BOOKS AMEYA

A Present for the King is a Kashmiri folk story

A Present for the King | A Folk Tale from Kashmir | Kalai

Here is an interesting incident that happened in a remote village on the banks of Wular Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Kashmir. Silver coins were not known in this remote village, and people used copper coins in low denominations. No one had seen a silver coin with the image of Queen Victoria, the then Read more…

The Abandoned Twins is a Gujarati folk story

The Abandoned Twins | A Folk Tale from Gujarat | Kalai

Once upon a time, there lived a king with his two queens. The king treated his favorite queen with a lot of love and care. However, his attitude toward the other queen was nothing but humiliating. While his beloved queen remained childless, the other queen conceived. When the king’s preferred queen learned about this, she Read more…

The Magic Pan a folk tale from Odisha

The Magic Pan | A Folk Tale from Odisha | Kalai

Sudarsan was a Brahman from Banapur in present-day Odisha. He earned his living by conducting religious ceremonies in his small village. While people did contact him for the occasional thread ceremony or wedding, such opportunities were few and far between. One day, Sudarsan went to his neighboring village to preside at the wedding of a Read more…

listen before you act is a folk tale from West Bengal

Listen Before You Act | A Folk Tale from West Bengal | Kalai

Once upon a time, there was a king. The king had three sons. One day, some people came to the king complaining about the increased robberies and thefts in the city. The king asked his sons to patrol the city streets every night and catch the culprit. The king’s sons built an outpost on the Read more…

Sachuli Lies Once Again a folk tale from Uttarakhand

Sachuli Lies Once Again | A Folk Tale from Uttarakhand | Kalai

Once upon a time, there was a poor widow named Hungni. She lived with her son, Sachuli. Sachuli had the bad habit of asking stupid questions every day. One day, he asked his mother what made women laugh. Irritated, Hungi replied at once that they would laugh if he were to throw a stone at Read more…

The Lame Parrot and The Nail is a folk tale from Tamil Nadu

The Lame Parrot and the Nail | A Folk Tale from Tamil Nadu | Kalai

Long, long ago, there was a flock of a thousand parrots that would fly far away to feed on fruits. One of the parrots was lame. He could not fly too far. One day, the lame parrot flew over to Maliyapuram. He spotted Muttu Chettiyar’s daughter combing her hair on the seventh story of their Read more…

Blessings of the Sun God a folk tale from Kerala

Blessings of the Sun God | A Folk Tale from Kerala | Kalai

Long ago, in a small town, there lived a mother and a daughter, who were ardent devotees of the Sun god. They would donate everything in honor of the Sun god, which left them with only two rice cakes to eat. One day, the daughter started feeling hungry after her mother went to work. Unable Read more…

One Hundred Bucks for a Story folk tale from Bihar

One Hundred Bucks for a Story | A Folk Tale from Bihar | Kalai

Once upon a time, a baniya, or a moneylender, overtook a farmer on his way down a country road. The moneylender was constantly muttering something to himself. Apparently, he hadn’t had a single chance to make money that day. Suddenly, it dawned on him that he could probably use the farmer to earn some money. Read more…

The Banjaran and the Shepherd is a Rajasthani folk tale

The Banjaran and the Shepherd | A Folk Tale from Rajasthan | Kalai

Once upon a time, in a small town in Rajasthan, there lived a prosperous nomad by the name of Lakhi Banjara with his wife, Lakhi Banjaran. Lakhi Banjara owned a big herd of goats, sheep and oxen. He and his wife would travel from one region to another to sell livestock. One day, he traveled Read more…

The Bald Wife is a folk tale from West Bengal

The Bald Wife | A Folk Tale from West Bengal | Kalai

A long time ago, there lived a merchant with his two wives. His second wife was much dearer to him than the first one. Actually, the second wife had two tufts of hair on her head, while the first wife had just one. Although the two wives resented each other, they had no choice but Read more…