A not so dense Gray bun with jasmine flowers that added beauty to her snow-white curls, a bright red bindi, and a light green handloom sari. Jothi‘\’s mother-in-law was beautiful with the inevitably original, splendid appearance that complemented her cheerful personality, even though she was a grandmother to her 7-year-old granddaughter. And in the evening, when Jothi was refilling the spice box that had peppercorns, she dropped a few of them by mistake. ‘Don’t drop peppercorns even if you do, see that you \’pick them up’ her mother-in-law warned her in a shaky yet loud voice.
Jothi\’s daughter Vaishu questioned why granny, why are you saying so? What will happen if peppercorns fall to the floor? Vaishu, dear, I will tell you a story tonight you will understand. As the night approached, the little girl went and sat on the side of her grand mom’s bed. You told you will tell me the story behind the \’ peppercorns the girl grinned as she noticed her grandma all set to begin the story of the day.
There was a happy couple who lived with their daughter in a beautiful village where only music was a cuckoo singing in the green, lush sitting on the wooden branches of the trees and the ground would entirely be covered with withered flowers that had the sweet smell even after drying up, that fell off the trees and appeared as a natural carpet surrounding the backyard of the wooden house.
Poorni, the mother of the child, cooked a dish and dropped the bottle that had peppercorns and all the contents of the glass bottle got scattered around the kitchen. She quickly picked all the peppercorns that she could see, however, one of the peppercorns rolled under the pot that she stored raw rice in. When the peppercorn hit the ground with the crackling sound of glass, a little girl who was merely Five years old popped out of the peppercorn. She was mystified witnessing the world and her little head juggled until she understood her purpose of life. She sat beside the rice pot with no clue of what to do next. A sweet voice broke the silence in the room, and the words traveled directly to the little girl\’s ears, \’O girl, be courageous and remember to learn from nature, for it will teach you how to live, and am here to enlighten you with the purpose of your life.
\’You are here to spread happiness, love, peace, and empathy and make this world a better place, the voice diminished and soon disappeared when its work was done\’.
The little girl hid for the fear of being asked where she came from. In the night-time, the stars came down to play with her and flowers sang her a lullaby. The trees swayed and extended their branches and offered her their fruits, the waters of the lake beside taught her to find the way out when she was lost. The fishes in the pond taught her to swim through the hurdles of life, the fallen leaves of Autumn gave her the hope of the Spring.
As the years rolled by, Poorni’s daughter Nathiya reached adolescence. She loved spending time in front of the mirror admiring her beauty. One day she asked her mom to buy her bangles. And her mother called a bangle seller and bought some bangles for her daughter, and when she went inside the house to get some money to pay him a girl of about the same age as Nathiya came out of the house and got a pair of bangles for herself and disappeared into the kitchen. The bangle seller got the money for all the four pairs he sold and went away. Even though she said she chose only three pairs of bangles, she paid the full amount as she assumed her daughter Nathiya chose the fourth one. Suddenly, She could not believe what was happening.
A girl with long hair and shiny eyes appeared in front of her, and told her that she was created out of the peppercorn she dropped by mistake, and she was her daughter, and she had some special powers owing to her uniqueness. She had exceptional knowledge of art, music, and dance. Poorni named her Vichitra. The two daughters and the mother shared a loving bond. The three spent their evenings sitting under the trees in the backyard. The trio spoke of what is it to be a girl and what a girl needs to be happy and satisfied in life.
Nathiya said it was her beauty that made her happy, Vichitra quickly said her knowledge made her happy. The sisters were unique and different in their opinions of life. Soon Poorni’s daughter Nathiya was of marriageable age. Nathiya groomed herself in the best possible way and appeared in front of a handsome man who was spellbound by her beauty and married her immediately. But the love faded away when Nathiya started growing old. Vichitra believed that real beauty existed in the soul untouched by any physical appearance. However, she was perplexed and confused about what one needs to have a happy married life when she saw her sister unhappy.
One day, God appeared before her, and in a flash of a minute said few words, ‘Vichitra, your intuition is the superpower, I gave you. Write the golden words of your intuition in the ribbon I give you now and read them until you imbibe them.
