The Tale of the Cracked Pot and A Lesson

Once upon a time, there lived an elderly man in a small village. Every morning, he would carry a long pole across his shoulders, hang a water pot from each end, and walk several miles to the river to fetch water for his household.

However, the two pots weren't identical. One of them was cracked, causing it to leak.

The man would fill both pots at the river. Yet, by the time he arrived home, the cracked pot would be half empty because it had leaked water during the walk.

The cracked pot used to be ashamed of its inability to perform its job properly. One day, as they were nearing their home, it spoke to the old man.

“I am very sorry. I feel ashamed because I can't do my responsibilities as well as the other."

The old man smiled and said, "Tomorrow, as we walk home, instead of feeling ashamed, please look up at the side of the path.”

The pot hesitated but agreed. As they left the river and started walking on the next day, the pot looked around the path and was amazed. On its side of the path, there was a lovely row of green plants filled with fragrant flowers.

Looking at the cracked pot, the old man explained, “I knew about your cracks, so I planted flower seeds along your side of the path. The leakage from your cracks helps water them each day. And, now, I will pick these flowers to share their beauty with the entire village.”

The lesson from this story is:

"Never be ashamed of your weaknesses and disadvantages. Instead of worrying about them, try to take advantage of them by putting them to some other different uses".

Childhood Memories - Madras City in 1960s - T Nagar and Paanagal Park

During my childhood (late 1950s and full 1960s), there was a cinema hall named "Rajakumari Theater" on the main road of Pondy Bazar in T Nagar, that screened many English films for children at concession rates. It was owned by the Original Dream Girl of the cinema industry, T.R. Rajakumari (the popular Tamil actress from 1935 to 1963). She was also a renowned singer and producer. As a child, I would watch movies with my siblings once or twice a month. My father used to send us mostly to the Noon shows on these occasions, as they were suitable for children ( and often screened at reduced rates).

Often, it was the screen of this Rajkumari Theater that drew my attention more than the movie itself. It was a golden and regal screen. I used to feel blissful watching it ripple up and down in a mesmerizing way. 

Our home was in West Mambalam, and this cinema hall was within a mile from there, accessible via Pangal Park. We could walk leisurely and reach the hall in 20 minutes. I remember watching the famous movie "Mera Naam Joker" and another beautiful film called "The Sound of Music" at that theatre. I watched Mera Naam Joker many times after that as an adult. Now, I watched "The Sound of Music" again on Hotstar at the age of 70 to relive those childhood memories.

Panagal Park used to be full of greenery with small plants and big trees surrounding grassy plots. We used to walk from the house to the park on Sunday evenings and spend some time there enjoying the beautiful scenery while eating fried groundnuts (now they call it peanuts). There was a small library inside the park for children to read comic books. We sat there till late evenings, enjoying the stories.

While going to the park or returning, we used to peek into the cloth markets and other shops in Pondy Bazar. There used to be all kinds of items, even occupying the footpaths, from clothes to footwear to jewellery, fancy, plastic, porcelain, etc.

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Short Stories - A Rabbit and The Tortoise

 

As you are well aware, rabbits are fast runners. They can run at a speed of 30 to 40 km per hour. On the other hand, a tortoise is a slow-moving animal. Tortoises can cover anywhere between 2 to 4 km in an hour, depending on their age and build. So, tortoises are presumed to be lazy creatures.

Now, I am coming to the story of a rabbit and a tortoise.

Once upon a time, there lived a Rabbit who was very proud of her fast-moving ability. So, when she found a Tortoise that was crawling lazily near a pond, it got disgusted and resorted to shaming her pace.

The Tortoise did not despise her but proposed for a race between them. She told her that it would be of some help in improving her pace if she competed with the Rabbit. She was well aware of the mentality of proud and arrogant over-confident beings.

The Rabbit was quick enough to accept the challenge as she was overwhelmed with the Tortoise's complement.

A woody place adjacent to the pond was selected for the purpose of the race at the proposal of the Rabbit. A lengthy course was decided upon by defining a starting point and the endpoint.

The race began. The Rabbit was in a hurry to complete the task as quickly as possible. So she shot off like an arrow. The Tortoise kept on crawling at her own speed. 

After covering half of the distance, the Rabbit got tired and thought of resting for a while. So, she stopped and looked back. The Tortoise was nowhere to be seen. It settled herself under a tree till the Tortoise could be seen. She kept looking for the Tortoise repeatedly and, in the meantime, began feeling drowsy. What happened next, she had no idea. She must have fallen asleep. But couldn't estimate for how much time she had fallen asleep.

So, She suddenly began galloping to the end point of the race, only to find that the Tortoise was already there. She had to admit her defeat. 

The Tortoise was consistent in her effort to reach her destination point with full determination, and she achieved success.

The Rabbit was proud, arrogant, and overconfident. She did not follow stability in her approach due to which she failed. 

Short Stories - The Fox and The Stork

Once upon a time, there lived a very cunning and jealous Fox. He enjoyed tricking other animals and creatures, thereby harassing them. So, all animals used to maintain distance from him. 

One day, he came across a Stork fishing her food near a pond and got jealous of her long beak. She was able to catch fish easily using her long beak. Moreover, she was clever enough. He noticed her sitting still at the banks like a statue and suddenly protruded her beak into the water and grabbed the fish within its beak. He felt jealous and wanted to harass her in some way or other.

He thought of a plan and invited the stork to dine with him in the evening. The stork was happy to find a friend and accepted the offer. She dressed herself beautifully and reached the place of the fox punctually.

