In the Onge tribe of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, there is a very prevalent folktale that has been passed down from one generation to another. The story goes like this… In the days of yore, on a bright sunny day, the village kids were playing on the beach. They were building sand castles, playing Read more…

On a hot day, a young Prince lost track of his attendants while hunting in the woods. Feeling hungry, he sat down to eat some cakes he had on him. When he split the first piece of cake, he found some ants feeding on it along with their Ant King. The Prince asked the ants Read more…

One warm evening, the Sun, Moon, and Wind joined their uncle and aunt, the Thunder and Lightning, to enjoy the dinner served at a feast. Their mother, the Bright Star, did not accompany them to the dinner, preferring to stay at home instead. Impressed with the lavish dinner served at the feast, the Sun and Read more…

Once upon a time, there lived in Uttarakhand a farmer by the name of Lakshman Singh. Every year, he had to struggle to produce a profitable harvest. However, he happened to have a really good harvest one year. Even after paying the taxes, he had enough money left to get by for the year ahead. Read more…

Once upon a time, when listening to the songs sung by village women and looking at traditional dances used to be the only sources of entertainment, there lived a maiden by the name of Mangala. Many women in her village were well versed in a lot of folk songs. These songs were usually sung at Read more…

A long, long time ago, there lived a couple in their thirties in a small village around the Bastar region. Their names were Hari and Dejah. The couple collected bamboo shoots and then weaved beautiful baskets out of them. After they were done weaving a set of thirty to thirty-five baskets, Hari would go to Read more…

Once upon a time, in the town of Sircilla, there lived a man whom people fondly addressed as Gopal. He was a silk weaver and owned a small shop in the local market. His everyday sales were pretty good and he was leading a comfortable life. However, just like any other human being, Gopal too Read more…

A long time ago, in the kingdom of Patliputra, there lived a man better known as Munshiji. He worked as the king’s chief collector. He was in his mid-thirties and was usually an easygoing man. However, when it came to money matters, no one was as diligent and as strict as him. Munshiji was very Read more…

In the southeastern state of Odisha, the indigenous Sora tribe believe that their ancestors had tails. Legend has it that the humans during those times had long, sleek tails. These tails would swish and sweep the road behind them as they walked around. All was well and good until the population began to increase. The Read more…

A long time ago, along the banks of the mighty Sutlej, lived a small sparrow named Chibi. She was golden brown in color, with eyes as black as a moonless night. One day, Chibi thought of growing herself a field of wheat. However, it soon dawned on her that doing all the work on her Read more…