Madhu Gurung on Pitara Kids Network

The Harpist and the Princess

Thu, 25 Oct 2001 19:11:13 +0000

A Burmese folk tale

Once upon a time in the beautiful city of Mandalay lived a young orphan boy. His name was Thi Hah. He was very poor and often had to go without food.

He had one passion in life, and that was playing the harp. The Burmese harp resembles a long tailed boat with a thick bottom and its end tapers to a fine delicate end very like the sails of a boat.

How The Coconut Came To Myanmar

Fri, 26 Jan 2001 21:40:44 +0000

Myanmar (then called Burma) is known as the golden land of gold dome pagodas and swaying coconut trees. Coconut trees were originally called ‘gon-bin’ in Myanmar language, which translated in English means the mischief-maker’s tree.

Why it is known by this most unusual name, is because once centuries ago, a raft carrying three people landed on the Burmese coast. The people on board this raft were taken to the king. On questioning them the king learnt that they had been banished from their own kingdom because of the crimes they had committed.

How the Gorkhas Came to Dehradun

Sat, 24 Feb 2001 21:00:22 +0000

Some time ago, Madhu Gurung wrote about her grandmother who was the best storyteller in the world. Once ‘Bajai’ as she was called, told a different kind of a story – a real story of how the Gorkha warriors of Nepal came to settle down in Dehradun. Among them was Bajai’s grandfather, the chieftain of a clan.

Bajai told us that more than 200 years ago, when the British East India Company ruled parts of India, they attacked Nepal. Bajai’s grandfather was the chieftain of a Gurung village called Gandrung. It lies at the foot of the fishtail mountain called Machapuchara. He and other chieftains from different parts of Nepal, joined under the command of General Amar Jung Thapa. They drove the British back. The British fled and the Nepalese army followed, conquering the whole of Kumaon and Garhwal hills.

The Boy and the Magic Brush

Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:37:42 +0000

A folktale from Myanmar, it will acquaint readers with a new word called ‘Nat’. Nats are spirits, good or bad, and they are believed to have supernatural powers. The Buddhists believe that everybody goes through the cycle of life, death and rebirth – all determined by the person’s ‘karma’ or deeds. Being a Nat is just one of the cycle of lives.

Nats need salvation as much as humans and so they help humans by being their guardian spirits. They guard the rivers, mountains, towns, villages, forests, lakes, seas and homes. In Myanmar, the Buddhists believe that the Buddha himself went through several lifetimes as a Nat before he finally became the Buddha.

A Crocodile Named Rain Cloud

Wed, 24 Jan 2001 07:17:42 +0000

A folktale from Myanmar

Once upon a time there was an old fisherman Ye Myint and his wife Aye Aye Se who
lived by the river Irrawady. Every day they cast their net and caught fish, which they sold at the local market. The old man and his wife did not have any children.

One day while fishing as usual, Ye Myint cast his net and waited for the catch. He was surprised to get only an egg. He recognised it as a crocodile egg.

The Best Storyteller in the World

Sat, 02 Jun 2001 22:15:57 +0000

Bajai," as we called grandmother, was the best storyteller in the world. Her tales of jewelled ladies and brave warriors, of civilisations that ended due to famine, floods, war or volcanic eruptions, filled our young lives with fantasy.

Nestling in the foothills of Mussoorie is a tiny village called Johri Gaun (Johri village) where we spent part of our summer and winter vacations every year. They were fun-filled days of sun-kissed air and raucous laughter, when we cousins met and had a great time. On our long walks we would nibble berries or catch colourful dragon flies, which we had nicknamed “helicopters”. I always collected red ones. If anyone caught a whirring red helicopter they would yell out for me and I would run and open my shoe box to put it in.

The Rumour

Fri, 02 Jun 2000 09:25:21 +0000

“Bajai,” as we called grandmother, was the best storyteller in the whole world, says Madhu Gurung. She lived in the foothills of Mussoorie in a tiny village called Johri Gaun. And she always started her stories with a saying, “To the listener a garland of gold, to the storyteller a garland of all forest flowers and this tale that I tell you today will be heard in heaven.” Here Madhu Gurung presents one of the many stories that she heard from Bajai in her childhood.

Shebu and Moonmoon, the Long Haired Goat

Wed, 19 Apr 2000 07:37:20 +0000

The Story-tellers

Sun, 26 May 2002 14:56:45 +0000

What could be a better way to get to know a country than through its folk-tales and stories? And if you love collecting stories anyway, as Madhu Gurung does, nothing could be more wonderful. Here, Madhu, presently based in Myanmar’s capital, Yangon, talks about the Myanmarese duo of mother and daughter who have enlivened her days by weaving tales even as they help her with her domestic chores. Madhu shares the magic of those story-telling sessions in the following anecdote:

The Woman who Collects Children

Wed, 03 Oct 2001 12:55:21 +0000

An inspiring story from our archives: June 2000

Some people like to collect stamps. Others prefer stickers, posters, tattoos or coins. But Pinky Bhutia is different. She collects children. In her mountain village, in Sikkim, she is known as the wonderful young woman who adopts all the children she can.

Pinky was 14 when she adopted her first child, a Nepali orphan. Today, she has a dozen adopted children, and two sons from her marriage.