The fox invited her and made her sit comfortably on a bench. He then took two plates and placed them on a table, one for the stork and the other for himself. He brought a pot full of a sweet dish known as kheer and served it with a ladle on the two plates. He asked her to start eating and he began himself eating.

Now, the stark had a problem with eating. She was accustomed to eating from a long jar, and squeezing food from a jar using her beak was easier. So, she could not squeeze from a plate, as it was flat. She could grab only one grain from the plate at a time.

The fox, on the other hand, used its tongue to squeeze the food and was able to eat quickly. He emptied his plate within seconds and added more food to it. He continued eating until the pot was empty and felt very satisfied as he had managed to outsmart the stork. Outwardly, he pretended to be very sorry that the stork could not eat even a quarter plate of the kheer served to her. He made excuses for not having any jar with him. 

The stork was unpleasant and angry. But, she does not show it outwardly. She thanked the fox and went away. Inwardly, she was planning to punish the fox for his malicious behavior. 

One Sunday, the Stork visited the Fox's home and invited him to dinner. The Fox was delighted and accepted the invitation. He put on a handsome suit, tied a stylish tie, sprinkled perfume over himself, and arrived at the Stork's home on time.

The Stork greeted him and made him sit on a chair at the dining table. She told him that she had prepared a juicy pudding with fish. The Fox was eager to enjoy the taste of fish, and she knew it very well. So, she brought two long jars and the pudding without delay. She filled the jars with the pudding, placed one in front of the Fox, and requested him to start enjoying the food. She settled into the other chair, dipping her long beak into her jar and began squeezing the pudding merrily.

The fox was wondering how to eat his food. The jar was long, and its mouth was narrow. To reach it, he had to stand up on his front legs placed on the table. He could reach the mouth of the jar but could not insert his tongue into it. Unless his tongue reached the food, he could not swallow. So, he was making various futile efforts to get to the food, all in vain. He climbed onto the table itself, but even then, he could not succeed in reaching the food.

The Stork, on the other hand, was enjoying her food as her legs and beak were very long and could easily reach to the bottommost part of the jar. She also poured the remaining pudding into her jar and swallowed it within minutes. She found the Fox unable to eat even a small bit of his food. So, she took his jar also and emptied it immediately while the Fox was shivering with shame and anger.

The Stork told him that it was a Tit for Tat. She had to teach him a lesson for all his cunning deeds he played on others.

Madras City in 1960s - Sharada Devi Primary School, Mambalam Railway Station

The area around Mambalam Railway Station in Chennai (formerly known as Madras) was bustling with activity, featuring residential colonies, markets, hotels, temples, and schools. There was even a cinema hall close to my home, making it a convenient place to live. Residents had easy access to all their daily needs. The railway station was situated at the center of a 20-kilometer suburban railway line that connected Chennai Beach to Tambaram, allowing people to travel from one corner of the city to another in about an hour. We often purchased seasonal tickets, which were discounted passes issued for three or six months, perfect for regular commuters and students.

The well-known T. Nagar Bus Stand was conveniently located near both the station and my school, making it easy to access various parts of the city. Buses operated every half hour during that period, and seasonal ticket options were available for students and others. 

My Class Group Photo

I received my primary education at Sharada Devi School from grades 1 to 7, between the years 1956 and 1962. It was only a five-minute walk from my home to the school. The school featured one solid building at the front and thatched huts in the interior. Lower primary classes, from grades 1 to 4, were held in those thatched huts, which were constructed with low mud walls and roofs made of thatched leaves supported by bamboo poles. Classes for grades 5, 6, and 7 took place inside the solid building. The urinals were located at the backside enclosed by bamboo screen walls.

The above photo was taken in front of those thatched walls. I was in Class 3, sitting there to the extreme right in the middle row. 

I enjoyed the thatched structures, which provided a beautiful natural setting. The back of the school featured a large garden filled with various trees, running alongside a railway boundary wall. This made it easy to access the fruits hanging from the trees by climbing the boundary wall at points where the glass fencing was missing. (The garden was protected by placing glass pieces on top of the boundary walls.)

Our classrooms were spacious enough to accommodate 50 to 60 students. We sat on low benches with attached desks that featured drawers for storing our bags and lunchboxes. Each bench was 3 inches high and could seat four children. The arrangement consisted of two columns of benches and a total of eight rows. During teaching hours, we kept our textbooks and notebooks open on our desks. In our primary classes, we wrote with nib pens dipped in ink, while starting in fourth grade, we switched to using fountain pens.

I was promoted to 2nd Grade within six months. There was a competitive spirit among the four of us—two boys and two girls—who were all of equal ability. Typically, any two of us would share the 1st rank at any given time. We participated in debates and science exhibitions with equal enthusiasm. This continued until our 7th Grade. After that, we went our separate ways to different high schools and lost the opportunity to meet again.

I used to play games with my classmates, although not very often. We also had physical education classes and scouts training at school. During those years, I would play cricket and other games like gully danda and hide and seek with my neighbors in the evenings or on holidays.

Later, I attended Ramakrishna Mission High School at Panagal Park in Thyagaraja Nagar, where I completed my SSLC (11th Grade). The school was about a mile from my home, which I would either walk or cycle to.

My college education was completed at Vivekananda College, Mylapore (Tiruvallikeni). I studied PUC with Commerce, Economics, and Maths, and then pursued a BA in Philosophy, Psychology, and Logic.