Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman's Extraordinary Wisdom

Once upon a time a wise man showed up in King Krishnadevaraya's court. Being a great scholar, this wise man had earned many medals and accolades, which he showed proudly in the King's court. He had great knowledge of all the Vedas, Upanishads and religious books. Being proud of his achievement, the wise man showed off in the King's Court and enjoyed how people flattered him. He was not alone and was accompanied by handful of followers who continously sprayed words of flattery for the wise man. He enjoyed all the attention and challenged people who had doubts about him.

To prove his own wisdom, the wise man challenged the scholars present in the court. The king could see through his scholars and understood that they were in no position to accept the challenge so he himself fixed a date and asked his scholars to make the necessary arrangements.

Now the scholars were really worried as they thought they couldn't match the wise man's intelligence. They came together and discussed the strategy. Though they didn't wish to participate, they very well understood the king's anger and the consequences for refusing so. So after much discussion, the scholar's from the King's court decided to seek help from Tenali Raman. They were very much aware how Tenali Raman knew to handle such tricky situations.

Thus the whole party of scholars from King's court went to Tenali Raman and made him aware of the situation. They explained to him the difficult situation they were put into and requested him to help them, thus to avoid shame and disgrace. Tenali Raman listened to them and replied, " My dear Scholars, I can see how you are worried about the disgrace you may face. I, also understand that this is a matter of your prestige and honour. All I will request right now is for you all to go home and relax. Leave everything to me". On such assurance from Tenali Raman, the scholars returned home with much relief.

The day of debate arose and the King's court was filled with courtiers, pundits and dignitaries. King Krishnadevaraya was also present but looked little tensed. The wise man entered the court and walked up in front of the king with great pride and confidence. His followers came with him and stood surrounding him, ready to cheer and enjoy the debate. The wise man and his followers were used to such high-end debates and were always coming up with new ways to insult and disgrace their opponents.

After few minutes, Tenali Raman entered the court dressed like a pundit. He carried a large packet wrapped in a cloth, which resembled a big volume neatly packed by thick strings. Tenali Raman bowed to the king. King Krishnadevaraya saw his tension relieving with the sight of Tenali Raman. It was not the knowledge that Tenali Raman possessed which provided him the relief but Tenali's quick wittedness that king knew would help save the situation.

The King thus announced to start the debate. Tenali Raman rose and spoke aloud, " O wise man! I have heard so much about you and your knowledge. You are undoubtedly intelligent and knowledgeable. I, myself too have defeated many opponents in such debates like you , but yet I find myself to no comparison when it comes to you. Sir, I am carrying this book with me and with your permission would like to start the debate on this book itself?" To this the wise man asked the name of the book.

Tenali Raman replied, " The name of this book is 'Thilakasta Mahisha Bandhana'". The wise man tried to recollect this book but couldn't remember it at all. Now the wise man was in a fix. He knew if he said that he knew about the book he would have to talk about it, but if he said he didn't know about the book it would prove to be his lack of knowledge and also would prove his defeat.

So the wise man thought for a while and replied, "Little pundit, it has been a long time since I have read that book. So presently I have forgotten  few chapters from it. Why don't you all provide me a day's time so I can refresh my memory and debate on this as you suggest". Tenali Raman readily agreed to it and was granted king's permission.

On entering the royal guesthouse, the wise man started worrying. He knew that it was impossible to read entire volumes of the said book in so little time. But on the other hand he didn't wish to be defeated by the young pundit and be a cause of humiliation in public. So he along with his followers fled from the palace in the middle of the night.

As usual the courtiers and the dignitaries gathered the next day in the court for the debate. Everyone along with the king waited for the wise man to appear. When the king inquired with his guards, then only he realized that the wise man had fled in the night. Shocked, King Krishnadevaraya turned to Tenali Raman and demanded, " What have you done to him? Which book are you carrying exactly that scared the wise man? Why was he so afraid? I want to know the name of this book."

To this Tenali Raman replied, "The name is Thilakasta Mahisha Bandhana, but actually there is no such book." The King asked, " But then what are these volumes that you are carrying?" Tenali Raman humbly replied, "Your Majesty, this packet in my hand contains no such volumes, but some old and useless books that I have tied together along with some sticks and thick rope. The sticks mean 'Thilakasta', the tying means 'Bandhana' and the rope  that is been used for tying is actually used to tie the buffaloes and so I added 'Mahisha'. And hence I gave this packet this name. The proud man got confused and wondered that if he confessed his ignorance, it would be disgraceful and so he fled".

King Krishnadevaraya was very much pleased with Tenali Raman and praised his quick wittiness. He also rewarded Tenali Raman handsomely. The scholars present in the king's court were relieved and thanked Tenali Raman for his quick wit.

