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Puri Ek Andheri Ne Gandu Raja – Indian Tale

Nationality: Indian
Age: 68
Occupation: Electrical Engineer
Residence: Carlisle, MA
Performance Date: 3/19/2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Gujarati, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, French

Folklore Type: Tale

 

Informant Bio: Informant is my father.  He was born in Mumbai, India and moved to the U.S. when he was 22.  He still remembers many of the poems and songs from his childhood.  He is fluent in over five languages and provides the original folklore and translations below.

 

Context: I was interviewing the informant about childhood traditions, rituals, songs sung and tales performed.

 

Item: “પૂરી એક એન્ધેરી ને ગન્ડુ રાજા  “Poorii Ek Andherii Neh Gandoo Rajah

ટકે શેર ભાજી ટકે શેર ખાજા                   Taakeh sher bhaaji taakeh sher khajha

બધી ચીજ વેંચાય જ્યાં ભાવ એકે         badhi chija venchay jyan bhav aekae

કદી સારી બુરી ન વેચે વિવેકે                 kadi saari boori na veche viveke

ત્યાં જઈ ચડયા બે ગુરૂ એક ચેલો           Tyannh Jaai chaadya Bae Gooroo aek Cheloh

ગયો ગામમાં માગવા શિષ્ય પહેલો       Gaayo gaam-manh mahgwah sheeshya pahelo

લીધી સુખડી હાટથી આપી આટો           lidhi sukhadi haat thi aapi aato

ગુરૂ પાસે જઈને કહે ખૂબ ખાટ્યો                        guru pase jaine kahe khub khatyo

ગુરૂજી કહે રાત રહેવું ન અહીં                  guruji kahe raat rahevun na aahin

સહૂ એક ભાવે ખપે ચીજ ત્યાહીં              sahu ek bhave khape chij tyanhi

હશે ચોર ને શાહનો ન્યાય એકે               hashe chor ne shahno nyaya ekay

નહીં હોય શિક્ષા ગુનાની વિવેકે              nahi hoy shiksha gunani vivekay

ન એ વસ્તીમાં એક વાસો વસીજે           na e vastiman ek vaso vasije

ચલો સદ્ય ચેલા જવું ગામ બીજે                         chalo sadhya chela javun gaam bijay

કહે શિષ્ય ખાવા પીવા ખૂબ આહીં          kahe shishya khava piva khub aahin

તજી તેહ હું તો ન આવીશ ક્યાંહી            taji teha hun to na aavish kyanhin

ગુરૂએ બહૂ બોધ દીધો જ ખાસો            guru  ae bahu bothe didho ja khaso

નહીં યોગ્ય આહીં રહ્યે રાતવાસો                        nahin yogya aahin rahyo raatvaso

ન માની કશી વાત તે શિષ્ય જ્યારે        na maani kashi vaat te shisya jyare

ગુરૂજી તજીને ગયા ગામ ત્યારે               guruji tajine gaya gaam tyare

રહ્યા શિષ્યજી તો ત્યહાં દિન ઝાઝા         rahya shishyaji to tyan deen zaza

બહૂ ખાઈ પીને થયા ખૂબ તાજા                         bahu khai peene thaya khub taja

પછીથી થયા તેહના હાલ કેવા               pachhithi thaya haal tehna keva

કહૂં છું હવે હૂં સુણો સદ્ય તેવા                   kahun chhun haave hoon suno sadhya teva

તસ્કર ખાતર પાડવા ગયા વણિકને ઘેર Taskar khaatar paadva gya vanik-ne gher

ત્યાં ભીંત તૂંટી પડી ચોર દબાયા ચાર   tyan bhit tooti padi chor dabaya char

માત પ્રભાતે ચોરની ગઈ નૃપને ફરિયાદ           maat prabhate chorni gai nrupne fariyad

શૂળી ઠરાવી શેઠને ડોશીની સૂણી દાદ                shudi tharavi shethne doshini suni daad

વણિક કહે કડિયા તણો એમાં વાંક અપાર           vanik kahe kadia tano ema vank apar

ખરેખરી એમાં નથી મારો ખોડ લગાર                khare khari ema nathi maro khod lagaar