As soon as these words become a part of you and permanently get ingrained in your soul you will be blessed with the best life on earth. Never keep these magic ribbons with you alone for it will lose its power. Pass it on to the people sharing the planet with you. For no blessing is confined to one person on earth.
Happiness must become omnipresent, so be compassionate and Spread happiness, shower love and live in peace. Be kind towards every life on earth, for I dwell in each of them.
Handing over the ribbons, God disappeared. She always listened to her intuition because it was wise enough to guide her through the leaps and bounds of life. She wrote the wise words of her special and blessed inner voice in the glossy ribbons she had and did as told by God.
Handing over the ribbons, God disappeared. She always listened to her intuition because it was wise enough to guide her through the leaps and bounds of life. She wrote the wise words of her special and blessed inner voice in the glossy ribbons she had and did as told by God.
Golden words that was written on the ribbon :
\’Love your partner with all your heart for what they are and accept him/her with their flaws, never judge each other for each person has a life of their own, and no one is born perfect, and life is about continuous improvement and about learning from each other\’s mistake and growing together and remember to support each other till the end of life.
Life is all about forgiving and strongly unwilling to give up on each other. Life is nothing but wet clay that God blessed us all with. It is love, courage, will power, belief and trust that carves a masterpiece statue of eternal love out of life\’.
Art courtesy : Yuvasri my Cousin 🙂
A girl born out of a peppercorn realized, be it a man or woman, real courage and love lie in understanding the meaning of what she wrote on the ribbons. As soon as she imbibed all that she wrote. She was blessed with the man of her dreams who already imbibed the golden words written by Vichitra. Both married and lived a life filled with love until their last breath.
As soon as her Grandma completed the story Vaishu said oh my God! I will go and check if Mom has left any peppercorn in the place she dropped them. What will I do if after a few years a girl appeared from them and said she loves my parents more than me. Immediately she gave the glass of milk that she brought for her grandma and ran to the kitchen to cross-check if there was any pepper left near the Kitchen Cabinet and all around the cooking area. When she found the area clean and neat, she felt relieved and soon fell asleep beside her Grandma. When her grandma got up to switch off the light she said to herself, I will once again tell the important message in the story when she grows up because she is too young to understand the real message now.
This post is a part of ‘The Woman That I Am’ Blog Hop #TheWomanThatIAm organized by Rashi Roy and Manas Mukul #RRxMM. The Event is sponsored by Kraffitti.”
Firstly, love the cute drawings. Coming to the story, using magic realism and parable gave it a nice effect. It is something kids can enjoy listening to and learn values too. Good one. 🙂
Loved your post!! It has such strong message and advise. Often people look up to external beauty instead of the inner beauty of a person. Physical appearance is of no use as long as you are beautiful inside. We should all teach our kids this important lesson.
What a beautiful and eloquently written post. Loved the narration and the message of the pepper girl. The real message though? Please be writing it soon. Loved your post a lot.Deepika Sharma
A sweet and important message shared by a grandmother in your story. This was excellently penned Sivaranjini. I would surely want to read more from you.Good luck to you :)– rightpurchasing.com
Loved the narrative style, it reminds me of my grandpa and me when he used to tell me story of each question I asked him. Keep writing. And lots of love for the little budding artist.
This is such a unique narration and it had me routed till the end. Waiting for the real lesson though!
Thank you ! It really means a lot 🤗
Agreed and thanks for reading :)🤗😊
The real message is that spread love and be compassionate 🤗 thanks for reading and commenting 🙂
Thank you will be writing and you can read more of my works soon.
Wow that is wonderful and I am glad you could relate to story. Sure will convey it to her 😊
Simple story, evokes enough curiosity to keep the reader going till the end!
Thank you. The real msg is the word of God. 'Be compassionate'
Good strory with a unique message. Loved the usage of words and the flow. It reminded me of my grandma narrating me a bedtime story, whenever I visited her.
Thank you @neeraja glad it did. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Thank you I am glad it brought back your memories 🙏🤗thanks for reading and leaving that beautiful comment 😊
Ah folktales, so much wisdom, so much fantasy and charm. You wove it so well in your tale. Is this pepper tale actually a folktale in some culture, do let me know.
