mainasundari. He wanted to give his daughters a good education so that the families they would marry into would be proud of them. When they were old enough, he asked them what kind of education they wanted. Sursandari asked for a Hindu pandit to teach her, and Mainasundari asked for a Jain teacher.
When the girls finished their education and were old enough to be married, the king asked his daughters to choose a husband. Sursandari picked a prince she liked and who pleased her father as well.
Mainasundari refused to choose and said, “I do not need to choose or find a husband for myself. I will get the husband that I am destined to get, for everything that happens to us is dependent on our own karma.”
The king was furious at his daughter’s reply. “I rule this kingdom and whatever I wish, happens. It is I and not karma that determines what happens to you.”
Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Champa, the king, Ajitsen, had been killed. The queen, Kamalaprabha had fled with her son, Prince Mahipal to the forest where they had taken refuge in a colony of lepers. There, Prince Mahipal also contracted leprosy. The lepers, impressed by the young man’s wisdom and nobility, had elected him their king.
King Pahupal, who did not know Mahipal’s true identity, decided that the king of the lepers was the husband his daughter deserved. He invited Prince Mahipal to Ujjain and asked that he marry Mainasundari.
“You should not marry your daughter to me, a leper,” protested the prince.
But the king was determined to teach his daughter a lesson. “She insists it is karma and not I who decide her life,” said the angry king. “So let her marry you and live a a life of misery! Let us see how karma helps her then!”
So Mainasundari and Mahipal were married. Despite her mother’s tearful protests, the princess insisted on returning to the forest with her husband. There she set up a shrine to Rishabhdev and for several years she performed pujas and observed various fasts. Every day after her puja she would use the water that was used to wash the image to anoint her husband’s sores. Whatever of the water was left over, that she would give to the other lepers. This water, called gandodak, is considered very pure and sacred by the Jains. In time, the gandodak healed her husband’s sores and that of the other lepers. It was now revealed that the king of the lepers was no other than Mahipal, the rightful king of Champa. In time, Mahipal, because of his goodness, regained his kingdom and also amassed great wealth. And he and Mainasundari lived happily together for a long time.
Thus it was proved to King Pahupal that no individual can control what happens in their life or those of others.
This is an interesting story on many levels. It's about so many things, about karma, of course, but also about judging only from what you see, and about humility and generosity too
Love it! Golpo bolo - tell us a story, was a common refrain from our childhood. That is the extent of my profundity.
That's the best reason for a story!
What you said about the profound effect stories can have and how they make us settle down to listen is so true. Apart from loving the visual of the sparrows all jostling their round little bodies trying to make space, it made me think how a story immediately shifts the action from the physical plane, which is so limited, to the mental arena. A powerful transformation then begins to take place.
Yes. So true- There can be major shifts from the physical to the mental arena- and to the emotional arena too. We are not only rational, but emotional beings. Stories are able to touch the emotions and create mood shifts, diffuse tension (or create it) and make a world of difference to the way we lead our lives.
Sometimes, fiction is regarded as a guilty pleasure or even a waste of time. This puzzles me , when it actually can assist us to escape just for a little while to diffuse our tensions, or even make significant changes to the way we live our lives. Having revelled in fiction all my life, I believe stories can even contribute to mental health. As my co-writer Rohini was pointing out to me the other day, a story allows us to unwind, relax, laugh, or cry with the characters in a story. It can be a metaphor for our experiences and a vehicle for our desires.
The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein changed my perspective about human nature. I had starting teaching and read an article about a rolling stone looking for its missing piece - how it met the wonderful things in nature. I wanted to know the full story. I took this idea to explain to children, the proverb - Rolling Stones gather no moss. Years later I discovered this book, with the story I was looking for and could relate to it so well. What a wonderful way to explain that we are all designed with imperfections and flaws and that that’s ok.
Thanks for sharing about Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece. I read it with new eyes thanks to your sharing.
For me I think a Navajo story about the Spiderwoman was a real game changer for a similar reason. The Navajo weave beautifully patterned rugs but always leave a little black line in the corner which does not conform to the pattern and represents imperfection. I was fascinated by this on many fronts, as I love crafts and the dedicated thought that crafts people put into their crafts.
The story itself is a powerful one, easily available on Youtube, and reminds one not to get so lost in the quest for perfection that we get frozen into inaction, which is something that often happened to me often before I read - and later heard the story.