Mythology on Pitara Kids Network

What is the Mystery of Dracula?

Thu, 19 May 2005 21:41:38 +0000

As bats flap through the musty castle, a coffin lid creaks open and an ashy white hand gropes for the cover. The lid slides off and a caped figure rises in the gloom – Dracula is on the prowl! Vampires have enthralled generations of readers and moviegoers; and the most popular ‘vampire’ is the fearsome Count Dracula of Transylvania.

Of course, these blood-sucking monsters do not exist and are merely the figment of our imagination.

Chinese Sparrows

Thu, 28 Dec 2000 20:37:41 +0000

Once there was a merchant who happened to acquire six sparrows from China.

“They’ll make a fine gift for my lord,” thought the merchant. But knowing the lord to be very superstitious and always concerned about omens, he suspected that His Lordship might not like the number ‘six’. In order to make the number a lucky ‘seven’, he added one Japanese sparrow, and presented them in a beautiful cage.

The lord was greatly pleased to have such a rare gift. He admired the birds and looked very carefully at each one of them.

When the Earth and Sky were Married

Mon, 19 Mar 2001 23:34:14 +0000

A Muria folk tale from Orissa retold from ‘When the World was Young’, by Verrier Elwin. The book is a fascinating collection of folktales from the tribal peoples of India. Elwin was a pioneering anthropologist; he spent his entire life getting to know the ways of life of the tribal peoples.

People around the world have different ways of explaining how the earth came to be the way it is: the sky above, the earth below. The Muria tribals of Bastar, in Madhya Pradesh, too, have their own story about it. And it is fascinating.

Known in the Media

Thu, 17 May 2001 22:56:35 +0000

Rack your brains to think about some animals that have been featured either in a movie or a book and how they became well known.