Week 12 Reading Diary: Folktales of Bengal

Reading Unit Homepage
Folktales of Bengal

Part A: Chapters 1-8
*= Stories I found particularly interesting and wanted to mark for possible use as storytelling for the week

• **The Evil Eye of Sani (Ch. 1-3)
• Sani (aka Saturn), god of bad luck and Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck were arguing over who was ranked higher than whom. They decided to let a human decide, one who was wise and just. The human they chose was a rich man named Sribatsa who knew he could not come out right and choose one over the other for fear of their wrath. Instead, he let the gods infer from his actions who was ranked higher. He had 2 stools: 1 gold, 1 silver and he asked Lakshmi to sit on the gold and Sani to sit on the silver. Sani got pissed b/c obviously Sribatsa thought Lakshmi was higher than him and declared that he would "cast [his] eye on [Sribatsa] for three years." Lakshmi told Sribatsa not to fear, that she would befriend him, and then the gods and goddesses left. 
• Sribatsa went to his wife (Chintamani) and told her that he was leaving so that he could protect her from Sani's evil eye. She refused to let him leave without her and so the pair stashed their valuables in the mattress and left. They invoked Lakshmi and asked that she take care of their home and property while they hid in exile. She agreed. So, Sribatsa and Chintamani took off, carrying the mattress, It was not long before they came to a river where a ferryman sat. They asked to be taken across and he agreed, but would have to take them 1 at a time. First, he took the mattress, but when he got halfway, a huge wind carried the mattress, canoe, and ferryman away. Then, the stream also disappeared, giving way to nothing but firm ground. It had to be the evil eye of Sani. 
• With no money, the couple headed into a nearby wood-cutting town and joined them as two new woodcutters. Sribatsa began cutting wood, but unlike the other woodcutters, he only cut precious wood (ex. Sandalwood) that sold for more at market. His wife went on to spin thread, and like her husband, she spun less thread but higher quality and made more money. This made the other villagers jealous. Then, Sribatsa's wife invited the villagers over for a feast that she cooked. The food was so wonderful that when the men went home they reprimanded their wives for not being able to cook as well as Chintamani. This made the women hate her even more! 
• One day while bathing along the river-side, Chintamani bumped into a boat causing it to row off into the water. This boat had previously been unmovable by anyone in the village and as such, the men thought she had a special power and they kidnapped her! The women of the village saw this happen, but did not stop them as they were too filled with envy and hate. Sribatsa was pissed when he found out what happened and he resolved to follow the river until he found his wife. He searched and searched before climbing into a tree for the night. 
• The next day he saw a Kapila-cow (a cow which doesn't give birth to calves, but produces milk at any time). He milked the cow and drank to his heart's content before noticing that the cow dung was a bright yellow.. in fact.. it' was gold! Pure gold! While the poo was soft, he wrote his name on it and then let it harden into a brick in the sun. Day in and day out the cow came and supplied him with milk and Sribatsa decided to wait there for the boat that took his wife. In the meantime he would collect the golden bricks deposited by the cow. 
• While this was going on, Chintamani was scared that her beauty might insight the worst in her captors so she prayed to Lakshmi to make her ugly so that the men would not touch her. Lakshmi heard her prayer and she was quickly turned into a diseased and vile carcass. She was covered in hideous, stinky sores and when the men found her they threw her into the cargo hold where they would only occasionally give her rice and water. She was miserable, but at least she was chaste. 
• The boatmen came upon Sribatsa and his gold. They seized it all, took him prisoner, and threw him below with his wife. They immediately recognized each other, but decided not to speak for their safety, choosing instead to communicate through signs and gestures. 
• One day Sribatsa beat the boatmen at dice one too many times and they tossed him overboard. Chintamani somehow knew to throw a pillow into the water which Sribatsa used to float down the stream to a garden where he grabbed hold of a tree and spent the night. The garden was owned by an old widow who was amazed when she woke up because with his arrival came the rebirth of her garden into a stunning spectacle. The woman went to find the cause of this change, she went for a walk in the garden and found Sribatsa who she brought into her cottage. While he rested, she ran to the king to tell him that she could once again be his chief flower-supplier. She then recommended Sribatsa to the king who promptly appointed him to toll-gatherer at the river. He then used his position to detain the boat and the boatmen were charged with theft. The king came down to see the gold and Chintamani was rescued. At hearing what had happened the king was astonished. He took them into his palace and entertained them for days. The evil eye of Sani was over and once again the couple could once again prosper. 
• *****The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled (Ch. 4-5)
• Once there was a king with 7 barren queens. 1 day a medicine man tells him of a tree that has 7 magic mangoes on it. If the king himself will go pick those mangoes and give them to his wives then they shall all have children. He did such and sure enough all 7 became pregnant.
