A Nostalgic Girl Remembers

SHERRY GOES TO THE BEAUTY PARLOUR

On Sunday morning Sherry had a delighful treat. Sherry visited a "beauty parlour" for the first time. Actually Sherry is so beautiful that she doesn't need to go to a parlour, but we decided to pamper her and took Sherry for a luxurious bath and grooming at Pooja's Pet Salon on Karve Road in Pune. Since it was her first time, and parents were not allowed inside, at first Sherry was quite apprehensive but then she seemed to be enjoying the bathing and grooming and make over and came out very smelling very nice, scrubbed and moisturized, looking clean and cuddly, smiling and wagging her tail cheerfuly and looking cute and happy with a lovely ribbon tied around her neck.

Normally we bathe and groom Sherry at home and since this was her first time in a pet salon, we wanted to take pictures of Sherry having her makeover but they did not allow it, so here is a piece by Sherry herself where she tells you some of her childhood memories, she tells you about the glorious days she enjoyed full of fun and frolic - her first year in that cozy bungalow near Aundh on the dense foliage on the other side of the Mula River and then her delighful days in the verdant hills of Girinagar in her lovely house with a huge compound lots of trees with the giant Sinhagad Fort looking down as a sentinel and the soothing waters of the Khadakvasla lake below.

My Name is Sherry

Childhood Memories of a Doberman X Girl

By

Sherry Karve

Hi Dear Human Friends. 
Bow Wow.
Please have a look at some of my pictures.

   
                  Posing with my Dad

     

                   Sherry Relaxing

             Sherry Dancing

By the way, I am a writer too.
Here is my first piece of writing which I wrote when I was only seven months old. Now I am ... well never ask a girl's age ...

Sherry Karve Profile Picture

Do tell me if you like my story and pictures. If you do then I'll post some more about my delightful life.

All Attention

Relaxing on the lush green lawn of my bungalow

My name is Sherry. Sherry Karve. I am a naughty young girl, I’m over seven months old and I live with my family in a lovely spacious bungalow surrounded by plenty of greenery. 

Baby Sherry cuddled up on her brother's lap

I wake up early in the morning, jump off my sofa, go to my father’s bed, rub my cold wet nose against his hand and give him a loving lick with my warm soft tongue.

He grunts and growls and opens his sleepy eyes, and the moment he sees me his face lights up and he lovingly caresses me and says, “Good Morning, Sherry.” The he gets up from bed and opens the main door to let me jump out into the garden. First I do my ‘little job’ at my favorite place near the mango tree. Then I generally dig with my paws in the soft morning mud and sniff around with my keen beautiful black nose to find out if there are any new morning smells, not forgetting to run and welcome the milkman the moment he comes on his cycle.

When I return I find that my father is back in his bed and my mother is up and about. She pats and cuddles me and goes about her business making tea in the kitchen while I loiter around the house.

She surreptitiously sneaks to the bedroom and slyly hands over a tidbit to my half-sleeping father under the blanket when she thinks I am not looking. I pretend not to notice, as I do not want to spoil their fun. Earlier, when I was small and impatient, I used to snuffle out the tidbit from my father’s hand, but this spoilt his fun and he became grumpy. Now that I am a mature young girl well experienced in the ways of the human world and I have realized that it is better to act dumb and let these humans think they are smarter than me. So I go outside, sit down and put on a look of anticipation towards the gate and pretend not to notice my mother hiding and peeping through the corner of the window and giggling to herself.

                            Hey, Look at the eerie glow in my eyes ... Scary Sherry

The moment the newspaperman comes on his cycle and shouts ‘paper’, I rush to the gate and fetch the newspaper in my mouth, gripping it just right between my teeth, and hold it up to my horizontal father, who gets up, takes the paper from me and gives me the dog-biscuit he’s been hiding in his hand, as my mother, who has rushed behind me, watches me with loving pride in her eyes. 

