If you watched Krishnavataram you may remember this moment — the film suggesting that she was originally called just Bhama and that she was called as Satyabhama later, earned through the Syamantaka episode. That the truth she chose to stand by gave her the name she is known by today. It is a beautiful idea. And I went looking for it in the original texts.Here is what I found — which is more…

Here’s a question for you: have you ever pretended to be a little more confident than you actually felt? Stretched the truth, just a tiny bit, to fit in or impress someone? Most of us have, at some point. This next story, also from the Panchatantra is about exactly that. It’s funny, and a little bit sad, and it tells you everything you need to know about where pretending eventually…