Learn Curve for Girls

Story Knowledge Systems of Mothers and Grandmothers of India

Could you talk about the traditional stories of India that you heard as a child?

Most of the stories were like mythological stories like reincarnations of Vishnu, Ram, Krishna and Narasimha. These have been very close to me. These are certain moral stories. There was this story of a Shepard who would scream everyday, “The lion has come to eat me, the lion has come to eat me,” He used to say this for fun. And the villagers stopped believing him. One day a lion actually appears, and the Shepard is unable to get the help of the villagers to protect him against it. What we learn from this is that you shouldn’t lie to others. You should be jolly in certain matters. You should be simple and straightforward with other people. Another similar story is the crow and the water. It teaches about patience. You need to have patience. In Indian mythology, the stories show the difference between the truth and the untruth. These stories show that truth always wins. The stories always show the contrast between good and evil.

What is your favourite story?

Narasimha Avatar is my favourite story. This incarnation of Vishnu shows the victory of good over evil. It’s now how you have faith. It reflects on different aspects of human life. The story is about having huge faith. This faith gives the power to overcome obstacles. Prahlad has immense faith in Lord Narasimha. Because of faith he feels nothing can happen to him. His is open to things that come to harm him. His faith is such that when he feels immense powers acting against him still nothing could happen to him. The story also teaches that if you get power also it should not be misused. You shouldn’t have the ego or the arrogance that comes with the power. Prahlad has immense faith such that he is able to overcome all obstacles. This story helped me realise how important faith is. To have faith is important. When i was growing up. This was the story I could connect with the most.

In what format did you first encounter the stories of India?

These stories were told by our grandfather. Later we understood the stories had a moral compass. The mythological stories were our first understanding of God. You hold on to the good qualities of God to inculcate those good qualities in us. Mythological stories depict a clash between good and evil. In the Ramayana the contrast is clear – between Ram and Ravan. These stories were first told by our grandfather, we saw it on television and when we became a little older, we started reading about them.