Getting the Newspaper for my Dad

My brother and my sister, who till now were fast asleep in the other room, call out my name – “Sherry! Sherry!” – and as I dart between their beds wagging my tail, they both hug and cuddle me all over saying, “Good Morning, Sherry. Sherry is a good girl!”   Everyone is cheerful and happy and my day has begun!

 

I love my family, even though they are humans; and I love my house, my surroundings, the place I stay, the life I live – but before I tell you all that, let me tell you where I came from.

Posing with my Dad with a bit of my camera shy Mummy in the background

My ‘birth-mother’ is a ferocious Doberman who lives in a bungalow in Kothrud in Pune and my ‘dog-father’ is unknown, though they suspect it may be the Mudhol Hound next door, yes, from the sleek way I look and my temperament  it is most likely the same Mudhol Caravan Hound who lurks in the neighbourhood. For making my registration papers the vet wanted proof, so in the column against Breed he wrote ‘Doberman X’.

 

I was a sickly weakling, hardly a month old, the only girl, last of the litter of eleven, and the owners were wondering what to do with me. Nine of my handsome brothers had already been selected and taken away, and the owners wanted to keep the tenth, the most beautiful and healthy of them all. They had kept me all alone separated from my ferocious Doberman mother who was growling menacingly in a cage nearby. No one wanted me and I could hear people whispering how ugly and weak I was and I wondered what fate lay in store for me. It hurt to be unwanted and when I heard people talking about sending me away to a farmhouse, or ‘dispose’ me of, I felt terrified and shivered with fright as I wondered what was going to be my destiny.

One evening a few people came over and a gentle woman with kindness in her eyes looked at me, and on the spur of the moment lovingly picked me up, and the way she tenderly snuggled me I felt true love for the first time. This was my new mother. She took me securely and lovingly in her soft hands, got into a car and they all drove across Pune, past Aundh, across the river, till we reached a bungalow. The kind woman was wondering what her husband’s reaction would be. It was dark. I was scared and cuddled up snugly my mother’s arms to feel safer. 

Baba singing lullaby to Baby Sherry

Suddenly I found a tough-looking bearded man staring at me. Shivering with fear I looked back at him in terror as he extended his hands towards me. But the moment he held me in his large cozy hands, caressed me lovingly, and put his finger tenderly in my mouth, I felt protected, loved, safe and secure.

 

This was my new father and he had already decided my name – Sherry – the same name of his earlier canine ‘daughter’. By the way ‘Sherry’ means ‘beloved’ – not the wine drink you are thinking about...!

 

“She was destined to come here,” my mother said.

 

“Yes,” my father said feeding me warm milk.

 

Baby Sherry

My Daddy and Mummy made a nice warm bed for me in a basket and put it below theirs. And as I drifted into sleep, they both fondled me with their hands. I felt so wonderful and happy for the first time in my life. I had found my true home and my family.

Sherry sleeping peacefully in her Den

I am feeling quite sleepy now so I’ll end here and have a nap in my den.

If you want to know more about me, my delightfully mischievous life, and the naughty things I do, please let me know and I’ll tell you all about it...!                           

VIKRAM KARVE 

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.   

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. He has written a foodie book Appetite For A Stroll and a book of fiction short stories COCKTAIL which is being published soon and is currently busy writing his first novel. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
 

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Creative Writing by Vikram Karve: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
 

Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll 
http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

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Short Stories Book: Cocktail
 

Cocktail - Short Stories about Relationships :  
 

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?pages#!/pages/Cocktail-by-Vikram-Karve-APK-Publishers/177873552253247

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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.

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

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

Theory of Relativity Made Simple

THEORY OF RELATIVITY

Ancient Wisdom

A Mulla Nasrudin Teaching Story

Retold by VIKRAM KARVE


Dear Reader, here is an apocryphal Mulla Nasrudin Story to brighten up your day and enlighten you:

One day Mulla Nasrudin’s neighbour came over to ask for some advice on how to manage his large family in his tiny little house.

“Dear Mulla Nasrudin,” he bemoaned, “my house is so small that all of us just cannot fit inside – me and my wife, my mother-in-law, three children... we are all so cramped up in our small cottage where there is hardly any space. You are a wise man, and maybe you can find some solution to my problem so please tell me what to do!”

