HOW MANY CROWS LIVE IN AGRA?
Pic.: Azriel D'Souza Y ears ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor English, one of the things I did – and found very effective – was telling a nice story in two tenses… the Present and the Past. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people, who were earnest about improving their English, with the same method… Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and, then, tell it to someone… We need Birbal’s intellect – call it wit or shrewdness – to deal with all these fools and fanatics around us… HOW MANY CROWS LIVE IN AGRA? PAST: O nce , a scholar wanted to prove before everyone, that Birbal, Emperor Akbar’s favorite minister, was a hoax. So, he threw a challenge before Birbal. “Birbal, you claim yourself to be a wise-man,” taunted the scholar, “can you tell me how many crows live in Agra?” A grim silence fell over the packed courtroom. Even Emperor’s face suddenly wore a worried look. “...