Memorabilia Poem By Robert Browning

Memorabilia

  - By Robert Browning

Ah, did you once see Shelley plain, 

And did he stop and speak to you? 

And did you speak to him again? 

How strange it seems, and new! 

But you were living before that, 

And you are living after, 

And the memory I started at — 

My starting moves your laughter. 

I crossed a moor, with a name of its own 

And a certain use in the world no doubt, 

Yet a hand's-breadth of it shines alone 

'Mid the blank miles round about: 

For there I picked up on the heather 

And there I put inside my breast 

A moulted feather, an eagle-feather— 

Well, I forget the rest. 

Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman and The Talented Artist

Once the court of King Krishnadevaraya was visited by a courtier who gifted the king a pigeon with blue feathers. The king was rather surprised to see a blue feathered pigeon and asked the courtier where he found such a rare bird. The courtier replied, "My Lord, Recently I visited the jungles of Mysore, where I caught this bird with great difficulty. And I also saw some strange birds there."

Intrigued, the king asked, "Which other birds you saw there?" The courtier replied, "My Lord, I saw a red parrot, a golden peacock and also a green crane." The king said, "Fine! You go back there and bring me some more rare birds. I want all these birds here in my royal garden." The courtier said humbly, "But My Lord, this task is time consuming and very expensive."

To this the king replied, "Oh! Do not worry about this. I will exempt you from the court duty for one month. I will award you twenty thousand gold coins for each bird." The king ordered his royal treasurer to reward the courtier for the pigeon. The courtier smiled cunningly and returned to his seat.

Only Tenali had seen the courtier's smile and expression. He knew something was amiss. The bright colors on the pigeon looked unconvincing. He doubted whether the colors were even real. He decided to do something about it. The next day Tenali Raman went to the outskirts of the city and searched for a good artist. He placed and order for two birds of each kind the courtier had mentioned and told the artist to bring them in a cage after 5 days to the royal court. He handed some money to the artist.

After five days, Tenali came in the court with a big cage full of two red parrots, two green pigeons, a golden yellow peacock and blue crane. All the courtiers were surprised to see such rare birds. Tenali said to the king, "Your Majesty, I have brought some rare birds which I thought would look good in the royal garden." The king was surprised and inquired where Tenali found these birds. To this Tenali said,"Yes your Majesty, I went to the same place where the courtier went and found many varieties of rare birds. If you wish to have some more rare bird, I can get it within few days. All we have to do is order and it is done."

Shocked and little irritated with Tenali's answer, the king said, "What are you saying, Tenali? Explain yourself right now." Tenali replied, " My Lord, as you can see I have brought a bright blue crane, but if you wish to have a green crane, then you need to order for the same. It takes a few days, but you will get whatever you order." The king inquired, "What are you saying? Is it some magical place?" Tenali smiled and answered, "Not a place your Majesty, a man! The artist who has the talent of creating such magic."

And saying so, Tenali went out and came back with the artist. He introduced the man to the king, "My Lord, this is Vyakata. He belongs to a small village that is situated at the edge of the forest. He is a good artist and can color the birds to look like this." Now the king realized what Tenali wanted to tell him. He understood that his courtier had indeed cheated him. Immediately he summoned orders to suspend the courtier for three months and also to return the reward. Plus he asked the courtier to pay a penalty for the fraud. The kind thanked Tenali and honored him with precious gifts. The artist was also rewarded for his talent. 

Earth Song By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Earth Song

                                          - By Ralph Waldo Emerson 

      Mine and yours;

     Mine, not yours.

        Earth endures; Stars abide—

        Shine down in the old sea;

        Old are the shores;

        But where are old men?

        I who have seen much,

        Such have I never seen.

        'The lawyer's deed

        Ran sure,  In tail,

        To them, and to their heirs

        Who shall succeed,

        Without fail,

        Forevermore.

        'Here is the land,

        Shaggy with wood,

        With its old valley,

        Mound and flood.

         But the heritors?—

        Fled like the flood's foam.

        The lawyer, and the laws,

        And the kingdom,

        Clean swept herefrom.

        'They called me theirs,

         Who so controlled me;

        Yet every one

        Wished to stay, and is gone,

        How am I theirs,

        If they cannot hold me,

        But I hold them?'

           When I heard the Earth-song

      I was no longer brave;

My avarice cooled

                  Like lust in the chill of the grave.

My Mother Kept a Garden Poem

Recently I came across this beautiful poem - My Mother while reading the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul'. The words in this poem really touched my heart. I don't know who wrote it, but the words and lines of these poem are so touching and beautiful. Hope you enjoy it too!

My Mother Kept a Garden

  - By Poet Unknown

My mother kept a garden,

A garden of the heart,

She planted all the good things

That gave my life its start.

She turned me to the sunshine,

And encouraged me to dream,

Fostering and nurturing

The seeds of self-esteem.

And when the winds and rain came,

She protected me enough --

But not too much because she knew

I'd need to stand up strong and tough.