“I noticed that you rear chickens – how many do have in your barn behind your house?” Nasrudin asked.

“I have five chickens and a rooster,” the neighbour said.

“Take them all into the house!”

“What?” the neighbour asked aghast, “how is it possible? My house is already so small and overcrowded. Where is the place for the chickens?”

“Try it!” Nasrudin insisted, “And I am sure you will come and meet me tomorrow and tell me that your problem has been solved.”

The neighbour was not convinced but he did not dare to question the wisdom of Mulla Nasrudin, so he took the five chickens and the rooster inside the house.

The next morning he ran to Nasrudin’s house.

“You have made our problem worse – me, my wife, my mother-in-law, three kids, five chickens and a rooster – it is impossible for all of us to fit inside the small house – there is no space at all!” the neighbour lamented.

However, Mulla Nasrudin ignored his griping and asked the man, “You have a donkey, don't you? I have seen a donkey tied up outside your house.”

“Yes, Nasrudin, I have one old donkey,” answered the neighbour.

“Take the donkey in!” Nasrudin told the man.

No matter how much the neighbour protested, Nasrudin maintained that it was for his best and the hapless neighbour did as he was told.

The next morning, he ran back to meet Nasrudin, and said in total despair, “Nasrudin, it is just not possible. The wife, the mother-in-law, the kids, the chickens, the rooster and the donkey! We had a most terrible night. There is no room even to breathe!”

“If I remember correctly, you have two lambs, don’t you?” Nasrudin asked his neighbour.

“Oh, no! Please don't tell me to take the lambs in. There will be total chaos…”

“Don't worry, my friend,” Nasrudin interrupted and assured the desperate neighbour, “You will thank me for solving your problem in the end.”

The neighbour, hoping against hope that Nasrudin’s crazy advice may miraculously work out, took the two lambs into his packed house that night.

The next morning, the neighbour, in a totally inconsolable state, landed up at Mulla Nasrudin’s door, and pleaded in agony, “Nasrudin, why are you torturing us, making us suffer like this? My small house is jam-packed, teeming with bodies and stinking. My mother-in-law is threatening to kill me, my wife is about to leave me and my children are furious. It is appalling, sickening, your advice has made matters worse.”

Nasrudin patiently listened to his neighbour and said nonchalantly: “Okay, now take all the animals and birds out of the house – chickens, rooster, donkey and lambs – all back to the garden, back to the barn, back to the shed. Throw them all out of the house to where they belong!”

Next morning the grateful neighbour thanked Mulla Nasrudin, “Sir, you are indeed a wise man. You solved my problem. Now, our house is so large, so roomy, and so airy, so much space for everyone, kids can play, we can sleep, everyone is happy. Thank you so much.”

Dear Reader, please tell us what is the moral of this story.

VIKRAM KARVE

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

vikramkarve@sify.com

TIT for TAT - A Teaching Story

TIT FOR TAT

Art of Cooking

A Teaching Story

By

VIKRAM KARVE

On a freezing cold snowy winter day Mulla Nasrudin was having a chat with some of his friends in the local coffee house.

Mulla Nasrudin said that cold weather did not bother him, and in fact, he could stay, if necessary, all right without any heat.

“We’ll take you up on that, Mulla Nasrudin,” his friends said. “If you stand all night in the village square without warming yourself by any external means each of us will treat you to sumptuous meal. But if you fail to do so, you will treat all of us to dinner.”

“All right, it’s a bet,” Mulla Nasrudin said and that very night Mulla Nasrudin stood shivering all night in the village square till the morning despite the bitter cold.

In the morning he ran triumphantly to his friends and told them he had won the bet and that they should be ready to fulfil their promise of treating him to a sumptuous meal.

“As a matter of fact you lost the bet, Mulla Nasrudin,” said his friends.

“Lost the bet? How is that possible? I stood in the freezing cold all night,” Nasrudin asked perplexed.

