King Krishnadeva Raya was a great patron of talent. If he found anyone who was a great artist in any field, he would invite him to the court and reward him. Once, he found Achyuta Rao, a painter of great merit.The King invited him to the court to paint his portrait. And what a fine […]
Tenali Raman had a friend, Tirumala, who owned an inn at Hampi. He had inherited it from his father. It was called Deccan Suryam. Tirumala was having trouble because the inn was not making enough money. He was always struggling to make both ends meet. All his efforts seemed to fail.One day when he met
King Krishnadeva Raya had become very fat. He simply sat around and ate all kinds of food and did no exercise at all. The courtiers and the ministers were worried about him.“He used to be so active,” they whispered to one another. “He rode and practised sword play and walked through the kingdom, and led
King Krishnadeva Raya was fast asleep. And he was smiling because he was having a wonderful dream. He saw a vast, glittering palace which seemed to float in the air.He awoke, still happy and full of memories of his dream. He called his ministers architects and engineers and described the palace he had seen. He
There was a big crowd outside the poultry shop. They raised voices which could be heard. “There seems to be some fight going on there,” thought Tenali Raman who was walking through the market on his way to the court. He decided to take a look and pushed his way to the centre. The owner
The egg was golden in colour and the most prized possession of the ogre, Grouch. Grouch kept the golden egg in the deepest part of his safe. He had a treasure full of precious jewels, gold ornaments and silver coins in his safe. However, the egg lay in a jewel box, which was inside three
Tenali Raman had a collection of stories that he could tell on every occasion. Sometimes they were stories of great wisdom, and sometimes they were pure fun.One day, travelling home to Hampi from a distant part of the kingdom, Tenali Raman came upon a group of soldiers camping for the night. It was a cold
Vijayanagara was a very prosperous kingdom. It had merchants who traded goods with Portugal, China, Sri Lanka and Central Asia. Trade and commerce were brisk and wealth flowed into the kingdom. Kings and princes exchanged costly gifts. Once King Krishnadeva Raya received a gift of peaches from the Emperor of China. The Emperor sent a
The Virupaksha Temple of Hampi was famous. Devotees and pilgrims came there to pray and pay their respects to the deity, carrying offerings. Outside the temple were little stalls selling flowers, incense, sweets, coconuts and many such offerings. Among them was the stall of a poor old woman who sold flowers.One day four young pilgrims
Partheon, the Ninja turtle, was a naughty turtle, always looking for oysters and shells. He loved playing with them. Not only were they pretty but also they had their secrets hidden inside. The one thing he wanted was to have the biggest collection of oysters and shells, more than any of his other friends. ‘Everyone
Prakasam was in trouble, real trouble. He was a trader from Kampili. He was lost and had with great difficulty reached the edge of the forest. There, his cart, loaded with goods, had slipped into a ditch and his poor horse had died! He saw Hampi and realized it was the closest town. But how
Koteswara Rao was a rich but dishonest money-lender in Hampi. He was hated by people because he charged a high rate of interest and cheated the poor out of their savings. Stories of his dishonesty had reached Tenali Raman who decided to teach him a lesson. He went to Koteswara Rao and asked him for
Four friends started a business dealing in cotton. They stored the cotton bales in a warehouse or godown. There was a problem, however, in the godown; it was run over by rats and mice. So, they got a cat to deal with this nuisance. The friends became very fond of the cat and patted and
Goliath loved to play, especially with shiny things. Little goblins would search the ends of the earth for shiny things. They would collect them and hide them at the rainbow’s end. Sometimes they would eat them in the hope that their stomachs would shine! Goliath was also the same. He always searched for shiny toys.
Every day, Tenali Raman’s wife told him about a house in the neighbourhood. The mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law who lived there had loud arguments daily about something or the other. One day his wife told him that the daughter-in-law had come to Tenali Raman’s house and requested to meet him. Tenali Raman met her the