“Birbal, tell me, have most of the people eyes or they don’t ?” the Emperor asked.The Emperor thought that the world was full of people with eyes, because one could not hide anything from them. They see it and start asking questions about it. The people seemed to have eyes all over. But Birbal disagreed […]
The Emperor did not like staying in Surat. But, quite often he had to go there for administrative purposes. Now it was Birbal who had to provide the Emperor with some kind of recreation everyday to keep him in a jovial mood. One day, the Emperor asked Birbal to put on some act. Birbal listened
One day, Emperor Akbar came to the court and started attending to the routine court work. Just then, a messenger arrived with queen’s message that she wanted urgently to see the Emperor in her palace.When the Emperor was readying to depart, all the courtiers stood. Birbal too, but while doing so, he passed a furtive
One day, a slave named Daulat made a mistake and got Akbar angry. Emperor asked him to leave the court.Daulat went to Birbal’s house. Birbal listened to him and suggested, “Go back to court and ask the Emperor, “Daulat has come, should he stay or leave?”The Emperor was surprised to see the culprit back. Daulat
Once, Akbar and Birbal were sitting in the palace balcony watching the sunrise. The sunrays falling on the sparkling waters of the Yamuna river gave it a shimmering golden sheen. The Emperor used to watch this natural show everyday.Suddenly, their attention was diverted by some noise. They noticed a few thieves fleeing after looting some
Once an unknown fakir (saint) came wandering to the Emperor’s palace and sat on the parapet. He got deeply involved in singing. Hours passed, but he showed no signs of leaving the place. The guards asked him to leave but he did not listen to them. Since he was a fakir, it was not possible
One day, the Emperor expressed his desire to see an angel and an ugly witch. He expressed his wish to Birbal.The next day, Birbal came to the court along with his wife and a prostitute. Then presenting his wife he said to the Emperor, “Huzoor, this is an angel. I get endless satisfaction and happiness
One day, Emperor Akbar said to Birbal, “Birbal! Bring me two creatures—one who is faithful and other who is treacherous.”After thinking deeply, Birbal brought a dog and his own son-in-law to the court. He presented them before the Emperor, and said, “Huzoor! Here are the two as you wished.” The Emperor said, “Birbal, now explain
One day, Emperor Akbar and Birbal went together for a walk. At the sunset Birbal sat down on the river bank and performed ‘sandhya’—the Hindu ritual. The Emperor was very much impressed. He said to Birbal, “Birbal, tell me how to perform ‘sandhya’ ? I like it very much and I too like to do
In was rainy season. Yamuna river was running in spate and overflowing. The gushing water was making a loud noise. The Emperor’s palace was situated on the river bank. He was fast asleep.It was a peaceful night and so, the frightening sound of the roaring river could be heard very clearly. Suddenly in the midnight,
LITERARY STYLE No one can have read Miss Keller’s autobiography without feeling that she writes unusually fine English. Any teacher of composition knows that he can bring his pupils to the point of writing without errors in syntax or in the choice of words. It is this accuracy which Miss Keller’s early education fixes as
SPEECH The two persons who have written authoritatively about Miss Keller’s speech and the way she learned it are Miss Sarah Fuller,* of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston, Massachusetts, who gave her the first lessons, and Miss Sullivan, who, by her unremitting discipline, carried on the success of these first lessons.Before
EDUCATION It is now sixty-five years since Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe knew that he had made his way through Laura Bridgman’s fingers to her intelligence. The names of Laura Bridgman and Helen Keller will always be linked together, and it is necessary to understand what Dr. Howe did for his pupil before one comes to
PERSONALITY Mark Twain has said that the two most interesting characters of the nineteenth century are Napoleon and Helen Keller. The admiration with which the world has regarded her is more than justified by what she has done. No one can tell any great truth about her which has not already been written, and all
THE WRITING OF THE BOOK It is fitting that Miss Keller’s Story of My Life should appear at this time. What is remarkable in her career is already accomplished, and whatever she may do in the future will be but a relatively slight addition to the success which distinguishes her now. That success has just