One Hundred & One Folktales From India

de Souza Eunice

Description

In every corner of India, there is a wealth of folktales-funny, fabulous and fantastical. In this collection, Eunice de Souza brings together one hundred and one wonderful stories, both familiar and unknown. Their subjects are diverse - how the world was made, how kings should rule, the tales of wise and foolish men and women, and animal fables. Some stories are about well-known heroes Akbar and Birbal, Vikram and Betal, Tenali Raman while some introduce new ones, like Gulalla Shah, the brave man from the hills, and Parmanand, the reluctant guru from Andhra Pradesh. There are also sundry appearances by the devil, beautiful temptresses and supernatural creatures. This is a true collector s item, encompassing the entire range and diversity of the oral tradition in different parts of the country, and with bold an vivid illustrations by Sujata Singh.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Folclore
• India
• Folklore

Informations

• Publié par: Penguin Books Ltd
• Date de parution: 22 décembre 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788184753271
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

EUNICE DE SOUZA

101 Folktales from India
Illustrations by Sujata Singh
Contents
Part I: How the World Came to Be
The Sun, the Moon and the Wind
The Ice Queen
The Time the Sun Refused to Shine
How Diseases and Disasters Came to Be
How Men Have Changed
How Tickling Began
How Man Began to See
How Man Found Iron
How the Cobra Became Poisonous
How Animal Sacrifice Began
How Kerala Came to be
Part II: Of Good and Bad Kings
A Clever Merchant
King Dabschelim
Sital the Carpenter
Teaching the King a Lesson
The King and the Gardener
The King and His Minister
The King and the Tamarind Tree
The Man Who had No Luck
The King s Wife and the Peasant s Wife
Tilamanjani
Words of Wisdom
Gopal and the Nawab
Prince Risal
The Princes Who Turned into Stone
Kunji Pal the Warrior
Raja Jaisingh
Tansen
The Kingdom of Ignorance
King Ranthi Deva
King Kumanan
The Delicate One
Whose Bride Should She Be?
The King s Son-in-Law
The Prince with Five Weapons
Part III: Of Holy and Unholy Men
Miraculous Powers
Poor Parmanand
Rich Man, Poor Man
The False Fakir
The Guru and the Idiot
Dying for Treasure
The Vain Mendicant
Part IV: Of Men and Women
A Konkan Devil
The Sage s Daughter
Gulalla Shah
Goddess Lakshmi Comes to a Poor Man s Home
The Black Beard and the Grey Beard
Gundoba Bhat
The Three Promises
The Barber s Clever Wife
Two Wives
The Valley of Death
The Magic Amulet
The Grumpy Man
The Stolen Hen
Part V: Of Birds and Beasts
Jayamala
Judge Cat
King Lion and the Camel
The Trapped Pigeons
The Chalk Peacock
The Tiger, the Brahmin and the Jackal
Rokepoo s Luck
The Blackbird
The Crane and the Crab
The Deer, the Crow and the Jackal
The Elephant and the Ants
The Geese and the Turtle
Hurricane
The Lion and the Hare
The Marriage Broker and the Leopard
The Monkey and the Crocodile
The Princess and the Blue Jay
Part VI: Of Clever and Foolish Men
A Blind Boy Asks for a Favour
A Shepherd Goes to Kashi
A Very Foolish Man
A Very Short Very Tall Story
An Extremely Miserly Miser
Bamboo Curry
Choosing a Patron Saint
Fortune from a Dead Rat
It Doesn t Always Pay to Help
The Brahmin and the Cobbler
Tenali Rama
Tentanihani and Tentanihani
The Boy Who Wanted a Drum
The Bag of Gold
The Curse
The Farmer and the Moneylender
The Leopard s Tail
The Master Thug
The Mirror and the Young Wife
The Ungrateful Man
The Zamindar and the Moneylender
How the Wicked Sons were Duped
The Stingy Tailor and His Wife
Yet Another Rascally Sethji
Mariada Rama and the Crafty Uncle
Mullah Nasruddin and the Warrior
A Miser is Converted
The Pathan Who Wanted His Donkey to Become a Man
The Barber and the Ghosts
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Copyright
Part I

How the World Came to Be
The Sun, the Moon and the Wind

O ne day, Thunder and Lightning invited the Sun, the Moon and the Wind for dinner at a wonderful corner of the universe. They had a splendid time. The food was sumptuous, the atmosphere unusual, and the company pleasant.
The Moon was the only one to wish that their mother, a great but distant star, had been able to come along. As each dish was served, she took a little portion and hid it away for her mother. The Sun and the Wind had no such thought. They ate, laughed and joked until it was time to return.

