Sunday, November 28, 2010

Childhood Girlie Memories

My Name is Sherry Karve - tales of my childhood - click the link below and read on my creative writing blog

Childhood Girlie Memories

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: HOW TO TEACH A DONKEY TO READ

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: HOW TO TEACH A DONKEY TO READ: "HOW TO TEACH A DONKEY TO READA Teaching StoryByVIKRAM KARVE A wise man, a renowned teacher, once publicly vowed that he would erad..."

Friday, October 22, 2010

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: SOCIAL GRACES

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: SOCIAL GRACES: "TABLE MANNERS A Teaching Story By VIKRAM KARVE On every occasion when we invite guests to dine with us, before the guests arrive, my wife..."

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED Fiction Short Story By VIKRAM KARVE From my Creative Writing Archives: Here is a story for the young and not so yo..."

Friday, September 24, 2010

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: MY LIFE STORY

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: MY LIFE STORY:

"MY LIFE STORY Short Fiction By VIKRAM KARVE From my Creative Writing Archives : Short Fiction - One of my poignant dog stories in Thre..."

Monday, September 20, 2010

WELCOME HOME GIFT

Click and read about some Bow Wow fun by my pet dog Sherry

WELCOME HOME GIFT

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: COME SEPTEMBER

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: COME SEPTEMBER:

"COME SEPTEMBER Short Fiction – A Love Story By VIKRAM KARVE From my Creative Writing Archives: One of my rainy day romance stories... It'..."

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Friday, August 27, 2010

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: MY LAST CIGARETTE

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: MY LAST CIGARETTE:

"MY LAST CIGARETTE ByVIKRAM KARVE The first step towards quitting smoking is to learn how to enjoy smoking. And in order to learn how to d..."

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

MATTER OVER MIND

A Mulla Nasrudin Story

MATTER OVER MIND

Have a laugh... and then reflect...

Monday, August 9, 2010

LIP SYMPATHY and CROCODILE TEARS

Fiction Short Story of changing marrriage relationships - click the link below and read on my creative writing blog:

LIP SYMPATHY and CROCODILE TEARS

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Academic and Creative Journal Vikram Karve: THE KEY

Academic and Creative Journal Vikram Karve: THE KEY: "THE KEYMy Favourite Mulla Nasrudin StoryByVIKRAM KARVE Someone asked me to choose my favourite Mulla Nasrudin story…well here it is…The Key...."

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

INNER PEACE


Here is a story from the life of Buddha that highlights the importance of a calm mind:

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers.

While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake.

They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am feeling thirsty.  Please get me some water from that lake there.” 

The disciple walked up to the lake.  When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water, and right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake.  As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. 

The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink...?”

So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy.  I don’t think it is fit to drink.”   

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink.   

The disciple obediently went back to the lake.   

This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it.  The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be consumed.  So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.   

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean.  You let it be…. and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water.  Your mind is also like that!  When it is disturbed, just let it be.  Give it a little time.  It will settle down on its own.  You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down.  It will happen.  It is effortless.”

When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside.  It spreads around you and in the environment and helps you make better decisions. 

Conversely, you could be in very peaceful surroundings, where everything is wonderfully beautiful but if your inside is disturbed, then that beauty is of no use to you. For you to be peaceful, peace has to be generated from deep within you - from your being to the mind, and from the mind to the environment. 

For example, even if you have the best music system, you cannot truly enjoy music if you are mentally disturbed. 

In fact, it is more important to be in a sublime state of inner peace and to be in harmony with oneself in order to relish the finer things of life.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

GIRINAGAR

GIRINAGAR 

Pristine Paradise in Pune


Tell me, which is the most beautiful, most pristine, most unpolluted and most verdant place in Pune?

I’ll tell you – it’s a lovely place called “Girinagar”.

Pune has changed – for the worse.

The pleasant, salubrious, tranquil, stress-free, easygoing, cozy, affable Pune I once lived in no longer exists. Yes, the Pune I once lived in no longer exists...!!!

Every nook and corner of Pune has suffered the ravages of “modernization”.

Except one place – Girinagar. Yes, there still exists a pristine paradise in Pune - Girinagar.

With the mighty Sinhagad Fort towering as a Sentinel, Girinagar is a fascinating place located on the slopes of the hills adjoining the cool blue Khadakvasla Lake.

The view from the Girinagar ridge is amazing.

You can see backwaters of Panshet and Varasgaon dams in the distance, and close by down below the serene expanse of the
Khadakvasla Lake held back by the mighty dam.

The metamorphosis at sunset is enthralling.