“At about midnight, just before we went to sleep, we saw a candle burning in a window about three hundred yards away from where you were standing. That certainly means that you warmed yourself by it,” the friends said.

“That’s ridiculous, “Mulla Nasrudin argued. “How can a candle so far away behind a window warm a person standing outside in the freezing cold more than three hundred yards away?”

All his protestations were to no avail and it was decided that Mulla Nasrudin had lost the bet.

Mulla Nasrudin accepted gracefully the verdict and invited all of them to dinner that night at his home.

All his friends arrived on time, laughing and joking; they had built up a ravenous appetite in eager anticipation of the delicious meal Mulla Nasrudin was going to serve them.

But dinner was not ready.

Mulla Nasrudin told them that it would be ready in a short time and left the room to prepare the meal.

Hours passed and still no dinner was served. Neither did Nasrudin emerge even once from his kitchen.

Finally, getting impatient and very hungry his friends went into the kitchen to see if there was any food cooking at all.

They looked in disbelief at what they saw.

Mulla Nasrudin was standing by a huge cooking pot suspended from the ceiling and there was a small lighted candle under the large cooking pot.

“Be patient my friends,” Mulla Nasrudin assured his friends, “Dinner will be ready soon. You see it is cooking in front of you in this pot.”

“Are you out of your mind, Mulla Nasrudin?” they shouted in exasperation, “How could such a tiny flame boil such a large pot?”

“Your ignorance of such matters amuses me,” Mulla Nasrudin said nonchalantly, “If the flame of a candle behind a window three hundred yards away can warm a person, surely the same flame will boil this pot which is only three inches away.”

Dear Reader, any comments?

VIKRAM KARVE

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

vikramkarve@sify.com

Art of Canine Communication

How I Taught My Dog Sherry the Human Language

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Part 1: Donkey Language


Before I tell you how I taught my pet dog Sherry the human language here is an apocryphal story:

A wise man, a renowned teacher, once publicly vowed that he would eradicate illiteracy and teach everyone to read.

Some mischievous boys brought a donkey to the teacher and asked him if he could teach the donkey to read.

The wise teacher stunned the students by taking up the challenge and said, “Give me the donkey for a month and I will teach it to read.”

The teacher went home and began to train his donkey to read. At first he put the donkey into the stable and gave him no food for some days. Then he found a thick book and put some hay between the pages. In the beginning the teacher turned the pages and gave the donkey the hay between the pages.

After a while the donkey learnt to turn the pages with his tongue to find and eat the feed by itself. Each time when the donkey finished the book and found no more feed between the pages it would bray: “Eee aah, Eee aah!”

Three days before the one month period was over the teacher stopped feeding the donkey till the poor donkey after fasting for three days without a morsel of food was voraciously hungry.

On the fateful day when the whole school assembled to see the miracle of the donkey reading, the wise teacher brought the ravenously hungry donkey onto the stage. He asked for a big book and put it in front of the donkey.

The hungry donkey turned the first page of the book with its tongue and when it could not find any feed the donkey brayed: “Eee aah, Eee aah!” and turned one more page, and again not finding any hay it cried: “Eee aah, Eee aah!”

The famished donkey kept turning the pages of the book one by one with its tongue and when it could not find any feed between the pages its braying grew louder and louder and soon the hapless donkey was turning the pages and shrieking in a loud voice: “Eee aah, Eee aah!” till it reached a crescendo.

Proud of his achievement the wise teacher said to the gathering: “You all have seen that the donkey has turned the pages of the book and he read it.”

One of the naughty students asked: “But we could not understand anything.”

The wise teacher replied: “Of course you could not understand what the donkey read because it was donkey language. In order to understand it you have to learn donkey language. Come to me for tuition in the evening. I will teach you donkey language.”

[To be continued…]

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

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Greed, Love, Lust

GREED AND LUST

[A Teaching Story from the Panchatantra]

By

VIKRAM KARVE


There was an old man, a good natured simple farmer, who had a young wife.