Her constant good example,

Always taught me right from wrong --

Markers for my pathway

That will last a lifetime long.

I am my mother's garden,

I am her legacy,

And I hope today she feels the love

Reflected back from me!

Tales of Tenali Raman - Tenali Raman and The Unusual Cat

Once a merchant visited the courts of King Krishnadevaraya, and brought some Persian cats with him. The king immediately bought all the cats as a gift to his queen. The queen was very happy to receive this gift of cute cats and gave few of them to some of her favorite people in the court including Tenali Raman. Before giving one to Tenali, she instructed, "Tenali Raman, since you are one of my favorites, I am giving you this cat. Take care of her properly and feed her well. I have instructed the royal cowherd to give you one cow, so that you can give your cat plenty of milk to drink. I wish to see this cat after a month to check her growth."

Tenali took the cat home and couple of months passed by. The queen seemed to forget about the cats, until one day someone reminded her. All the persons whom she had gifted the cats were immediately summoned to the court along with the cats. The king and queen inspected each one of the cats and were happy to see that the cat which was with Tenali was the plumpest of all. The queen ordered one of her servants to get milk for all the cats. Once the milk bowls were brought, all cats except Tenali's rushed towards it. One of the servants took the milk bowl and kept it in front of Tenali's cat, but the cat ran and leapt into Tenali's lap. Everyone was surprised to see this incident. 

The surprised king asked Tenali the explanation for the cat's behavior. Tenali answered, "Your Majesty, we all know that cats always drink their milk with eyes closed. It seems they do this out of fear. But I wanted my cat to be fearless. So I wanted to get rid of this habit of my cat. To do so, I put a bowl of hot milk in front of it. I repeatedly told my cat to keep her eyes open and drink the milk. But it still closed it's eyes and started licking the milk. Since the milk was hot, it burnt her mouth. I applied an ointment on it. But since then, my cat runs away whenever it sees milk. So I have stopped giving her milk."

The king then asked surprisingly, "So how come your cat is fattest of all the other cats present here?" To this Tenali Raman replied, "My Lord, There are many rats in my house, as well as the neighbor's houses. I allow my cat to roam freely, whenever it is hungry and relish on those rats. My cat simply enjoys this, and recently this has also become one of it's favorite pastime. This way not only she enjoys her food, but also enjoys her freedom. This is how it has put on weight. "

The queen then inquired about the cow that she had given to Tenali for the milk to feed cat. Tenali answered to her query, "Your Highness! The cow gives plenty of milk which is full of cream. My children and his friends enjoy the delicious treat and thank you everyday." The king and the queen roared with laughter on hearing this. They were as usual pleased with Tenali's intelligent and witty jester. 

Why Do We Have Lines on the Palms of Our Hand

The lines that we have on our palm are known as the palmar creases or palmer flexion. These are the tiny ridges on the palm surface which depend upon the bone structure and the arrangement of muscles on an individual's hand. These tiny ridges are strong where the fingers and the thumb meet. These lines that we have on our palm help us fold and stretch our skin, when our hands bend. This folding of skin calls for a better grip and also prevents in the skin from tearing easily. These lines on our palm also help us to hold things firmly.

The lines that we have on our palm differ from person to person. Though Science is yet to figure out why patterns of the palmer creases differ from one individual to other. Yet it is said that the creases start to appear right when the skin starts forming. This process takes place within the womb, as the human hands develop the lines on the palm at around the 12th week of gestation and are present on a infant's hand right when it is born. The few factors that may affect the thickness or the presence of the number of lines on an individual's palm could be family history, race etc.

It is believed by many that the lines on the palms of our hand can tell our future. Many people believe in the practice of Palmistry. Fact to be told, no way one can predict the future of an individual by reading the lines on the palms of our hand.

The Definition of Love Poem By Andrew Marvell

The Definition of Love

            - By Andrew Marvell

My Love is of a birth as rare 

As’tis for object strange and high; 

It was begotten by despair 

Upon Impossibility. 

Magnanimous Despair alone 

Could show me so divine a thing 

Where feeble Hope could ne'r have flown, 

But vainly flapt its Tinsel Wing. 

And yet I quickly might arrive 

Where my extended Soul is fixt, 

But Fate does Iron wedges drive, 

And always crowds it self betwixt. 

For Fate with jealous Eye does see 

Two perfect loves, nor lets them close; 

Their union would her ruine be, 

And her Tyrannic pow’r depose. 

And therefore her Decrees of steel 

Us as the distant poles have plac’d, 

(Though Loves whole world on us doth wheel) 

Not by themselves to be embrac’d; 

Unless the giddy Heaven fall, 

And Earth some new Convulsion tear; 

And, us to joyn, the World should all 

Be cramp’d into a Planisphere. 

As Lines so Loves oblique may well 

Themselves in every Angle greet; 

But ours so truly Paralel, 

Though infinite can never meet. 

Therefore the Love which us doth bind, 

But Fate so enviously debars, 

Is the conjunction of the Mind, 

And Opposition of the Stars.