Very nice story with a very strong message. I don't have the memory when my grandmother told the stories in our childhood. I am glad this story spread the message of love and compassion. No one is born perfect. Very well said. Deepika Mishra
An engaging story with a beautiful message. The lovable characters are heart-winning. Loved your style of narration. The hookpoints keep the readers interested till the end and more. Charming!
Loved those cute paintings that added magic to your story. You have weaved a beautiful story that we humans need to read often. We forget Love in our lives that has the power to heal and create magic. Beautiful post. Keep writing would love to hear more from you.
Loved those cute paintings that added magic to your story. You have weaved a beautiful story that we humans need to read often. We forget Love in our lives that has the power to heal and create magic. Beautiful post. Keep writing would live to hear more from you.
Beautiful story with a strong message. You crafted the story well with the magic touch. Amazing write up.
Well said, outer beauty always overshadow inner beauty, but those you are able to recognize the beauty of inner soul, actually get the keys of their happiness, what a simple and strong shared by you Sivaranjini, perfected narrated story, waiting for grand maa’s next important lesson, that she wanted to tell in further days to her grand daughter.Archana Srivastava
Lovely story with an equally good message..Loved it immensely.. 'You are here to spread happiness, love, peace, and empathy and make this world a better place,\”Wish everyone followed this.Lots of best wishes for your future writing..
Comment appeared as unknown.Pashmeena.
This is an amazing story Sivaranjini! is it a folk story from your childhood? I'm so happy to see it written so well. I love the lesson it teaches in story form. You have an extensive imagination. And I do love the illustrations, who did them?
Enjoyed reading your post , Sivaranjani. I'm waiting for grandma to tell the girl the real story when she grows up. Will there be a sequel to the story?Janaki@beyondthefamiliar
I remember my mom telling about this story. Like just the fiction storyline part of it. When I was in first grade. I derived it from there 😊 🤗🤗
Thank you deepika 🤗🤗🤗I thought Compassion is need of the hour so brought it inside the story.
Truly I am not a very good writer when it comes to fiction but now I think I have done justice to my work. Thank you😊🙏
Thank you 🙂 will inform the artist about the great work she did 🤗😊thanks for reading and writing a comment that made me smile whole heartedly 😊😊😊
Firstly those paintings need a special appreciation and coming to the story, amazingly written. Grandmom and granddad stories have always held special place in my heart and mind. Loved reading this.
Thank you
Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏I really appreciate your effort 😊🤗🤗🤗
Thanks dear 😊really means a lot 😊🤗@pashmeena I even loved your post 😊🤗
Lessons taught through stories are most memorable. Enjoyed reading your work.
I dont know Brindha ji Was not a great kid with nice creativity in childhood but eventually I understand I have some creativity now. My Cousin drew the pictures and coloured them. The little artist of our family Yuvasri is her name 🙂
Thank you for loving my story. Well if you insist I can come up with the Sequel 😊🤗
Well, true those are special and indeed wonderful thanks for reading and appreciating 😊🤗
Such a beautiful and endearing story with positive, enlightening messages. And I loved the drawings in the post.
Thank you, that is why stories are great when they have an unforgettable message 🙂 thanks a lot and very much appreciate your efforts🤗😊🙏
OMGGG loved reading it!! you expressed it beautifully!
That was a lovely message embedded in a folktale. Ruchi Nasa https://thevagabond.me
Wow that's a cute little sweet and peppery story.Love the drawing very neat and nice, Great sketches Yuvasri.Kept me intrigued and curious about the pepper girl.
What a remarkable story with the help of a magical backdrop and wondrous drawings. I love the tale and the measage it conveys.
Beautifully written with some cute little drawings – loved the message as well – great work Sivaranjini!
Thanks a lot 🤗😊
Thanks ruchi 😊🤗🙏
Thanks for appreciating :)🙏really means a lot to me. Thank you from Yuvasri :)😊😊😊
Thank you so much for appreciating 😊🤗🙏