Love
Stories: Do you know them?
Valentine month fun!
Love
is one of the most cherished relationships among humans.
There are epics, dramas, stories, poems and many other form
of literature exploring the love between a mother and a
child, a father and a child, between siblings, between sibling
and cousins, aunts, and uncles; between husband and a wife;
between a single man and a single women; and the list goes
on. However, historically, the valentine type relationship
is the most talked and discussed about.
Now,
here is the challenge. A small snippet of the most popular
and heart wrenching valentine stories are given below. Read,
cherish and try whether you can identify the characters
or humans who are part of the story or situations. Have
a nice Valentine month fun!
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This is a tragic tale of two teenagers from
two feuding families. These teenagers fall in love at first
sight, become true lovers, then marry, and then take their
own life for each other. Their death finally unite their
feuding households. Who are they?
Answer:
The couple who are considered to be a synonymn for the word
love - Romeo and Juliet
- the characters of the tragic tale written by William Shakespeare.
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These were two powerful people in their own
countries - Rome and Egypt. The Romans were outraged when
they learnt about this love as they were wary of an already
powerful Egypt. Despite everyone's opposition they went
ahead and married. Do you know who they are?
Answer:
It is Mark Antony and Cleopatra,
considered to be a world beauty. This story was later documented
and dramatized by none other than William Shakespeare. It
is said that while fighting a war against Romans, Antony
got a false information that Cleopatra was dead. On hearing
the news he took his own life with a sword. Later, when
Cleopatra heard about Antony's death, she took her own life
too.
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This is a poem about two Arab teenagers
recorded by an Iran poet. When these two teenagers fell
in love they were immediately prevented from seeing
one another. The boy becomes eccentric, devastated,
secludes himself from the world, and befriends animals.
An elderly nomad promises to win the girl for him by
winning the tribe. Despite winning the tribe, the girl's
father refuses to marry the girl to this boy and marries
him to another. A tragic end. Who are these characters?
Answer:
It is Majnun and Layla.
'Majnun' meaning 'mad man' got this name when he became
eccentric after separation. Another tragic story captured
as a poem by a Medieval poet 'Nizami of Ganje'.
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This is a story about the son of a great
Mughal emperor who fell in love with an ordinary but beautiful
courtesan. The emperor who did not like this tried all
tactics to separate them. When the son came to know about
this, he waged a war against his own father but got defeated
by the father's powerful army and was sentenced to death.
The girl intervened at this moment and agrees to renounce
the love for him to save him from death. She was later
entombed alive in a brick wall right in front of the emperor's
son eyes. Do you recognize them?
Answer:
It is the story of the Mughal prince Salim
and the beautiful courtesan Anarkali.
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This girl married this Mughal prince when
he was 15. She gave birth to 14 children and became the
favorite wife for this emperor. When she died the grieving
emperor resolved to build a fitting momument with 20,000
workers, 1000 elephants over 20 years. This monument is
regarded as a symbol of love today. Do you recognize them?
Answer:
It is the story of the Mughal Empire Shahjahan
and his beloved wife Arjumand Banu, also know as Mumtaz
Mahal. The monument is the Taj Mahal.
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In this story written by Homer, just after
giving birth to a son, this wife had to see her husband
leave for a war. 20 years pass by with no signs of him returning.
During these 20 years, this lady had to snub 108 marriage
proposals and deal with a lot of family pressure. The story
ends happily when her husband really returns from the war
after 20 years. Do you know this couple?
Answer:
It is the story of the Greek couple Odysseus
and his devoted wife Penelope.
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This
ruthless and ambitious French soldier fell in love with a
widowed 32 year old mother of two who did not agree to re-marry.
After few years, she had a change of heart and agreed to marry
him only to divorce later as they were not blessed with a
son. But leaving her made his life to be cursed as he lost
his empire and lived in exile. When he finally returned to
meet her, she had died and the only memory he could retain
was the violets he could retrieve from her garden. He wore
this in his locket until his death. Do you know them?
Answer:
It is the story of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
and his divorced wife Josephine.
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