This Amar Chitra Katha narrates some incidents of Birbal's quick wit and sense of humor. From time to time, Akbar would pose strange and amusing questions to his courtiers and, as always, Birbal had the answers. In the first two stories, Akbar demands Birbal to find him the culprit who dared to pluck his moustache and the most beautiful child in Agra. The third story is a charming one where Akbar and Birbal both admit defeat against a four-year-old child. Some of the other stories deal with ill-fated men, obedient husbands, linguists and fools.
This Amar Chitra Katha narrates some amusing anecdotes of Birbal's quick wit, sharp thinking and his sense of fairness and justice. It is his fine discriminatory sense that draw Akbar's attention in the first story of this volume. Thereafter,as one of the nine gems of Akbar's court, Birbal truly shines.
Review
This collection of 6 short stories is an absorbing set of examples of Birbal's wit, ability to figure things out and his standard of fairness and justice. The first story is about how Birbal met Akbar and how he was invited to be the 9th gem of Akbar's court. The second story is about the washerman and the potter where Birbal helps mete out justice when the potter plots to take revenge on the poor washerman. The third story is quite illuminating where Birbal proves that it is the corrupt themselves and not the occupation that is responsibile for corruption. The fourth story is where Birbal pays back a scheming member of the court in his own coin. The fifth story shows off Birbal's sharp wit where he outmaneuvers a well-known pandit. The last story is a touching story of Birbal's answer (Birbal was a Hindu in Akbar - a Mughal emperor's court) to Akbar's question as to why does Lord Krishna himself come to people's rescue and not send his servants to help!
Each of the story is a gem in itself. The illustrations, the flow, the plot and Birbal's ingenuity enthralled my daughter as I read the stories to her. My favorite is the last one about Krishna.
This Amar Chitra Katha narrates some incidents at Birbal's sense of justice and fair play. He solved the commoner's problems using wisdom and ingenuity at times, and wile and cunning at others. Perhaps one of the most famous of Birbal's exploits is that describe in 'Birbal's Khichdi'.
This Amar Chitra Katha narrates some incidents of Birbal's astuteness, judgment and sense of humour in dealing with his envious enemies. His exploits in Burma and his interactions with Akbar and his begum are charmingly told here.
This Amar Chitra Katha narrates some amusing anecdotes of Birbal's quick humour, sharp thinking, and his witty repartees with Akbar, who would often challenge Birbal with the strangest of things. In these stories, Birbal hunts down the ten greatest fools in the Kingdom, counts the crows of Agra, impresses even the Shah of Persia and manages to point out Akbar's flaws to him with tact and subtlety.
This Amar Chitra Katha narrates some incidents of Birbal's quick mindedness and sense of justice. In these stories, Birbal manages to procure a pot of wisdom for the king of Ceylon, brings justice to poor widows, helps the court artist regain his confidence and reputation and displays charming lessons in tact and diplomacy.
Review
A collection of witty stories - a great read for young minds. The first one is called A Potful of Wisdom where Birbal answer's an outrageous request for a "potful" of wisdom with an equally outrageous answer! The second one is called The Emperor's Touch where Birbal subtly guides the emperor to think of giving an appropriate reward to a family bereaved of their solder son. The third one is called A Widow's Savings where he recovers an old widow's life-savings from a scheming mendicant. The fourth one is called The Perfect Portrait where Birbal saves the court artist's reputation from a rich noble who was out to ruin it. The fifth one is one with a wonderful moral that ends with
I never dreamt, huzur, that the manner in which I word my reading is even more important than the reading itself!
(reading refers to an astrologer's reading). The sixth one is called the The Holy Parrot - a short but witty story about Akbar's parrot, its untimely death and Akbar's wrath. The last one is called Akbar The Hunter , where once again, Birbal converts a tricky question into a subtle message to the emperor himself! - A great lesson in how to make people you love realize negative consequences in a non-confrontational way.
Great collection!
This Amar Chitra Katha contains 11 short stories, some clever, some amusing, some anecdotal and some simply delightful. These tales illustrate some incidents of Birbal's quick wit, presence of mind and sense of humour.
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