Occupations

Straightening a Dog’s Tale (Pondicherry)

You can never straighten a dog’s tail. It’s like a lever, try holding it straight, it…
The Story of Four Companions (Uttarakhand)

At the foot of the Kumaon Hills, there once lived a hardworking donkey. His master, a…
Fraternal Unity (Pondicherry)

After their father passed away, three brothers divided the property amongst themselves. The eldest two brothers…
Origin of Golu Devta- The God of Justice (Uttarakhand)

Long ago, in the mountainous realm of Dhauli Dhumakot, ruled a noble king named Jhalkari, from…
The Mystical Aanchhri Sisters (Uttarakhand)

In the village of Bagudi, lived a humble couple Gareeba Panwar and his wife Sumera, with…
A Dog, a Cat and a Mouse (Tamil Nadu)

A beggar lived in a town with two children, a dog and a cat. He was…
The Tiger and the Baiga

On a hill called Dhutiya, there resided a Baiga named Latiya. One day, when his pregnant…
The Tragic Tale of Rudra Deva and the Thousand Pillar Temple (Telangana)

Long ago, in a kingdom ruled by Prola Raju II, a child was born who was…
The Fall of Chand Dynasty (Uttarakhand)

Almora was the capital of Kumaon’s Chand kings from the sixteenth until the nineteenth century. Flanked…
The Seven Brother’s Test (Uttarakhand)

In a village, Rajvir Negi had seven sons who lived together in harmony, while Veeru Rawat’s…
Satto Beti Poorey Poorey (Uttarakhand)

Long ago, there lived a girl named Satto. She and her mother would gather Mahua flowers…
A Farmer’s Daughter’s Riddle (Tamil Nadu)

A farmer got married, but for ten whole years, he had no children. He was very…
The Tale of Dhundhkari

To a happily married couple, there could not be a better gift than children. Many couples…
The Divine Protector (Rajasthan)

Once upon a time, there was a notorious dacoit named Bhairav, who, along with his gang,…
Two Great Liars (Tamil Nadu)

Two great liars lived in adjacent towns. They were both eloquent speakers, very clever, and the…
The Four Friends (Tamil Nadu)

Once, there was a raja who had a beautiful daughter, and many, many men sought to…
The Origins of Tangaliya Weaving and the Dangasiya Community (Gujarat)

About 700 years ago in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a young boy from the Bhardwad…
A Tale of Greed (Tamil Nadu)

Once there was a great bhakta, a pure and pious man. He always wore clean veshtis,…
The Love Story of Sohni-Mahiwal (Punjab)

This folktale from Punjab is not just a love story but a timeless gem that is…
An Overzealous Servant (Tamil Nadu)

In a certain town, there lived a raja who was known far and wide as a…
Outwitting Thieves (Tamil Nadu)

There was a house with a well, which was used to water the fields. In this…
“Claw- Paw”: The Story of a Goatherd (Tamil Nadu)

Once there was a goatherd who looked after a hundred goats. During the summer, he grazed…
Good for Evil (Goa)

There once lived a man and his wife, and they had two sons. When the sons…
The Wicked Guru

A certain king of the South had a beautiful daughter. When she had reached a marriageable…
Toria and the Daughter of the Sun

Once upon a time, there was a young shepherd of the Santal tribe named Toria, who…
The Plague (West Bengal)

Once, a terrible bubonic plague broke out in Asia and wiped out millions of people. The…
Love and Lightning (Tripura)

In a village situated beside a rushing brook on the slope of a hill lived a…
The Boy with the Moon on His Forehead (West Bengal)

Once there was a king who had six queens, none of whom bore him children. The…
Diamond Cuts Diamond (Punjab)

A merchant, after many years of poverty and hard work, moved to a distant region and…
Belkumari (Madhya Pradesh)

Chuk Raja has seven sons, the youngest of whom, Ku War, is still unmarried. His sisters-in-law…
The Giants and the Midgets (Nicobar)

Once upon a time when most of the islands were deserted and only animals could be…
The Barya (Madhya Pradesh)

There was an old woman. One day she went to a potter’s shop and bought four…
Origin of Tears (Arunachal Pradesh)

Before death came, the world was so full of people that there was not enough land…
Three Sisters Named Death, Birth, and Dream (Karnataka)

