gachha ma - mahua maharana

8/9/2019 Gachha Ma - Mahua Maharana

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“I am so so thirsty” Bilu, the fox came hung and pung, tongue out, “Hya hyahya…there is no hya hya hya water anywhere. Let me hae some water from your

rier”. “!ure sure, why not, "ut ma#e sure you are not up to any mischief.” $he#u,

the ra""it cautioned, “%e all lie together here”. Bilu &umped into the rier in

glee. “$han# you, than# you. 'ou hae saed my life. How come there is still water

in your rier in this season( Loo# at the glaring sun. I hae "een searching for some

water for so long "ut there is no water anywhere.” “)h you really want to #now(

$hen you must listen to my story and "ehae yourself. )s I hae told you we all lie

together here” $he#u said graely. Bilu was hungry no dou"t "ut curiosity got the

"etter of him and he solemnly declared, “'es I gie you my word of honour, I will not

een thin# of catching the *shes in the rier or... But tell me the story,pleeeeeeeeeeease.”

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$he#u started in a som"er oice, “Long long ago in a far far place there was a tiny

tiny illage which had no name, "ut this was where achha -a stayed. $here was a

forest near"y and the animals and "ipeds lied together in perfect harmony.” “!top

stop, now who is this achha -a( %hat a strange name. Ha ha ha…” $he#u was

not impressed he mildly scolded Bilu, “Behae yourself. !he is our own own super

hero. )nd if you continue to interrupt me I will not tell you the story.” “!orry, sorry.”

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$he#u started, “0ne day many strangers came from the city and tal#ed and tal#ed.

$hey ate tons of *sh from the rier, deer, wild "oars, "irds, hares and other animals

from the forest. %e were so afraid. $hey told us we are not deeloped, we are poor,

we need to study, we need to hae houses, hospitals, factories, schools, shopping

malls, restaurants and so many other things. )nd then only we will "ecome rich,

modern and educated.”

“0ho, this is happening eerywhere. I hae to roam around eerywhere in search

for food so I #now eerything. But then what happened here(” said Bilu. “0ne day

all of them came with drums "ugles, cym"als, spears and *erce hunting dogs and

droe us away from the land,” continued $he#u. “$hey did not een spare the "irds.

%e could neer thin# our friends had "ecome li#e that. %e used to trust them.”

“Hah, you can neer trust a "iped.”

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$he next year nothing happened "ut the year after and the year after and the year

after there was no rain. $he few trees that were left died the water on that part of

the rier "ecame yellow in colour and started drying up.”

“How(”

“$hey had "uilt a dam. %ater got clogged.”

“!uch fools. Bipeds are stupid. $hey don2t understand what is good for them.”

“$here were no crops, no fruits, and no animals to hunt, in other words nothing forthem to eat. But they did not lose hope. $hey went to the rier to catch *sh.”

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“But alas4 $here was no *sh left in those muddy water. ”

$he#u continued, “$hey had cut all the trees to ma#e way for all those "uildings "ut

the people from the city neer came "ac#.

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“7ow here comes achha -a.”

“)h I was waiting for this part. $ell me a"out this lady. %ho is she(”

“achha -a is our green hero. !he soles all our pro"lems. !o you see all was not

lost. 0n the other side of the illage our achha -a was doing her wor#.”

“$ell me more a"out her. I am *nding her mysterious. %hy does she hae such a

name, where is she from, is she a "iped(”

“0 she has some fancy "iped name. But we loingly call her achha -a, gachha

means tree and -a

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means mother, simple. !he is from here only. %hen years "ac# she was a small

girl, all the trees in the illage and the forest were her friends and when a tree was

cut down she cried and cried. 9inally one day her "est friend, the :rushnachuda,

was sawed o;. !he could ta#e it anymore, and she decided that her only wor#

would "e to plant trees and tend to them.


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!o *nally the "ipeds understood their folly. $hey ran to achha -a and sought her

"lessings and started doing as she directed them to do. !he issued them a stern

warning, >


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gachha ma - mahua maharana

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