How to Tackle a Comprehension Passage

One of the best tools aimed at assessing a child's reading and communication skills as well as his understanding of the language, a comprehension passage plays an important role in school papers and assessments. A child is judged by the way he tackles the comprehension passage and answers the questions followed. A comprehension passage comprises of either a prose passage or a poem passage which is followed by multiple questions either factual, evaluative or interpretative. While answering those, a child exhibits his command over the language and thus gets assessed. Once you understand how exactly you should handle the comprehension passage, then there is no stopping you. Few outlines to be followed and then just go on dealing with it effortlessly.The English passage question and answers are much more easier to deal with if you learn how to tackle them correctly. Lets learn few tips and tricks about answering comprehension questions strategy.

How to Tackle a Comprehension Passage

Read the Passage

First, most important thing one should do is quickly yet carefully read the passage. Few students start answering right away without even giving a glance to the passage. This can be a big mistake and then the answers may just go wrong. So it is advisable to read the passage carefully. Time constraints call for quick reading but see that you are thorough and understand the passage well. In case of a poem passage you should read it a couple of times just to get the idea.

Read and Understand the Questions

Once you are done reading the passage, have a look at the questions and try to understand them. Read the questions carefully and get a gist of it.

Go Back to the Passage

Before you start answering, get a quick look at the passage and try to connect the questions with it. Try and locate the answers that you are seeking by combing through the passage. This will facilitate your answering process as you would know the exact location of the answers.

Start Answering

Now that you know where the answers are start answering the questions. Be precise and to the point. Try and answer in simple sentences and avoid complex sentences as much as possible. Answering comprehension questions strategy is to try to write short answers and yet be concise.

Give a Proper Title

A comprehension passage always asks for a heading. So before giving a heading or a title to the passage survey the passage once again. Try to focus on the dominant theme of the passage and then develop an ideal heading based on it.

Expansion of Idea - Destiny is Yours to Decide

It is indeed a regular occurrence when we see, many of us making comments on plight of a beggar or a street urchin lying on the corner of a street. We usually end up feeling sorry for them and for their destiny. We in our minds have come to a conclusion that whatever we endeavour is because we are destined to do. It does not come as a surprise indeed! This is a one common misconception that we have against the life of people around us. Why just others; we often talk in the similar manner about ourselves. Imagine many of us saying, "What can we say, lets see what is written in  his destiny?" One always tends to blame destiny for the suffering he goes through. Such comments are so carelessly abandoned that it denotes how we have come to an passive acceptance that we must accept all the ills happened to us, as we are been destined to do so. This indeed is a negative approach towards life which implies that you already accept the defeat without even putting a fight. What happens with such approach is that we do not try to fight against the odds as the feeling within us clearly states why should we, when we have no choice as this is our destiny. If this approach is maintained by parents then the upbringing of a child is much careless and aimless. In such cases children grow up with the same attitude and do not fight to make their own destiny. Though being a great country, still it lacks behind only because of such approach. One has to understand that there is no such thing and we make and create our own destiny. No one else, not even fate can interfere in it anyway. If, tomorrow you fail miserably in life, then look back and see for the mistakes you did, rather than blaming the destiny for it. What we become is not a matter of chance but it is one's own efforts and hard work. What we choose for is what we become. If you work hard then nobody can keep you away from your success. Destiny is yours to decide and nobody else can have a say in it. 

Expansion of Idea - All That Glitters is Not Gold

It usually happens to most of us! We buy a book assuming if the cover is so attractive, how good the story would be. But it turns out that the story inside is not as good as the beautiful cover promised! But on the other hand a book with a dull cover may turn out much interesting than expected. And this is not limited to a book but many other things. A fancy restaurant may serve worse food ever, however a simple cafe or small restaurant would serve you the best food you might have eaten. Judging anything or anybody by it's appearance would be deceptive at times. Thus we must never make decisions based on the way anything appears in front of us, the way it is packaged or advertised. Nowadays we see innumerable advertisements about products which are shown in best light, nonetheless we know the truth only after using it. We often assume that a product is good because it is expensive, which is not  true at all.  Judging a person based of his appearances too can be misleading. A person like Mahatma Gandhi dressed in simple dhoti made his mark in front of well-dressed British. Similarly Abraham Lincoln was never appreciated for his looks yet he is considered to be one of the best Presidents of all time. Hence we can conclude that what appears beautiful may at times be uglier than we could imagine, as all that glitters would not be gold. 

How to Help a Child Deal with the Death of a Loved One

"When someone you love dies,

You never quite get over it.

You just slowly learn,

How to go without them.

But always keeping them,

Tucked safely in your heart."