The dance of colours, on the waters of the lake, from yellow to orange to crimson to blue to grey and then a still darkness – I have not seen a more magnificent sunset view anywhere else.

In the mornings as you climb up the hills cleansing, refreshing, revitalizing and invigorating your lungs with the clean unpolluted pure fresh air, you look in the distance and see the heavy layer of smog settling down over the city of Pune, and you know how lucky you are to live in this paradise called Girinagar...!

And now the monsoons have arrived and it has started raining.

The sensuous mist envelops all around, everything is a soothing green, and the place is simply magnificent!

Truly a "pristine paradise" in Pune...!

 
VIKRAM KARVE 

vikramkarve@sify.com

Saturday, March 27, 2010

THE PERFECT WIFE - A Mulla Nasrudin Story

The Perfect Wife...The Perfect Husband...The Perfect Match...The Perfect Marriage

 A Mulla Nasrudin Story  
By
 
VIKRAM KARVE  
 
 
There is a beautiful and bright young girl who lives in my neighbourhood.

She wants to get married but it seems that she just can’t seem to find anyone suitable matching her "stringent" requirements.

She is surrounded by so many “eligible” boys, colleagues at work, in her friends circle, if she prefers a "love" marriage; and also she has “seen” and “rejected” a large number of boys her parents and well-wishers keep lining up for her, in case she wants to go in for an "arranged" marriage.

None of the boys seems to come up to her perfect standards and high expectations. But one thing is sure - she does want to get married.
 
I wonder whether I should tell her this apocryphal Mulla Nasrudin Teaching story – THE PERFECT WIFE :

 
Mulla Nasrudin was sitting in a tea shop when a friend came excitedly to speak with him.
 
“I am about to get married,” his friend said, “and I am so very excited.”
 
“Congratulations,” Mulla Nasrudin said, nonchalant,  pokerfaced.
 
“Tell me, Nasrudin, have you ever thought of marriage yourself?” the about to get married friend asked Mulla Nasrudin who had remained a chronic bachelor.
 
Nasrudin replied, “Of course I did think of getting married. In my youth, in fact, I very much wanted to get married.”
 
“So, what happened...?” the friend asked curious.
 
“I wanted to find for myself the perfect wife,” Nasrudin said, “so I travelled looking for the perfect wife. I first went to Damascus. There I met a beautiful woman who was gracious, kind, and deeply spiritual, but she had no worldly knowledge."

"Oh, how sad...!" said the friend, " then what did you do...?

"Then I travelled further and went to Isphahan. There I met a woman who was both spiritual and worldly, beautiful in many ways, but her social graces were not of the highest standards.”
 
“What a tragedy...then what did you do...you gave up...?” the friend asked.
 
“No...No...I don't give up so easily...and I very much wanted  to get married...so I kept on searching for the perfect wife and travelled all over the world meeting so many women..." Nasrudin said.
 
“And did you find her...? Tell me, did you finally find the perfect wife...?” the friend asked eagerly.
 
“Yes,” Nasrudin said, “after travelling all over finally I went to Cairo and there after much searching I found her. She was spiritually deep, graceful, and beautiful in every respect, at home in the world and at home in the realms beyond it. I knew I had found the perfect wife.”
 
“Then why did you not marry her...?” the friend asked excitedly.
 
“Alas,” said Nasrudin as he shook his head in dismay, “Unfortunately, she was searching for the perfect husband.”
 
 
Dear Reader, please be so good as to advise me:
Should I tell the beautiful and bright young girl this Mulla Nasrudin story right now...?
Or should I wait till she perfects the art of remaining single...?

 
 
VIKRAM KARVE
 
 