The young wife was not satisfied with her aged simpleton husband, neglected her household work, and always yearned for the company of young handsome men.

One day, a smart young good-looking man saw her and seeing that she was alone went to her and said, “You are the most beautiful woman in the world and I am the most eligible bachelor. I have fallen in love with you the moment I saw you. Please give me the pleasure of your company.”

Delighted, the woman said to the young Casanova, “Listen my dear, my husband has a lot of wealth. He is old and of no use to me. I will take out all the money and jewellery and let us elope to some other town and live there happily ever after.”

The con-man was very happy and asked her to bring all her wealth to the mango orchard near the river at midnight where he would be waiting for her.

“We will both disappear in the darkness and head for the next town,” he told assured her.
The lusty woman waited till it was dark and when her husband fell asleep she stole all the money, jewellery and gold, packed it in a bag and left the house at midnight to meet the trickster at a place he had indicated. The trickster took the bag full of money and gold from her on the pretext that he would carry it and walked towards the river.

The smart young handsome man looked at the woman and thought, “What is the point of wasting my whole life with this woman? She seems a bit older than me too and soon may turn into a shrew. Also if she couldn’t be loyal to her husband she may ditch me too for someone else. It is better I dump her but take her money and jewellery with me.”

With these thoughts in mind he told the woman, “Look, my dear, it is very difficult to cross the river. I will first swim with the money bag to the other side of the river and keeping it there I will come back and carry you on my back.”

She readily agreed and gave the bag to her new found lover.

He asked her to take off her clothes too and give them to him to carry across the river as he felt her clothes would hinder swimming. She took off all her clothes and gave them to the man who swam across the river the money-bag and her clothes.

Covering her naked body with her hands, the woman began waiting restlessly for her lover to return.

Just then a jackal with a piece of meat in his mouth happened to pass by. The jackal saw that big juicy fish had been washed ashore by a wave and desperate to catch it the jackal ran towards the fish and in the process he dropped the meat piece from his mouth.

But suddenly another big wave took the fish back into the water.

Disappointed, the jackal went back to pick up the piece of meat, but meanwhile a crow dived down fast and took the meat piece away before the jackal could reach it.

The woman laughed at the greedy jackal who had lost the both the fish and also the piece of meat.

Hurt by the woman’s behaviour, the jackal said, “Don’t laugh you stupid woman. I lost a piece of meat due to my greed but you have lost everything – your husband, your lover and your wealth – due to your lust.”

Tell me, Dear Reader, what is the moral of this story?

THE NIGHT TRAIN AT DEOLI AND OTHER STORIES

THE NIGHT TRAIN AT DEOLI

My Favourite Short Story

By

VIKRAM KARVE


I love reading short stories. You can read a short story in one sitting and it immediately fills you with an exquisite sense of satisfaction.

I love writing short stories too, and I am sure you have read many of my short stories in my blog.

Dear Reader, let me tell you about my all time favourite short story – The Night Train at Deoli by Ruskin Bond.

The Night Train at Deoli is a beautiful story of unrequited love.

Each one of us has experienced this wonderfully painful emotion of unrequited love.

Dear Reader, I am sure you too have experienced the delightful heart-ache of longing, yearning – an alluring attraction for someone who is out of reach – a one way love – a love unreciprocated.

Well I am quite familiar with the delicate tenderness of unrequited love; in fact, my life story is a story of unrequited loves.

The Night Train at Deoli is narrated in first person by a college boy who travels by the night train from Delhi to Dehra Dun every year to spend his summer vacations at his grandmother’s place. On its journey up the hills of the terai, early in the morning, the train stops at Deoli, a lonely station in the wilderness... “Why it stopped at Deoli. I don’t know. Nothing ever happened. Nobody got off the train and nobody got in…and then the bell would sound, the guard would blow his whistle, and presently Deoli would be left behind and forgotten” – isn’t the description brilliant, so breathtaking in its simplicity.

On one such journey the boy sees a girl at Deoli, selling baskets, and is smitten by her… “I sat up awake for the rest of the journey. I could not rid my mind of the picture of the girl’s face and her dark, smouldering eyes”.

