Annarakannanum Thannalayathu

Have you ever wondered why some squirrels have four stripes on their back? If you have wondered, here is why. The story is related to the malayalam proverb Annarakannanum Thannalayathu. It means even the squirrel does his part. The story of the squirrel is from Indian mythology--from the epic Ramayana. An ancient Indian King called Rama (He was the king of Ayodhya) was along with an army of forest dwellers known as Vanar Sena building a bridge to the island of Sri Lanka from India. Seeing the hardwork by this massive army a squirrel wanted to help the king of Ayodhya. The squirrel was not as strong and capable compared to everyone else. So the squirrel decided to help in the only way he knew how. He ran and dipped himself in the water and then rolled on the sand on the beach. Then he went to the area where the bridge was being built and shook himself at the bridge so sand fell from the squirrel's body and fell on the bridge and helped make it stronger. Seeing the squirrel's dedication the king Rama picked up the squirrel, placed him on his lap and stroked his back with four fingers. Four lines appeared on the back of the squirrel. The descendants of this squirrel are the present day squirrels with four lines on their back. The squirrel was not able to contribute much. But he contributed what he could. The king noticed this and blessed the squirrel. If there is a good cause we too should contribute what we can.