• Then, he meets a gorgeous young woman in the forest whom he brings home and marries. This woman turns out to be a Rakshasi (demon) who the king becomes so infatuated with that he obeys her every wish. One day, she tells him that if he truly loves her he will blind his other wives and order them to be killed. He obeys and the wives have their eyes ripped out. However, the man who was supposed to kill them was merciful and instead hid them away. 
• After some time the first wive gave birth to her child. The queens were starving, blind, and scared. They decided to kill and eat the child. Each queen got her portion and ate it except the youngest who set hers aside. The same thing happened as each of the next 5 wives gave birth until the only one left was the youngest. She had her baby, but did not wish to kill it. When the other queens demanded she share, she gave them her portions of the children that had been killed before. However, the pieces were not fresh and the queens caught on. The youngest pleaded with them, explaining that she wanted to nurse the baby and raise it. Surprisingly, the other queens were stoked and they all decided to help suckle the baby. So, the did and they raised the healthiest, strongest, most hardy boy ever! 
• In the meantime, the demon wife was attempting to fill her bottomless pit of a stomach by eating the royal family; all of the servants and attendants at the palace; all of the kings horses, elephants, and cattle; and every other human in the palace until only herself and her royal consort were left. Then, she went into the city and began eating it's citizens. 
• The king was left with no one to attend to him and so the boy who'd been raised by the 7 blind queens offered his services.  He protected the king from the demon wife who would otherwise gobble him up. The queen then had to get crafty. She told the boy she was sick with something only a special melon could cure and sent him to her mother with a letter which instructed her to eat him upon arrival. The boy ran to the other side of the ocean where the Rakshasis lived and shouted "Granny! Granny! Come save your daughter; she is dangerously ill." An old Rakshasi arrived in response and gave the boy the melon. He however said he was tired and asked if he could stay and rest for one day. The old woman obliged and they went together to the woman's home where a bird was hanging in a cage. The boy asked about it and the woman revealed that it held the soul of his mother. If the bird were to die, so would his mother. 
• The next morning he grabbed the melon and the cage and headed home to a surprised demon mother. He gave her the melon, but kept the cage hidden. Soon, peasants from the city and surrounding villages began complaining to the king that a huge evil bird was coming every night from the palace and eating more and more villagers. The king was perplexed, but the boy said that he knew of the bird and would be happy to kill it so long as the queen were to stand by the king when he did it. The king agreed and summoned the queen who fainted when the boy revealed the bird. The boy then told the king that in order to show him who was eating the people, he would tear off the bird's limbs and the limbs of the man-eater would fall off as well. The boy then tore off one of the bird's legs and simultaneously one of the queen's legs fell off. Then, the boy squeezed the bird's throat and as the life left it's body, the queen died. 
• The boy then told his story to the king who was elated to find out his wives were alive. He had them brought to the palace at once and miraculously their sight was restored. The boy became the heir to the throne and the reunited family lived happily ever after. 
• The Origin of Opium (Ch. 6-8)
• There once was a Rishi who spent all day, from sun-up to sun-down performing religious rites/rituals and meditating before retiring to a hut that he made on the side of the Ganges. He was isolated except for a mouse who lived in the hut and ate his dinner crumbs. The 2 got along so one day the Rishi gave the mouse the power of speech. The mouse then asked him to turn him into a cat so he may escape the cat that hunts for him every day. Then, he wants to be a dog because dogs chase him, so the Rishi obliges. Then, he wishes to be turned into an ape because he envies the lives of larger animals. When summer came, the ape asked to be turned into a boar because they seemed happy splashing around in the river all day. The Rishi was so kind and turned him into a boar, but only 3 days later did the boar return, fearing his life after almost being killed by the king who was hunting boar. He wished to be an elephant and his wish was granted. Soon the elephant was captured, taken to the royal stables, and tamed. The king rode the elephant to the Ganges to bathe. The king and queen looked so happy together and the elephant saw how much the king loved the queen and tried to pamper her in every way he could. The elephant then went to the Rishi and asked to be turned into a queen. The Rishi asked how he could possibly do that, instead he turned the elephant into a beautiful maiden who he named Postomani (the poppy-seed lady). They lived together and one day while the Rishi was gone, a stranger came knocking on the door. He asked for something to drink and she obliged before setting out a cot for him. The man turned out to be a king and he asked her which caste she was from. She was unsure, and tried to offer him fruit, but he was relentless. She made up that her father was a king who'd been eaten by a tiger and her mother died just after giving birth to her. The king made love to her and they got married. She was so happy that she danced around, skipping and twirling, but she wasn't paying attention and she fell into a well and died. The Rishi told the king not to grieve because the woman was no princess, she was a mouse who had been changed many times until she became your queen. He was sad however, and decided to use her body to create poppies who would then be used to make opium that could be smoked or eaten to give the person one quality of each of the animals that Postomani had been. 