He looks out for her on his return journey and is thrilled when he sees her… “I felt an unexpected thrill when I saw her…I sprang off the foot-board and waved to her. When she saw me, she smiled. She was pleased that I remembered her. I was pleased that she remembered me. We were both pleased, and it was almost like a meeting of old friends”…superb writing, isn’t it…simply superb.

It is time for the train to leave, and for the lovers to part… “I felt the impulse to put her on the train there and then…I caught her hand and held it… ‘I have to go to Delhi,’ I said…she nodded, ‘I do not have to go anywhere.’…the guard blew his whistle…and how I hated the guard for doing that…”

Beautifully poignant, marvellously written, touches the very fragile chords of your heart, isn’t it?
I will not tell you the rest of this story, but I can assure you, that if you are a lover at heart, you will be touched with compassion for the protagonist and as the story elevates you to the romantic mood you will relate your very own tale of unrequited love.

Though The Night Train at Deoli is my all time favourite, I like many stories in this anthology, especially, The Woman on Platform 8, His Neighbour’s Wife and Death of a Familiar.

If you are a lover of the fiction short story I am sure you have this delightful book; if you don’t, do get a copy for your bookcase to delve into whenever you are in a blue mood nostalgically yearning for your unrequited love.


[The Night Train at Deoli and other Stories by Ruskin Bond – Book Review by Vikram Karve]

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THE SEED AND THE FRUIT

THE SEED AND THE FRUIT

[A Teaching Story]

By

VIKRAM KARVE

[Dear Reader, do read and reflect on this teaching story I heard long back, told to me by one of my teachers, I think]

Once upon a time there was a childless King who wanted to choose a worthy successor to his throne after he passed away.

He called all the young children in his kingdom to his palace one day and said: “It has come time for me to choose the next King. I have decided to choose one of you as my successor, as my Crown Prince, and groom you to be the King after I am gone.”

The amazed children listened spellbound as the King spoke: “I am going to give each one of you a seed today – Just One Seed. It is a very special seed. I want you all to go home, plant the seed, water it, nurture it, and come back here to me exactly one year from today with the plant you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring to me and whoever grows the best plant will be the Crown Prince, the next King after me.”

There was one small shy boy who was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed from the King. He went home and excitedly told his mother the whole story. She helped him get a pot and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it regularly and nurtured it carefully. Twice every day, in the morning and in the evening, the small shy boy would water the seed lovingly and watch to see if it had germinated and grown.

After a few days, some of the other children began to talk about their seeds and the lovely plants that were beginning to grow, but the small shy boy kept going home and checking his seed, disappointed that nothing was growing from his seed.

Days passed, then weeks, and months, but still there was no sign of a plant growing from the small shy boy’s seed. But the small boy still kept lovingly watering his seed regularly hoping that it would germinate.

By now the others were talking about their wonderful healthy plants but small shy boy didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure, but he kept persevering and nurturing his seed with love and dedication in the optimistic hope that his seed would someday sprout a plant.

Six months went by and there was still no sign of a plant in the small shy boy’s pot.

Everyone else had exquisite tall plants, but he had nothing. Inwardly he feared that maybe he had killed his seed but the small shy boy didn't say anything to his friends and kept on tenderly watering and nurturing his seed with dogged determination and doting devotion in the fond hope that his seed would grow and blossom into a beautiful plant.

Finally, one year passed, and all the children of the kingdom brought their plants to the King for inspection.

The small shy boy was scared and did not want to take his desolate plant-less pot with just the soil and seed to the King, but his mother encouraged him to go, to take his pot with him, and to be honest about everything.

The small shy boy felt fearful and nervous, but he listened to his mother and took his barren pot to the King.

When the small shy boy arrived at the King’s Palace, he was astonished to see the variety of beautiful and exotic plants grown by all the other children.

