Adventures of Little Shambhu

Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived near the forest, his name was Shambhu. One day his mother made him a beautiful little red coat, and a pair of beautiful little blue trousers. Then his father went to the bazaar and bought him a big green umbrella and a little pair of purple shoes with red soles and red lining. Shambhu put on all these things, and he looked very smart.

The Nawab and the Ghost

At some point in history India was divided into small territories, which were owned and ruled by the Rajas and the Nawabs. Some of  these rulers could be good, some spoilt by the riches and excesses that surrounded them, were prone to vagaries. The following is a humorous incident which happened in the court of the Nawab Nasir-ud-din Hyder, who was once the ruler of Awadh (Oudh).

Nawab sahab had a foot-presser Hussaini, also called as Chichinda by name. Now Hussaini whom the Nawab adored, was a gossip. As he continued to press the royal's legs, he chattered and his idle chatter was a continued feed of scandalous tales of the illustrious people of the court. The Nawab being the Nawab, used to rely on him for these various tit-bits of information.

So all was good for Hussaini, even though a lot of the nobles in the court hated him, Until one day the Prime Minister found out, that Husaini was poisoning the king even against him. Naturally this could not be tolerated, so he decided to to get rid of Husaini once and for all.

Amir Khusro Dehwali Riddles - II

Another round of Amir Khusro Dehlawi riddles in Hindi and Urdu. Some riddles may not be Amir Khusro, there is at least one Birbal but I cannot ascertain all sources

Akbar Tansen and Guru Haridas : The Singer and Teacher

Tansen, the famed court musician from Akbar's court waited for the court musicians to complete the musical interlude and then resumed singing, and it seemed hallways of the court, the gardens all echoed with a heavenly voice. Sitting in the zenana, the emperor's wife listened to him, alongwith her attendants.