Another Easy reading kahaanii for learners

[omlick]

मदिरा व पानी

एक शहर के जब नगर-प्रमुख (the mayor) गज़र गये, तो  शहर के लोगों ने नये नगर-प्रमुख चुन दिये।  उस शहर की एक प्रथा थी:  जब लोग नये नगर-प्रमुख चुनते थे, तो हर आदमी उन्हें एक तोहफ़ा देता था -- मदिरा का एक  जग।
 
नगर-प्रमुख के घर के आगे एक बड़ा ड्रम रखा जाता था और सब लोग उसमें अपना अपना लायी मदिरा डाल देते थे। 
 
इस शहर में लोग बहुत ग़रीब थे इसलिये उनको यह प्रथा पसन्द नहीं थी।  हरेक ने सोचा: अगर बस मैं मदिरा नहीं, पानी दूँ तो किसी को पता नहीं चल  पायेगा क्योंकि बाक़ी सब तो मदिरा ही देंगे। 

नगर-प्रमुख ने ड्रम खोलकर उससे थोड़ा-सा पिया।  उन्होंने क्या पाया?  पानी ही पानी!   

लेकिन नगर-प्रमुख बहुत चालाक आदमी थे।  वे न तो नाराज़ होते थे और न ही चिल्लाते थे। 
सुबह में सब लोग उनके घर आये।  उन्होंने कहा:  "बहुत बहुत ध्नयवाद आपके अच्छे तोहफ़े के लिये: मदिरा से भरा हुआ बड़ा ड्रम।  आप सब लोग बहुत अच्छे हैं।  पर यहाँ एक बुरा आदमी है जिसने मुझे मदिरा नहीं, सिर्फ़ पानी दिया. मैं जानता हूँ कौन वह है।  लेकिन आज शहर में बड़ा पर्व हो रहा है और मैं इस खुशी के अवसर में कुछ भी बुरा करना नहीं चाहता हूँ।  अब मैं अपने घर के आगे नया ड्रम रखता हूँ।  अगर आज शाम को वह आदमी आए और ड्रम में मदिरा का जग डाल दे, तो मैं उसको माफ़ कर दूँगा।"

सब लोगों ने उनकी बात सुनी।  और हर आदमी सोच रहा था कि नगर-प्रमुख सिर्फ़ उसको ही बात कर रहे हैं। 

उसी शाम को सब लोग  आए और एक एक करके हर आदमी ने ड्रम में एक जग मदिरा डाल दिया, और ड्रम बहुत अच्छी मदिरा से भर गया।

[omlick]

In the first  line गज़र should be गुज़र

[mandipperous]

cool! Surprisingly, I was able to read and understand most of that!
By the way, what's 'madira', if that's how you spell it? Is it rum or something?

[James]

madira is wine.  I'm actually not sure if there is a hindi word for rum, or if they just say 'rum'.

[los angeles]

^ James, do you possibly know of some sites that have easy-reading kahaniis as simple as this [or a bit more complicated even] with posted corresponding translations in English?

I am moving slowly forward with re-learning to read and write Hindi. I found one site with pre-school level Hindi-language stories, and I was going very slowly even with those, which is a great feeling at thirty-six LOL

And anyways, just looking for a few more things of that sort that may be at a slightly higher level. Maybe I should PM you and Laura with this question actually, in case you don't see this thread anytime soon. Thanks in advance for any help

[omlick]

^ James, do you possibly know of some sites that have easy-reading kahaniis as simple as this [or a bit more complicated even] with posted corresponding translations in English?

I am moving slowly forward with re-learning to read and write Hindi. I found one site with pre-school level Hindi-language stories, and I was going very slowly even with those, which is a great feeling at thirty-six LOL

And anyways, just looking for a few more things of that sort that may be at a slightly higher level. Maybe I should PM you and Laura with this question actually, in case you don't see this thread anytime soon. Thanks in advance for any help

Ha ha, did you know that I translated that story to Hindi myself from a story that was written in Hebrew from my daughter's after school Hebrew school program.  The tricky part for me was remembering enough Hebrew to read the story to begin with.  I don't think I can do that again as I forgot most of  my Hebrew again.  (sigh)

[los angeles]

^ I'm glad you posted it! Cool of you to take the time to do that
And that's so cool you studied Hebrew? Plus you know English and Hindi, that's awesome.
I'm really excited about re-learning to read/write Hindi properly again. I've forgotten everything from Hindi school in childhood days so I am starting over from the beginning. I've been reading and writing English my entire life as an NRI (I was born/raised in Los Angeles) so this is so fun and cool to do. I can't wait to buy some books written in Hindi and read through them. I remember my parents had so many Hindi books around the house when we were little, so the script always looks so familiar and of course we heard Hindi/English/Punjabi around the house every single day. But reading and writing it oneself it is still an entirely different matter altogether. I think I'm one of those people who came back to my culture late in life for a number of reasons, so I suppose this is another step in that direction. Lovely lovely times

[encore]

लेकिन आज शहर में बड़ा पर्व हो रहा है और मैं इस खुशी के अवसर में कुछ भी बुरा करना नहीं चाहता हूँ।

My hindi teachers (and Bindu wasn't one of them) may have done something right since I was able to read and understand all of it except the words highlighted above.

[James]

LA, you might try this website.  Hover your cursor over the word 'stories' and it will give you the option to choose from beginners/intermediate/advanced.  If you have any issues, you could post about it here in the language corner. 

[NewLaura]

^^Thanks for that link, James!  I'm always happy to find new things like that to read.

[konkanikudi]

My hindi teachers (and Bindu wasn't one of them) may have done something right since I was able to read and understand all of it except the words highlighted above.

The two words are 'Bada Parv' which means a big festival. So बड़ा (badaa) as in 'big', and पर्व (parv) as in 'festival. So the speaker is saying: 'but there is a big festival in the city today so on this happy occasion I do not want to do anything bad'.

What is this from?

[los angeles]

LA, you might try this website.  Hover your cursor over the word 'stories' and it will give you the option to choose from beginners/intermediate/advanced.  If you have any issues, you could post about it here in the language corner. 

Thank-you so much James!!!

^^Thanks for that link, James!  I'm always happy to find new things like that to read.

Yea, me too, it's sooooo helpful.

[James]

I'm happy to help, ladies, but the credit must go to Miss Lisel for sharing the link in the first place!   

[encore]

Thanks Konkanikudi.  You are always a great resource.  I also appreciated your translation of Mirza Ghalib yesterday.

[konkanikudi]

Thanks Konkanikudi.  You are always a great resource.  I also appreciated your translation of Mirza Ghalib yesterday.

Awwww! Aap ke muh mein ghee shakar! That's so very nice of you to say that. I love translation so I'll take every opportunity! I might head for one of the songs on another board now to translate
And thanks to my Dad and my Hindi teachers for forcing me to enjoy Hindi poetry as a stubborn child and teenager. I can appreciate all of their efforts only now.....