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

LOVE - A Teaching Story

LOVE
Ancient Wisdom
A  Story
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Here is an inspirational story I read somewhere:
Long time ago in China there was a time when people used to have gardens outside there houses. Almost all the families had one.
This story is about one such ordinary family having a modest house with a garden in front.
The family was going through a tough phase as the husband was not doing well in his career, the family was financially quite badly off and this was causing discord in their home.
One evening the wife was strolling in her garden waiting for the husband to come home from work.
From the corner of her eye she saw three old men standing in the far corner of her garden.
She gradually started walking towards them.
As she came closer she noticed that they were noble looking elderly men with long white beards.
She did not recognize them, but being a kind woman, she said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have a cup of tea and something to eat."
“Is the man of the house home?” they asked.
“No”, the wife said, “my husband is out.”
“Then we cannot come in now”, they replied.
In the meantime her husband returned home from work after another gruelling day.
He was obviously not in a good mood since, as usual; he had a bad day at work.
The wife immediately told him that they had guests standing outside and suggested they invite them.
Initially the husband was reluctant but then he finally agreed after being persuaded by his wife’s insistence, so he said, “Okay, go and tell them that I am home and invite them in.” 
The woman went out and invited the men in.
“We do not go into a house together,” they replied.
 “Why is that?” asked the puzzled wife.
One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and then pointing to the other one he said, “He is Success, and I am Love. Only one of us will come into your home. It is for you to decide which one of us three you want to invite into your home.”
Seeing the confusion on her face, they told the wife, “We suggest you go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”
The wife went in and told her husband about what the three old men had said.
The husband was overjoyed. “How nice,” he said, “Let us invite Success. He will make me successful in my career, I will no longer be a loser, a failure, and all our troubles will go away.”
But his wife disagreed, and said, “My dear, why don't we invite Wealth? Let him come in and fill our home with plenty of wealth – it will make us rich and prosperous and you won’t even have to work and we all can enjoy throughout our lives.”
Their daughter was listening from the other corner of the house. The daughter wanted peace and harmony in the house so she said: “Let us invite Love. Our home will then be filled with love – that’s what we need most now!”
At first they did not agree with their daughter’s suggestion but the daughter was very stubborn and would not change her mind so the two parents finally gave in and agreed to invite Love.
“Okay, we will do as our daughter says,” the husband said to his wife, “you go out and invite Love to be our guest."
The woman went out and told the three old men, “We wish to invite Love into our home.”
Love stepped forward and the wife started leading him towards her house.
As she conducted Love into her home she noticed that the other two Success and Wealth also followed and entered the house.
Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love. Why are you two coming in?”
The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. When Love comes into your lives, into your home, into your family…Success and Wealth automatically follow.
I am sure you agree, Dear Reader, wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success, and even if those two, Wealth and Success are not there, it is Love that matters the most…
VIKRAM KARVE



Wednesday, March 3, 2010

PROHIBITION

A Teaching Story

By

VIKRAM KARVE



Here is a Ancient Wisdom Story titled “Prohibition”



Concerned at the increasing drunkenness and alcoholism in his kingdom, a famous king imposed strict prohibition on wine and liquor.

Earlier most people in that kingdom used to make their own liquor at home and had all the paraphernalia for distilling home-made liquor, and though they had stopped distilling liquor at home after prohibition was imposed, many such innocent people were arrested merely for possession of vats and distillery apparatus in their houses and they were punished severely in the same terms as those actually caught making illegal illicit liquor.

The Prime Minister advised the King not to be so severe with those people who merely had vats in their homes and were not actually distilling liquor but the king would not budge saying that even those having the tools of the trade deserved punishment.

One day,the king was driving his chariot along with his Prime Minister in the country when they saw a young man sitting under a tree.

“Have that man arrested…!” the Prime Minister told the King.

“What has he done…?” asked the king in puzzlement.

“That man is going to commit adultery…!” the Prime Minister proclaimed.

“How do you know…?” the king asked perplexed.

“He has the tools of adultery, just as those people have their vats…!”

The king broke out into a loud laugh and ordered that the people arrested for mere possession of vats be released immediately.



VIKRAM KARVE

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com


http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

vikramkarve@sify.com

Ancient Wit and Wisdom - A Teaching Story

PROHIBITION

A Teaching Story


By

VIKRAM KARVE




Here is a Ancient Wisdom Story titled “Prohibition”



Concerned at the increasing drunkenness and alcoholism in his kingdom, a famous king imposed strict prohibition on wine and liquor.

Earlier most people in that kingdom used to make their own liquor at home and had all the paraphernalia for distilling home-made liquor, and though they had stopped distilling liquor at home after prohibition was imposed, many such innocent people were arrested merely for possession of vats and distillery apparatus in their houses and they were punished severely in the same terms as those actually caught making illegal illicit liquor.

The Prime Minister advised the King not to be so severe with those people who merely had vats in their homes and were not actually distilling liquor but the king would not budge saying that even those having the tools of the trade deserved punishment.

One day,the king was driving his chariot along with his Prime Minister in the country when they saw a young man sitting under a tree.

“Have that man arrested…!” the Prime Minister told the King.

“What has he done…?” asked the king in puzzlement.

“That man is going to commit adultery…!” the Prime Minister proclaimed.

“How do you know…?” the king asked perplexed.

“He has the tools of adultery, just as those people have their vats…!”

The king broke out into a loud laugh and ordered that the people arrested for mere possession of vats be released immediately.



VIKRAM KARVE


http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

vikramkarve@sify.com