STORY 1 : BAJRANGBALI HANUMAN
Give the story sheet of
“Bajrangbali Hanuman” to the children and then narrate the following
story.
Children, today I will begin the story of Hanuman, the God who
is like a big
action hero — like Shaktimaan or Superman. But
let’s see how was Hanuman born and who were His parents? Hanuman’s
mother was Anjani (for older children— and this is why Hanuman is also
called Anjani-suta, the son of Anjani.) Hanuman’s father was the
very
brave Kesari. (for older children— and this is why Hanuman is also
called Kesari-nandan, the son of Kesari.)
And you know what, He had a
godfather too? Vayu, the wind God. Actually Vayu became Hanuman’s
godfather because Anjani had prayed to Him for a strong and obedient son. That
is why Hanuman is also called Maruti, which means the son of wind. And it was
true! He could fly
like the
wind and was so swift that no one
could catch Him.
Now we all know how Hanuman looks like, don’t
we?! He has skin that glows like gold, and curly hair that fly in the wind as
He glides smoothly in the air. He was born with two
sparkling kundalas
(tell the children they are earrings shaped like hoops) in His ears!
Do you remember what Lord Khishna was born with? (wait a moment for
responses) Yes! He was born with shining Kaustabh jewel around His
neck.
Maruti’s little palms were marked with the signs of a
dhwaja (little yellow flag) and a
vajra (lightening). His
forehead is the impressive mark of Bhagwan Vishnu — a U-shaped
tilak of
chandan and a small red line in the middle with red
kumkum. He wears the sacred thread, the
Janeyu around His
shoulders and His long tail curves upwards on which hangs a bell. And what does
He wear? Hanuman always wears either red or saffron clothes (tell children it
is a shade of orange) as red is the colour of strength and saffron is the
colour of sacrifice. And because He is strong as thunder and as fast as
lightening Hanuman is also called Bajrang Bali.
Now let’s talk
about
another interesting thing — Hanuman’s
shakti, His
Power and His weapons. Just like other Gods, Hanuman has His special weapons
too. (Remind the children about Shiv’s
trishul and Krishna’s
chakra). Hanuman is actually a master warrior and can use all weapons,
but His favourite is the
gada, or the mace.
And who is dearest
to Hanuman ji? It is Lord Ram. Since Hanuman is
amar, or immortal, it is
said that to this day, Hanuman ji goes around the world singing
bhajans
in praise of Ram and Sita and chanting Their holy names. A seat is always left
empty for Lord Hanuman because it is believed that He is always present
wherever the Ramayan is sung and Sri Ram is worshipped.
Hanuman is also
called
sankat mochan. Sankat means problems and
mochan means the
remover. So
sankat mochan is someone who frees you of the problems.
Children, there is another God who is also a remover of problems and obstacles.
Can you tell me who He is? (Wait a moment for responses). Yes, it is Lord
Ganesh, and He is also known as
Vighnaharta. Remember, even Lord Ram,
turned to Hanuman to solve His problems. Hanuman helped Ram to find Sita, then
He helped the vanar sena to build the bridge of stones over the sea and He even
flew to get
Sanjeevani that saved Lakshman’s life.
And just
like Saraswati pooja is Saraswatiji’s birthday, we celebrate
Hanuman’s birthday on Hanuman Jayanti.
ACTIVITY: CRAFT
The questions asked in this section will be
followed immediately with sticking the relevant picture on the activity sheet.
The questions should keep to the sequence of the story. Make sure the child is
able to correlate between the question asked and the cut-out handed out. Ensure
that he/she places it in the correct place.
Q: Who was
Hanuman’s parents?
A: Anjani was Hanuman’s mother and the
brave Kesari was Hanuman’s father. Highlight name ‘Anjani’ and
‘Kesari. Stick PCO of ‘Anjani and Kesari’
Q: Who
was the godfather of Hanuman?
A: Vayu, the God of wind, was the
godfather of Hanuman. Highlight name ‘Vayu’. Stick PCO
‘Vayu’.
Q: What is the weapon of Hanuman?
A:
Hanuman carries a
gada or mace in his hand. Stick PCO
‘
gada’.
Q: What is
kundala?
A:
Say Hanuman was born with hoop-like earrings which were called
kundala.
Paste CI ‘
kundala’.
Q: What does Hanuman have on
his forehead?
A: Hanuman has the mark of Vishnu on His forehead. Draw
mark of Vishnu with gold and red pens.
Q: What color clothes does
Hanuman wear?
A: Hanuman wears orange/red color clothes. Stick PCO
‘orange/red clothes’.
Q: What does Hanuman carry in his
hands?
A: Hanuman has the sign of
vajra or lightening and
dhvaja or flag. Draw ‘vajra and
dhvaja’ with sketch
pen.
Q: What does He wear around His shoulders?
A: He
wears the sacred thread, the
Janeyu around His shoulders. Paste CI
‘
Janeyu’
Q: Why is Hanuman called Bajrang
Bali?
A: Hanuman is called Bajrang Bali because he is strong as
thunder and as fast as lightening. Highlight name ‘Bajrang Bali’ and
stick PCO‘thunder’.
Q: What is the color of
Hanuman’s body?
A: His body complexion is golden. Paste CI
‘gold glitter’ all over his body.
Q: What hangs from
Hanuman’s tail?
A: A bell hangs from Hanuman’s tail. Paste
CI ‘bell’.
Q: Who is most dear to Hanuman?
A:
Lord Ram and Sita were dearest to Hanuman. Stick PCO ‘Ram and Sita’.
VALUES
Each individual is special: Hanuman was special
because he was born with kundalas. Even if you are not born with kundals in
your ears, each one of you are special in your own unique way. Each of you have
some talent right? Some of you can sing or dance beautifully, some of you are
good at painting or reading and reciting poems, some of you can run very fast,
while others are good at football or badminton or cricket, and other sports. So
you see, all children have some talent or the other and all these talents are
very special qualities. So just like Hanuman was special so are all of you in
your own unique and special way.
MATERIAL LIST(per child)
1 Story Sheet
2.
Picture cut-outs (a) Anjani and Kesari (b) Vayu (c) Gada (d) Ram and Sita (e)
Thunder (f) Red Dhoti
3. Craft item (a)
Kundal (b) Mark of
Vishnu on forehead – to be sketched with gold and red pen (c)
Janeyu (d) Flag (
Dhvaja)- to be sketch with gold pen (e) Thunder
(
Vajra) – to be sketched with gold pen (f) Gold sparkle (g) Bell
(for tail)
Exercise: What is your Kundal?
Explain to the children
that just like Hanuman was born with
Kundals in His ears, (at this point
the Instructor can crosslink that Sri Krishna was also born the
Kaustabh
jewel and the
Srivatsa mark), each one of us is special too as we also
are born with some special ability or talent. God has blessed each one of us
with our very own special
kundals too!!! Explain to the children that
each one of us has a special talent like some of us may be good at music, or
dance or art and craft, cricket or football, acting or mimicry,….. the
list is endless. Now tell the children to think for a moment what they are good
at. After giving the children a few moments to think about their special
talents, ask each child one at a time to mention to everybody what he/she think
is their special kundal. After mentioning their special ability, each child
will back it up with a short performance/demonstration of their special skill,
for example, if a child says that his/her special talent is dance then he/she
will do a little dance for everybody. Every child will be rewarded with a token
gift to make them all feel that each one of us is special in our own special
way.
