The Man Who Sold Dead Mouse

Abstract

We can easily recollect some childhood stories told by our elders. Most of those stories had some useful morals but we lacked the ability to analyze and understand them at that moment A similar childhood story’ from 'Jataka Tales’ was imprinted in my memory. This tale became a curiosity at the young age and an inspiration for difficult times. The tale is about a young man from Varanasi who starts his business with a dead mouse as capital. He then devises various tactics to increase his business and overcome the difficulties. This article reproduces the same story in its original narrative. A comparison of some biographies of great Indian business leaders is made \uith the tale to establish the relevance o f the centuries old story in the modern business scenario. The tale is then analyzed with a management perspective to bring forth some fundamental principles of management and marketing. In the end , suggestions and recommendations are made, taking clues from the stoiy, to solve some modern day problems of the Indian Economy.