A little grain of gold

Pre-reading:
Have you heard the saying: ''god gives, gives and forgives; man gets, gets and forgets"? mother too go on giving and find pleasure in giving. trees are known as giving trees. nature is a known giver.
many people prefer to be takers rather than givers because they are selfish and greedy. by being a giver, one finds so much of pleasure. are you happier to GIVE or TAKE? do you know that to be able to TAKE, one must first GIVE? do you know what one loses by not learning to GIVE?
Read to find out.

About the poet:
Rabindranath tagore (1861 - 1941) was the first Indian to win the Nobel prize. a multifaceted personality, tagore was a writer, musician, painter and educationist. he was a man of genius who wrote prolifically. his works include poems, short stories, plays and critical essays. he composed our national anthem 'jana gana mana ... ...'. he founded the world famous educational center, shantiniketan. his works are remarkable for their simple style and universal appeal, his noble prize winning compilation, gitanjali, is a collection of song offerings celebrating the glory of god.

About the poem:

The poem 'A little grain of gold' is from togore's gitanjali (song 50). it tells us an interesting parable. it sounds simple but conveys a valuable message. it highlights the virtue of giving. the poem effectively drives home the point that 'giving' should come before 'taking'. thus, it acquires a remarkable and universal appeal.

    the speaker, a beggar, was on his begging rounds. he saw the king of all kings coming his way in gorgeous chariot. he was excited thinking that he would get plenty as alms. but the king, to the beggar's shock and surprise, asked him what he would give. the beggar thought it was a royal joke. he slowly took out the least little grain of corn from his bag and gave it to the king. that evening, the beggar found a least grain of gold in his alms. he wept bitterly. he wished he had the heart to give his all to the king who in fact was god.

The poem:

                 I had gone a begging from door to door in the village path, when
                 thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream
                 and I wondered who was this king of all kings!

                 My hopes rose high and me thought my evil days were at an end,
                 and I stood waiting for alms to be given unasked and for wealth
                 scattered on all sides in the dust.

                 the chariot stopped where I stood. thy glance fell on me and
                 thou camest down with a smile. I felt that the luck of my life had
                 come at last. then of sudden thou didst hold out thy right hand
                 and say 'what hast thou to give me?'

                Ah, what a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar to beg!
                I was confused and stood undecided, and then from my wallet I
                slowly took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to thee.

                but how great my surprise when at the day's end I emptied my bag
                on floor to find a least little grain of gold among the poor heap. I
                bitterly wept and wished that I had had the heart to give thee my all.

thanks for reading.....