કળીઆને શૂળી ઠરી વણિક બચ્યો તે વાર          kadiane shudi chadi vanik bachyo te vaar

ચૂકે ગારો કરનારની કડીએ કરી ઉચ્ચાર                        chuke gaaro karnaarni kadi-e kari uchaar

ગારો કરનારો કહે પાણી થયું વિશેષ                  gaaro karnaro kahe pani thayun vishesh

પુરપતી કહે પખાલીને જો તું શૂળીએ જાય         Purpati kahe pakhalin-e jo tu shudi-e jaay

આજ પછી આ ગામમાં એવા ગૂના ન થાય        aaj pachi aa gam-ma e va guna na thaay

મુલ્લા નીસર્યાં મારગે મેં જોયું તે દિશ              mullah nisarya maarghe m-e joyun te deesh

પાણી અધીક તેથી પડ્યું, રાજા છાંડો રીસ          pani adhik tethi padyun raja chhando rees

મુલ્લાજીને મારવા કરી એવો નિરધાર               mullahji ne maarvaa kari e-voh nirdhaar

શૂળી પાસે લઈ ગયા મુલ્લાને તે વાર                shudi pas-e lai gayaa mullah ne te vaar

ફડ જાડું શૂળી તણૂ મુલ્લાં પાતળે અંગ              faad jadun shudi tanhoo mullah paatde ang

એવી હકીકત ચાકરે જઈ કહી ભૂપ પ્રસંગ           evi hakikaat chakray jai kahi bhup prasang

ભૂપ કહે શું હર ઘડી આવી પૂછો કોઈ                  bhup kahe shun hargadi aavi puchho koi

શોધી ચઢાવો શૂળીએ જાડા નરને જોઈ              shodhi chadavo shudi-e jaadaa narne joi

જોતાં જોતાં એ જડ્યો જોગી જાડે અંગ               jotan jotan e jadyo jogi jaade ang

બહુ દિન ખાઈને બન્યો રાતે માતે રંગ               bahu din khai ne banyo rat-e mat-e rang

શિષ્ય મુદત માગી ગયો ગુરૂ પાસે પસ્તાય shishya mudaat maagi gayo guru paas=e pastay

ગુરૂએ આવી ઉગારીઓ અદભૂત કરી ઉપાય      guru-e aavi ugario adbhut kari upaay

જોગી શૂળી પાસે જઈ કહે ભૂપ સુણ કાન jogi shudi pas-e jai kah-e bhup soon kaan

આ અવસર શૂળીએ ચડે, વેગે મળે વિમાન ah avasar shudi-e chad-e vegh-e mad-e vimaan

ચેલો બોલ્યો હું ચડું, ગુરૂ કહે હું આપ                   chelo bolyo hun chadu, guru kah-e hun aap

અધિપતિ કહે ચઢીએ અમો પૂરણ મળે પ્રતાપ adhipati kah-e chadhi-e amoh puran mad-e prataap

ગુરૂ ચેલાને ગામથી પહોંચ્યા ગાઉ પાંચ                  guru chelan-e gaamthi pahonchya gau paanch

રાજા શૂળી પર રહ્યો અંગે વેઠી આંચ”                 raja shudi par rahyo ang-e vethi aanya”

 

 

 

Translation: “There was a weird city with a crazy ruler

Where it cost penny a pound for veggies or delicacies

where all things sell at the same price

never differentiate between good and bad

there arrived two – a monk and his disciple

headed to town to beg, the disciple first

he traded flour that he got for sweets

returned and told the boss, look, I won big

guru said we should not stay here any longer

where everything is sold at the same price

they must have the same rules for both thief and victims

with no regards for fairness, robber and the victim must be treated alike

we shouldn’t stay in a lawless place like this

let’s go, dear disciple, to another town right now

disciple said what? leave a place full of so many goodies?