When their mother saw them, she said, Well children, did you have a good time? And did you bring something for me?
The Sun said rudely, Why in the name of heaven should we have brought anything back for you? We went out to have a good time.
The Wind said, Now, mother, you are being ridiculous. How could we carry stuff away from such a dinner? It s not as if you were starving.
But the Moon quietly gave her mother all that she had brought away with her.
The mother looked at them all slowly. She turned to the Sun and said, Since you were so selfish and rude, whenever you show your face, you will be unwelcome. You will turn the land to desert. People will curse you for being too hot, too bright and too scorching.
To the Wind she said, You will never be welcome. You will be too cold or too muggy. You will make people shiver and plants die. Birds and animals will hide from you.
To the Moon she said, Daughter, you are the only one who thought of me. You will always be as you are now, pure and serene. Your light will be tender. People will welcome you whenever they see you.
And so it is to this day.
The Ice Queen

A Himalayan folktale
O nce upon a time, and a very long time ago it was, the Ice Queen lived in the Himalayas. She was very beautiful, but she looked cold and hard. She was not one of the higher mountains, but her slopes could be treacherous. If someone set foot on the mountain, there was no telling whether they would ever come back alive. There could be a blizzard that buried them, or an avalanche that would throw them down into deep chasms. Even the Ice Queens breath could freeze a man to death. So she lived alone, full of scorn for those who tried to get near her.
But the Ice Queen nursed a secret anger. Beautiful though she was, the Ice King never looked at her. He soared into the heavens, and indeed, seemed to have little to do with the earth. His face was often hidden by clouds and mist. He was alone in his majesty. No other mountain could come anywhere near him. He didn t even bother to look at them, but kept his gaze on the stars. Why should he, the great Ice King, bestow a glance on those puny anthills surrounding him?
The other mountains were not happy with the way the Ice King treated them. It was as if they didn t exist. They grumbled and rumbled and threw rocks around in fits of anger.
The Ice Queen was amused when she saw them having tantrums. Why are you so angry? she would ask. The Ice King is no different from us. He may be a lot taller, but he is just snow and rocks and chasms, just as we are. It s only that he has a little more of them. Why do you give him such importance?
But the mountains continued to grumble and rumble and throw rocks.
Listen, said the Ice Queen, I will show you what I mean. I will make the Ice King bend down.
This time the mountains laughed so hard, the rocks rolled off on their own.
One evening, there was an extraordinarily beautiful sunset, the kind you get in early October. The rays of the sun fell on the Ice Queen, and she looked warm and glowing, not cold and hard as she usually did. The Ice King, who always stared up icily at the stars, was moved by the beautiful sunset. He looked around him. He looked below him, and he saw the Ice Queen glow.
So radiant was the Ice Queen s beauty that the Ice King felt a pain in his heart. Oh, Queen, he said, I have never seen anyone so beautiful. Come to me and kiss me or I shall die.
How can I? said the Ice Queen. It s such a long, long way, and I do not have the strength to climb to the stars.
Moment by moment, the pain of longing grew in the Ice King s heart till he could bear it no longer. Then I shall have to come to you, he said.
The Ice Queen smiled. The Ice King stooped, and was lost to the heavens forever. His head rests on the Ice Queen s heart, but his remains are scattered all over the valleys. The stars mourn for him, and, on a clear night you can see they hold his crown for him as a remembrance.
The Time the Sun Refused to Shine

A folktale from Nagaland
W hen the earth was very young, all the birds and animals began to complain that they found the sun too bright and hot. Some of them even wished that the sun would not rise every day, so that they could have some respite. The sun heard everything that was said, as he crossed from one part of the world to the other, and he was very angry. So one morning he refused to rise.
At first, the animals and birds were very happy. It was cool. They could sleep for as long as they wanted. But soon, some of the birds and animals that could not see well in the dark (and there were many) began to get very hungry. They began to complain again, but this time because the sun was not there. They blamed each other, and said what a stupid idea it had been to ask the sun not to rise.
Finally, they got together and decided to send a delegation to plead with the sun. So a small group of birds and animals went to the sun and begged him to come back.
But the sun was still too angry to agree. Too bad, he said. You should have thought clearly about what you wanted. I help the plants to grow, and the flowers to bloom. All the animals and birds, and even man need me to stay alive, but you were too stupid to know that.

The group went back sadly. But every day life got more difficult, and soon everyone was in a state of depression and despair. Who could they send next? Who could win over the sun? Finally, someone suggested the cock. He looked good, spoke clearly and politely, and most importantly he had never complained about the sun as the others had.
The cock was flabbergasted. But all of you have failed, he said. The most mighty beasts and beautiful birds have spoken to him. How do you expect me to succeed?
But they continued to beg him. You must save the earth, they pleaded. So very reluctantly, the cock went off to meet the sun.
My lord the sun, chief of creation, he said, I beg you to come back and heal the earth. You are hot and bright, and we need this heat and this light. Nothing grows without you. We cannot see the beauty of the earth without you. All is darkness and despair. I speak for all the smaller animals and birds. We have nothing to eat, for the plants do not grow any more. We are being killed by the ones who hunt in the night, for we cannot hide all the time nor see in the dark. We did not want you to go away, but no one listened to us, only to the roaring of the big animals.
The sun was touched. If only there were more creatures like you, he said, I would think of returning