It is very difficult for a child to cope up with the recent death of someone he loved. The death of his loved one confuses and hurts them and makes them go into a shell. They actually wonder what it is all about as they don't understand what is happening around? Whenever there is a death in the family of our near and dear ones  we exclude children from the funeral. The whole process of death or dying makes us vulnerable. So just imagine what a child must be going through! Bewildered and totally confused of what is going around, children usually try to seek answers from their elders. And when they don't get these answers for their questions they get wrong notions about the whole dying process.

When death occurs within a family, a child is usually kept away from the process. We take care that we avoid discussions pertaining to death be withheld in front of our children. Either we try to change the topic or we send them to their rooms. Often kids are sent away until the funeral process is completed. Kids are not invited to the funeral and everything is concealed in euphemism and secrecy.

But have we ever wondered what all this secrecy and concealment does to a child. The sudden disappearance of his favorite person add to his dilemma. Now this death could be of anyone, one of his parents, grandparents, siblings,uncle, aunt or even a close friend. Someone very near and dear to him or her whom they see everyday and would not be seeing anymore. This could really be devastating to a child. The whole concealment would further worsen up the matter.

How to help a Child Deal with the Death of a Loved One

Let Your Child Pour Out To You

Try and understand what your child is going through. It is important that a child pours out his feelings and his confusions. Try to talk to him. This will definitely relax his mind and help him feel better.

Have One to One Conversation

It is very important that you and your child have a fair conversation. He has to be told and not to be kept in any darkness. A child has to know what is going on in the house and he is also part of it. Answer his questions fully without divulging deep details.

Let Him Know It is Okay to Remember

Assure the child that even though his favorite person won't be around anymore, it is still okay if he misses them or tries to remember them. 

Let Him Say Good Bye

Let your child participate in the funeral process. Experts have maintained that when a child is allowed to involve in the process of death, he or she copes better. Let the child be allowed to share his or her favorite memory with the person, in front of everyone. He could even sing a farewell song or a good bye song if he wishes.

Let Him Know the Cause of Death

The child should be made aware of the cause of death, but not in exact terms. The child could be told that the person who died, his death was due to some illness or old age or accident. Merely saying being sick can make a child fear sickness as if, "Oh, I have fear, I am sick and I am going to die"!

Alive In Memories

If the person who passed away had a special bond or connection with the child, assure him that the connection would always remain that way. Don't ask him to try to forget this person.  Let the child know that it is okay to always keep the dead person alive in his memories. Allow the child to keep a memento like a picture or a thing belonged to the person who passed away. 

It would take a little time, as they say 'Time heals all wounds'. As days would pass, your child would start feeling better. We need to give them some time to recover. Always be close by and try to spend some time with them. Try to engage them in activities they enjoy. This would act as a distraction and could help your child to deal with the death of his loved one. 

Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman and The Thieves

In the Kingdom of Vijaynagar, a band of thieves where known to cause enough trouble to the people, especially the rich merchants. The guards of King Krishnadevaraya tried their best to catch them, but they remained fruitless. The thieves used to search for a rich merchant and then loot his house and get away with it.

These thieves have been constantly observing Tenali Raman. They were aware of the fact that Tenali Raman was handsomely rewarded by the king very often. Looting his house was going to be an excellent opportunity. But what the thieves were unaware was that Tenali usually distributed all the gifts and rewards among the poor.

So one night the thieves seek the opportunity of robbing Tenali Raman. They came to his house one night and hid behind the bushes. But Tenali Raman had already seen them hiding. Being clever, he knew how to handle this situation. He went to the nearby window and started speaking loudly to his wife, "My dear wife, I have been hearing a lot about these thieves who loot rich people at night. I have an idea of saving our valuable treasures. Why don't we put all our wealth in this big trunk and hide it in some secret location." His wife asked, "Where do you plan to hide it?" To this Tenali Raman said," Come with me, I will show you."

Tenali Raman put some big stones in the trunk and closed it. Then he dragged the trunk and brought it behind his house. He pushed the trunk into the big well and went inside the house with his wife. The thieves meanwhile were witnessing the whole episode. They were very happy that they knew the secret place where Tenali Raman had hidden the valuables. The trunk indeed looked very heavy when Tenali Raman was dragging it. So they waited patiently behind the bushes allowing the family of Tenali Raman to sleep. Then they went near the well and examined it. It was indeed a big well and full of water. The only way, they realized, to remove the trunk out was to empty the water from the well. So they started drawing out water from the well.

Meanwhile Tenali Raman had managed to come out of the house and hide himself outside. He had heard all the plans the thieves were making. He saw the thieves drawing out water. He realized he had not watered the plants in a while. So an idea came to him. Without the thieves' notice he tried making small channels in the ground with the help of a shovel. The thieves did not notice him as they were busy drawing out water. They kept throwing water on the ground which through the different channels made by Tenali started flowing towards the garden. By this simple act, the water wasn't wasted and the plants were watered well. This went on for sometime.