Totally crestfallen, the small shy boy put his desolate pot on the floor and everyone jeered in derision and mocked him. A few children felt pity for him and tried to console the small shy boy.
Suddenly the King arrived, looked around the hall appraising the plants and showered words of praise to the gathered children: “It is really amazing – you all have really grown fantastic beautiful plants, trees and flowers. I am truly impressed. Today, one of you is going to be selected as the Crown Prince to be the next King!”

The small shy boy shivered with tremors of trepidation and overcome with shame tried to hide in the back.

The King’s eyes searched all over and suddenly he saw the small shy boy at the back of the hall with his barren pot.

The King ordered his guards to bring him in front of the throne.

The small shy boy was terrified. “When the King sees my pot, how badly I have failed in the task he gave me, he is sure to punish me!”

Seeing how frightened the small shy boy was, the King stepped down from his throne, walked down towards the petrified boy, lovingly put his hand on the small shy boy’s shoulders and announced: “This boy is your new King!”


The small shy boy could not believe his ears – it was unbelievable that the King should select a failure and loser like him who couldn’t even sprout his seed be the Crown Prince.

The King escorted the small shy boy to the throne and said to everyone: “One year ago I gave all of you a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But what you did not know is that I gave you all boiled seeds that would not grow. Except this honest boy, all of you have brought me beautiful plants with exotic flowers and even trees with fruit. When you found out that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. This boy was the only one with the sincerity to nurture the barren seed for one whole year with dedication, hope and perseverance and had the courage and honesty to bring me the desolate pot with my seed in it. Therefore, I select him as my Crown Prince to be the next King!”


VIKRAM KARVE

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WHAT IS THE MORAL OF THE STORY

What is the Moral of this Story ?

THE GOAT

By

VIKRAM KARVE




I will tell you a story.

You tell me the moral of the story.

Here is the story:

Once there lived a Goat – an ordinary looking goat who lived wild in the mountains.

One day while grazing in the forest, the goat saw a Giraffe, and the goat said to himself, “I wish my neck was as long as the giraffe.”

Lo and Behold! The goat’s neck suddenly became as long as the giraffe’s.

Delighted, that he could now see far and wide, the goat saw an eagle flying high in the sky.

“I wish I had wings like that eagle,” wished the goat; and instantaneously, wings appeared on the goat’s body.

Thrilled, the goat flapped its newly acquired wings, when he suddenly he spotted a tortoise.

The goat admired the beautiful hard shell of the tortoise, and said to himself, “I wish I had a strong hard invincible body like the shell of the tortoise,” and instantly his wish was granted – the goat’s back turned into the shell of a tortoise.

The goat felt ecstatic and impregnable, till he suddenly saw a Cheetah speeding across the horizon running at high speed.

“I wish I had legs like the Cheetah,” the goat wished, and miracle of miracles, the goat’s legs immediately became like the Cheetah.

Now the goat was truly overjoyed, on cloud nine, till he saw the enchanting sight of a beautiful peacock with majestic feathers dancing magnificently.

“I wish I had gorgeous feathers like the peacock,” he wished, and in a jiffy the goat’s wish was granted, and the goat now had dazzling copious plume of colourful feathers.

Adorned with the neck of the giraffe, the wings of the eagle, the shell of the tortoise, the legs of the Cheetah and the feathers of the peacock, the Goat felt jubilant, supreme, regal, on top of the world, and strutted around grandiosely in majestic pride.

A Hunter passing by suddenly saw this unique stunning creature, marvelled for a moment as he couldn’t believe his eyes, he gawked spellbound at the “Goat” for some time, recovered his wits and decided to capture this exotic priceless gem.

So the hunter cast his net, caught the “Goat” and sold this amazing never-seen-before one-of-its-kind exclusive creature at an astronomical price to the zoo.

Large crowds gathered at the zoo, and everyone gaped in awe at this astonishing exotic creature.

The “Goat” spent the rest of its life in captivity, weeping and crying, wondering why even the other goats wandering about freely and unnoticed in the zoo gardens did not recognize him.


I’ve told you the story; now you tell me the moral of the story.


VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2008
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.


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