Part B: Chapters 9- 17

• The Ghost-Brahman
• There was once a poor Brahman who wanted to get married but couldn't afford the bride price so he begged for money until he could and got himself a wife. However, when the Brahman and his wife went home to where the Brahman's mother waited, the man admitted he couldn't support them all so he left. Not long after, a ghost took the form of the Brahman and went into the house and live in the house as if he was the owner. Everyone thought he was the Brahman and when the real one came home, he was said to be a fake and forced from his home. The Brahman went to the king with his plight and the king said he would try the case, but he could not tell them apart. Day in and day out the Brahman would leave crying until a cowboy king saw him and summoned him to see what was wrong. The Brahman explained and the cowboy king said he could solve the scuffle. The case came to the king who said that the real Brahman was the one who could fit into a small container. The ghost fell for it and entered the container which was then thrown into the sea and the Brahman received his home, wife, and mom back. 
• The Ghostly Wife
• There was a Brahman, his wife, and his mom all in a house. One day the wife went for a walk and bumped into a ghost who got pissed and grabbed her by the throat, carried her up into a tree, and shoved her into a hole. The ghost then took the shape of the wife and entered the house. The mother began noticing lots of differences between the wife she saw and the wife she knew. Then, one day she saw the ghost stretch it's arm quite far, something the real wife obviously couldn't do. The mom told the Brahman and they both began watching the ghost much more closely. One day the mom observed the ghost heating a stove using her foot instead of fuel. An exorcist was sent for and he got her to admit she was a ghost before she was sent away and the real wife was rescued almost dead from the hole in the tree. 
• The Story of a Brahmadaitya (Ch. 11-12)
• This story was incredibly boring and as such does not deserve to be written about and will not be used in further writing. 
• The Origins of Rubies (Ch. 13-14)
• An old king died leaving behind his 4 sons and queen. The queen loved her sons.... too long didn't finish reading. Got bored. 
• The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged
• Barer and his wife live together unhappily because all she does is complain about being hungry. She shamed her husband for not being able to provide for her began to hate himself and her so he left, vowing to not return until he was rich. He went village to village before stopping to rest for the night under a tree. Under this tree there was a ghost who threatened to destroy the barber. The barber remains brave and says he has captured many ghosts and will do the same to this one. The barber pulled out a bag and the ghost became terrified, begging the man to not bag him up. The barber agreed to leave him be if the ghost were to bring him 1,000 gold mohurs and raise him a granary with a house where he can grow rice to support his family. The ghost agreed and was doing the man's bidding until his uncle told him not to fear the man. Surely the barber couldn't catch the ghost! The uncle ghost and the nephew ghost then went to the barber who put a looking class in the bag and fooled the ghost into thinking he had/could capture(d) him. 
• The Bald Wife 
• A man had 2 wives, the younger of which was his favorite b/c she had 2 tufts of hair on her head whereas the older had only 1. The wives lived together but hated each other because the younger treated the older like crap, making her do all the housework and not giving her much to eat. One day, the older was removing lice from the younger one's hair when one single hair fell out. This set off the younger one who tore out the single tuft of the older one's hair in rage. The now bald wife banished herself to the forest where she met a woman who was just as miserable as she was. The woman instructed the wife to go to a nearby tank and plunge into the water once before returning to her. The woman did and when she got out of the water she had long jet black hair that came down to her ankles. She was filled with joy and gratitude. The woman instructed her to then go into her hut and retrieve a woven basket inside which was filled with gold, pearls, and all other jewels. She told her to take the basket home. Then, a bull gave her shells and if she shakes them anything will be hers.  The younger wife got jealous of the older wife's beauty. The young woman did everything the older one did, but instead of dunking once, she dunked twice and since she was disobedient, she came out bald and ugly. She went back and was reduced to the older queen's maid-servant for the king now loved her more and the two lived happily together.