 The well being big, the thieves got tired after a while. They stopped and sat near the well and discussed about their plans. Meanwhile Tenali had asked his son to fetch the guards. The guards surrounded the thieves and captured each one of them. The thieves were too tired to protest or run.

In the king's court the next day, the thieves were brought before the king. The king summoned the thieves to prison. The king was impressed with Tenali Raman's bravery and presence of mind.

How to Write a Good Essay

Not everybody is born to write a good essay! I must say, some possess born talent to write good, engaging essays. But that does not mean those who do not possess such skills, cannot acquire them to pen down good essay. To write a good essay one must do some preparation, and mind you this preparation has to be done even by those who possess natural talents. Once the basic preparation is done, then as soon as you start writing an essay the flow of thoughts pour down sequentially and thus a good essay materialises.

How to write a Good Essay

Get a Clear Idea about the Subject of Essay

Before writing an essay, it is important to get a clear idea about the subject of the essay you are attempting to write. It is important that there is no misunderstanding about the meaning of the topic that is been selected by you to write the essay. Select topic on the basis of your knowledge about it. If a topic is not understood well, then the essay that you plan to write would go all wrong and you may just end up writing something irrelevant to the topic.

Jot Down Points

Now as soon as you have understood the topic, start writing down all the points that flash through your mind related to the topic. When we think of a subject to write down on an essay, we automatically start thinking about various points pertaining to essay, but if we don't jot down those points immediately, we may just forget few of those when we actually start writing an essay. These points could be anything pertaining to the topic, for example, if you plan to write an essay on Discipline, then points such as success, values of discipline, hard work, achieving goals etc would flash through your mind and you would want to discuss these points in the essay. So it is important that you jot down these points on a side of your paper or a notepad.

Arrange the Points in Order

Now that you have a clear idea about the subject of the essay, and few points are being jotted down by you pertaining to the subject, start adding a proper sequence to these points. Try to arrange these points in proper order, so as to where and when you wish to include these points and discuss about them. Try and make an arrangement in such a manner that it helps you grasp the attention of your reader.

Make a Good Introduction

Once the points are in order, see that you make a good start. The way an essay opens up to the reader is very important for his further engagement. If a essay starts out in a dull fashion, then there are chances that the reader would assume that the essay is just boring and would not even skip out the rest of the content. The introduction of an essay should be attractive yet slightly brief. It is important to make a good introduction if you plan to write a good essay. The introduction should include  brief explanation about the way you treat the subject. Starting with a proverb, a saying, a quotation, an incident or even a small story can work wonders to your introduction part of the essay.

Stick to the Topic

Throughout the essay, while penning down your thoughts and ideas see that you stick to the topic. Don't try to stray away from the subject and confuse the reader. Whenever writing an essay on a particular topic never include ideas or thoughts which are not related to the subject.

Don't be Repetitive

The most boring aspect for a reader while reading an essay is the repetition. While reading an essay reading the same thoughts or sentiments again and again throughout the essay are not welcome. Make sure that while connecting the points or discussions in an essay you do not repeat sentiments or expressions or even use the same key word over and over again.

Avoid Usage of Short Forms

Short forms such as won't. shan't, don't, shouldn't etc should be avoided including in an essay. Try and avoid using numerals too in an essay. They portray an essay in a bad form. A use of abbreviations such as e.g., etc, should be avoided, instead use full forms like for example, so on and on.

Use the Same Tense Sequence

This is one of the key rule one should definitely follow while writing an essay. Suppose if you have started writing an essay in past tense, then you should continue the essay throughout in past tense. The whole essay should be written in a same sequence of tenses.

Be Simple and Precise

Instead of using complex sentences, which if not used carefully may destroy the whole essence of your essay; it is advisable to go simple. Try using simple words and sentences in your essay. Try to be direct and precise. Try not to be tempted in using complex or big words just for the sake of impressing the examiners or readers.

Express Yourself

Writing essay is all about expressing yourself. One important rule about writing a good essay is that you write it on the basis of your knowledge and imagination. When you write an essay try and express yourself. Let the reader know your genuine feelings and experiences. This helps readers to connect with you and enjoy your essay.

Reserve the Best for the Last

As much as an introduction is pivotal for penning down a good essay, the conclusion of an essay also holds a great importance. What has been started by you in a beautiful manner has to conclude in the similar impact. The conclusion of a good essay should be interesting and powerful. A dull and boring conclusion would spoil the whole show. It should sum up the arguments included in the essay and should prove that you made a valid point. It is necessary that all the arguments or discussions made in the essay are concluded with a strong view point. A inclusion of striking paraphrase or a quotation might be interesting.

Once you get through all these points and understand what and how to write, there is no stopping you. Just go ahead and pour out your thoughts and knowledge over an topic you know you could write a good essay about.