In a little town like this one, there lived a poor, poor boy. Call him Racha,…
The Best Thing in the World (Uttar Pradesh)

There was once a King who used to walk about the city at night, and listen…
The Scholar and His Heavenly Beard (Bihar)

There was a priest named Scholar in a certain village. The king had immense respect for…
The Elephant and the Worms (Bihar)

There lived a fisherman on the banks of River Saryu. Every morning, he would take his…
Gandharva Sen Is Dead! (West Bengal)

A king was holding court one day when his minister rushed in, lamenting and crying. The…
If God Is Everywhere (West Bengal)

A sage had a number of disciples. He taught them his deepest belief: “God is everywhere…
The Magic of the Soil (Jammu)

Verily, destiny is a mighty force! It can turn the wise into simpering fools and mighty…
People’s Destiny (Jammu)

Long ago, a certain country fell in the grip of drought of a particularly severe kind…
Parmandal (Jammu)

Nearly 1400 years ago, the Dogra region used to be one huge wilderness. To travel from…
Living Like a Pig (Andhra Pradesh)

One day, a guru foresaw in a flash of vision what he would be in his…
Other Lives (Jammu)

For many years, a Brahman practiced austerities and offered worship to the gods in order to…
The Best of Flowers (Delhi)

One day Akbar asked the assembled courtiers, “Which flower is the best flower of all?” No…
Why Audiences Laugh or Cry (Punjab)

A Muslim preacher was once holding forth in his mosque on sinners and the torments that…
The Persian Merchant and his Clever Parrot

(Illustration by Manan A.) Once, there was a certain Persian merchant who kept a parrot that…
A Mother’s Love (Uttar Pradesh)

Long long ago there lived a King and Queen who had only one daughter whom they…
The Four Fairies (Uttar Pradesh)

Once upon a time, there lived a villager who was extremely lazy and detested work. As…
The Kokonor Story (Ladakh)

A long time ago in the city of Lhasa, a king wanted to build a temple…
A Boy Named Ono (Andaman & Nicobar)

A long time ago, on a bright sunny day, the children in a village near a…
How Raja Rasâlu Was Born (Punjab)

Once there lived a great Raja, whose name was Sâlbâhan, and he had two Queens. Now…
Raṇavîrasiṅg (Tamil Nadu)

King Śivâchâr of Vañjaimânagar, worried about his lack of an heir, eventually had a son, Sundara,…
The Shepherd’s Ghost (Telangana)

Gorella Kaapari, the shepherd, was out with his sheep, and he was in the market for…
The Beetle and the Silken Thread (Uttar Pradesh)

The strange adventures related in the story of the Beetle and the Silken Thread took place…
A Lac of Rupees for a Piece of Advice (Uttar Pradesh)

Once upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, the future Buddha returned to life…
The Talkative Tortoise (Uttar Pradesh)

The future Buddha was once born in a minister’s family, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares;…
How Raja Rasâlu Became a Jôgi (Punjab)

When, after a time, Rasâlu went to Hodinagari, he reached the house of the beautiful far-famed…
Dhruv, Who Became the Pole Star (Daman & Diu)

Once there lived a king called Uttanapada. King Uttanapada had two queens, Suniti and Suruchi. Queen Suniti…
Killing the Monkey Husband (Tamil Nadu)

Six brothers lived with their little sister, who was lame. On her way to school one…
River is a Cow (Maharashtra)

In India rivers are venerated as mothers. And are given the status of ‘Jagat Mata’ or…
Kalidas and Vidyotma (Chhattisgarh)

There was a king who had a very learned daughter Vidyotma, in her knowledge she surpassed…
The Fairy Who Cried Gems (Ladakh)

There once was a boy who would go out looking for wood to cut and sell.…
To the Heaven and Back (Telangana)

Once upon a time, in the town of Sircilla, there lived a man whom people fondly…
The Love Story of Heemal and Nagrai (Jammu & Kashmir)

Once upon a time in Kashmir, there lived a poor Brahmin named Soda Ram. His ill…
Hunting the Stag Lapalang (Meghalaya)

Once upon a time, in the vast plains of Sylhet, there lived a young deer whose…
Retaliation- Palikkuppali (Tamil Nadu)

Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a poor man named Ramu, a…
The Story of Dharti ki Beti (Jharkhand)

Long ago, Mother Earth had a beautiful daughter, beloved by all who saw her. Every day,…
The Price of Courage (Uttarakhand)

Once a man, having fallen into bankruptcy, decided to leave his village with his family and…
The Secret of the Mirror (Chhattisgarh)

A long, long time ago, a couple in their thirties lived in a small village around…
The Mermaid by Puducherry Coast (Tamil Nadu)

Along the serene coastlines of Pondicherry, fishermen whispered of a mystic mermaid dwelling in the Bay…
The Goddess Who Came to Live with Mankind (Meghalaya)

Long ago, in the heart of the Khasi Hills, stood the majestic Shillong Peak, sacred to…
BOPOLÛCHÎ (Punjab)

Once, in a small village, a group of young girls gathered by the well to fill…
A Rani’s Revenge (Odisha)

In olden times, there were several independent states in Orissa. Banki and Khurda were two such…
The Braying Lion (Punjab)

The leaders of Punjab called Singhs (‘Lion’ in Punjabi) would often go out on a hunt…
The Tale of the Bald Wife (West Bengal)

Long ago, in a quiet village near the river, there lived a merchant and his wife,…
Dulla Bhatti’s Lohri (Punjab)

Once in the district of Lahore, Panjab, the consolidated zamindars Farid Bhatti and his father Bijli…
Two Friends (Sikkim)

In a time long ago, in two distant villages called Karlyong and Sabeun, lived two friends…
Zângkhua (Mizoram)

Once upon a time, in Mizoram, there lived a man named Kawlawia (pronounced Koloya). He married…
The Deluge (Madhya Pradesh)

The Bhils of Madhya Pradesh believe that it was a fish that first brought news of…
Ita-Thaomei (Manipur)

Deep in the interior villages of Manipur, once upon a time, there lived an old abok…
The Foolish King (Kashmir)

This story is from a long, long time ago, before Sher Garhi became the capital of…
Kesar and Kachnar (Madhya Pradesh)

Kesar and Kachnar were two sisters. Kesar had eight sons but Kachnar was not yet blessed…
The Biggest Fool In The Kingdom (Andhra Pradesh)

King Krishnadevaraya loved horses and had the best collection of horse breeds in the Kingdom. Well, one…
The Baker from the South (Goa)

Once there lived a man and his wife who had no children. The man was a…
Brassa’s Folly (Arunachal Pradesh)

Khrane* created the birds, and when they were ready, he called a man named Brassa from…
The Tragedy of Sassi Punnu (Punjab)

Sassi was the daughter of the King of Bhambore (located in present-day Sindh, Pakistan). Upon Sassi’s…
The Love Ballad of Dhola-Maru (Rajasthan)

A protracted famine plagued the kingdom of Pugal in Rajasthan, rendering the land dry and desolate.…
The Clever Goldsmith (Kerala)

Donnappen was a very clever goldsmith. He was smart not only in his art but also…
The One-Eyed Horse (Karnataka)

In a city there lived a merchant. He had only one eye. People used to call…
The Ow Princess (Assam)

A certain King had two queens. Both were with child and delivered on the same day.…
The Dog and the Donkey (Bihar)

There once lived a dhobi. He had a donkey and a dog. The two animals were…
The Silver Well (Haryana)

There once lived a cunning and crafty man in a small village. He always used to…
The Lotus (Gujarat)

Once upon a time, there lived a king called Vikram. One day, with a few soldiers,…
The Carriage (Rajasthan)

Ramdeo was a farmer. He had prospered a great deal in his farming. At the time…
A Ghostly Wife (West-Bengal)

A Brahman married a wife and lived in the same house with his mother. Near his…
Man’s Destiny is Not In His Hands (Odisha)

Once there was a Raja whose name was Jayadeva. He had many Pundits who attended his…
A Fairy With Long Arms (Manipur)

Once upon a time there lived a couple in a village. They had a child. Tamangdong…
The Thousand-Killer (Maharashtra)

A man called ‘Hazar-Marya’ (Hazar: Thousand, Marya: Killer) lived in Rajpur town. His only pursuit was…
The Magic Spell (Kashmir)

Once, there lived a magician and his disciple in the village of Parihaspur in Kashmir. Once…