Kissa Kahani- Stories Before Sleep with Neha Joy Chauhan

In this short episode, we read two of Aesop's fables related to animals.

In this interesting story, we take a journey into the mind of our protagonist Gurdas who wants to get his name in the local newspaper at any cost. All he wants to do is become famous so he can die in peace? Well he does make it to the newspaper but at a cost.

Hear three interesting stories of Mulla Nasruddin - each with a different flavor and message in Season 3, Episode 2 of Kissa Kahani Stories Before Sleep.

In the first episode of Season 3, I ask you a small paheli created by Amir Khusro and narrate Harishankar Parsai's famous satire- Apni Apni Bimari.

In this letter, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru is narrating how the Aryans started coming to the Dravid-dominated India and slowly dragged them beyond the Vindhya mountains.

In this letter, Pt. Nehru briefly talks about fossils and old reptilians animals. He also mentions about the first mammals to roam earth.

A small letter by Nehru in which he talks about fossils and sends his daughter Indira several pictures of fossilized fish

Pt. Nehru once again talks about the hundreds of millions of years where the earth remained devoid of humans and when they finally appeared, they remained small and powerless.

In this episode, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru talks about the sad condition of the lives of common people and the extravagance of those who ruled them. He also details the lives of shamans who exploited common people for their own gains.

In this episode, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru reprises how different people gained powers and became kings, only to keep that power within their families. Then came different courtesans, ministers, traders and artisans, followed by the working class that was exploited by other higher classes.

Pt. Nehru tells Indira about the development of language and how the roman numerals were problematic to begin with. The world later learnt Arabic numerals which originated in India.

In this letter, Pt. Nehru talks about the emergence of sea trade and how people wanted to cross the mightiest of oceans in order to create a more connected world ruled by activities of trade and commerce.

In this letter, Pt. Nehru tells Indira how the civilizations of India and China developed away from the lands of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Stories of Midas, ancient Egypt and sacrifices made in the name of God are narrated in this letter by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru to his daughter Indira.

In this letter, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru talks to Indira about old cities and how they were rebuilt time and again. In this philosophical enquiry, he also discusses also it takes years for a civilization or a city to reach its zenith and them reach a point where it is deserted, only to become civilized again.

In this letter, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru is telling Indira how the early people lived their lived and gave incredible importance to rivers like Ganga, Nile etc.

In this letter, Nehru finally tells Indira how kings came into being and called their reign a divine right. Later, the people disliked their reign and threw them away, stripping them off power. However, in India, many kings remained who taxed people exorbitantly and lived lavish lifestyles at their expense.

In this letter, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru tells Indira how chiefs of tribes started becoming more powerful and then began transferring their power to rule to their heirs, who mostly belonged to their own families.

Nehru answers a question by Indira Priyadarshini on how the kings came into beings. However, before this he takes us to the journey of ancient beginnings of our civilization where we learnt to divide work, specially management to an elder.

In this episode, Pandit Nehru talks about the ways in which agriculture changed our lives and how we turned from a species that roamed around with our cattle to people who settled in villages.

In this episode, Jawaharlal Nehru narrates how religions came into being and how division of work takes place in modern society.

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru narrates how initial tribalism developed among people and how making small groups became the stepping stones for human civilization.

What is civilization? What defines civility? Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru describes this in the simplest and most unique way

Jawaharlal Nehru narrates how most langauges and people are connected to each other and how we are a part of one big family

Jawaharlal Nehru is narrating how big language families came into being

Jawaharlal Nehru narrates how humans developed differently in different places and finally interacted to create the grand human civilization

Jawaharlal Nehru narrates how the first humans lived and interacted with each other in a letter to his daughter Indira

After narrating the tale of animals, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru now talks about the first humans

In this letter Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru explains to Indira how the first animals on land came into being and thrived.

In this letter, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru explains to Indira how plants and animals both have sentience.

In the third letter Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru narrates how the Earth and Moon came into being. He also discusses gravity.

How Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru explained to his daughter Indira about the early history of the world.

Take a look at what Pandit Nehru wrote to his daughter Indira to enhance her worldview. And how he manages to invoke curiosity in her young mind

In this long but amazing story by Munshi Premchand, read the psychological dissection of a man's mind who seduced himself to the charms of a young and talented woman and the amazing anti-climactic ending.

Harishankar Parsai does vyangya in his own unique style. This time he is sarcastically selling the Indian Divine Lunatic Mission to the bored Americans

Get a look into the life of a middle class dog and a classic vyangya on the classic struggle by the ever so amazing Harishankar Parsai

In this short but insightful story by Harishankar Parsai we learn about a little rat who started living in the author's house and demanded his rights

In this awesome reading of Himmat aur Zindagi, I am reading a veer ras gadya with a congested nose

I am reading a short-story by Mulla Naseeruddin today. This small story has a huge message. So spend 5 mins of your life listening to this beautiful story

In this beautiful story by Sudarshan, we learn a very heartfelt, emotional and strong message. Don't forget to listen to one story we read during our school days

In this beautiful story by Mohan Rakesh we understand how we want to chase new things, how we get influenced but still continue to be our authentic selves.

This story by Mohan Rakesh focuses on the psyche of a so-called Genius and how his self-centeredness unfolds in everyday conversations

In this episode, I read Harishankar Parsai's beautiful story Purana Khiladi. It takes a satirical look at people who live off of intellectualism with no means and no ends. Do listen!

Eidgaah is one of the most popular Stories of Munshi Premchand. This story is very close to my heart. It touches some strings that are unknown, deep down the abyss.

Eidgaah is one of the most beloved stories of Munshi Premchand. I cried while reading the story because it remjnds you of your own struggles and your own childhood.

This amazing story by Bhishm Sahani tells you about the broken dynamic between a mother-son duo. The classic differences between a loving mother, a selfish son and an indifferent daughter-in-law become evident in a situation which we all can relate with.

We open with the second part of Munshi Premchand's beautiful story Nashaa. As tables have turned, our nayak finds himself struggling with the ideas of class and gains a new understanding of the struggles between the haves and have nots in a fun but embarrassing way

In this episode we read the first part of Nashaa- a simple yet awe inspiring story by Munshi Premchand. This story narrates class struggles in a very fun and relatable way that you would love to listen to

This story by Hindi's greatest writer Premchand takes you on a fun ride in the life of two brothers- one who works hard but never gets anything and another who doesn't work hard but gets things he wants. The story is beautiful, charming and helps you look at life from a child's perspective again.