No, No, I will never go anywhere and leave this place

Guru did his best to persuade him to leave

and not spend another night here

when the disciple didn’t listen to anything he had to say

guruji left the place and moved on to next town

disciple said that for many many days

and kept eating the goodies and got fatter and fatter

what happened to him afterwards…

Listen and I will tell you what happened…

Robbers went to a rich man’s home to steal

there the wall caves in four thieves got buried

mother of the thieves went to King to complain

upon hearing the old lady’s complaint, king ordered the rich man to be hanged

rich man said it surely was mason’s biggest fault

truthfully, I am not to be blamed for this

mason was sentenced to be hanged and rich man survived this time

mason said it wasn’t me, but the guy that mixed the concrete – he put too much water

concrete mixer guy said it wasn’t my fault, the guy that adds water added too much

king tells the guy who adds water that if you are hanged then

this kingdom will not see such a crime ever

guy that added the water says, while I was working, a Muslim monk passed by and I looked in his direction

and that’s why more water fell in the mix, so king, please understand – it wasn’t my fault

OK OK the decision is made to kill the Muslim monk (said the king)

Muslim monk was brought on the hanging platform

noose on the hanger was too big to fit the thin monk

so reported the hang-man to the king

king said why do you keep bothering me with such silly matters

simply go find a fat guy and hang him

looking they found the fat disciple

all that eating had made him really pinkish and juicy

as a last wish the disciple went to the guru, repented and cried

guru returned with the disciple with an ingenious scheme in mind

guru approached the hanging platform and said listen to me, your highness

this very moment stars are lined up such that who ever hangs, is destined to go straight to heaven in an airplane

disciple say let me hang, guru said no, no, let me hang , me please…

king said I will be the one that will hang, so I can reach the paradise right away. I will not let this chance pass me bye.

guru and disciple went miles away from this place in a hurry…

… while the king lay dead on the hanger”

 

 

Analysis: This tale is a cautionary one against the government/authority figures seeking extreme equality of results.  Those who do are engaging in a futile act, and, worse, can end up doing more harm than good.  The king, who was a fool for presiding over such a system, ended up being tricked into death by a more rational man who did not like the equality-at-all-costs system.  The disciple, though he became sidetracked and lost his way, was eventually saved by the teacher when he realized he was lost and begged for forgiveness and acceptance by the teacher.  Many stories feature distractions and a character being sidetracked, and eventually being redeemed or choosing the right path, as seen in this story.

 

Dots to fend off negative thoughts

Nationality: Indian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 7, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

“If you’re doing something where you’re gonna be in front of people, or there’s gonna be a lot of people and someone could potentially wish bad upon you, you put a dot somewhere. Your mom or grandma will put a dot on you, and usually it’s hidden or on your forehead. And if someone does think something bad, that will keep the bad thoughts away. So like for weddings, the bride and the bridesmaids will have them, because there’s a lot of people, and they’re thinking about you, and maybe people are jealous.”

 

My informant is of Indian extraction. Although she was born and raised in California, she remembers her mother putting dots on her hairline for protection when she had to give presentations in front of the class. This is another iteration of the cross-cultural trope that seems to imply that celebration or putting oneself on display in a positive way could lead to disaster. The dots serve as protection against the negative thoughts of others, working much like charms or amulets work in other cultures.

The Legend of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe and his Indian tribe

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/25/13
Primary Language: English

The informant describes the legend of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe; a legend from his Jewish summer camp that he went to in the valley of Colorado.  The Jewish camp is for campers ranging from ages eight to sixteen.  This tradition has value for him because he has partaken in it for many years and holds it as a fond memory of camp.  The story is also meant to promote cooperation between campers and unity.

There is a big rock formation out of nowhere that appears to have been placed there near his camp.  The story goes that there was an Indian tribe that lived there and the chief had three sons.  Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe was the chief and he left the kingdom to his three sons who each was skilled in a different thing.  After the chief left the sons argued and battled for power over the kingdom.  In the end the three sons ended up cooperating.  It is believed that the spirit of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe will always bring the camp together. 

After the legend of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe is told the entire camp yells together: “Waaaaaaa-taaaaaa-hoteeeee-a-hoeeeee.”  Then a counselor goes way behind a cave and ten seconds later gives a response of: “Waaaa-taaa-hoteee-a-hoeee.”

The story of Chief Wa-ta-hote-a-hoe demonstrates the purposes of legends to sometimes promote positive ideas for a group of people.  It is evident that the summer camp uses the story of the chief to instill the idea of cooperation and unity into the campers.  It is interesting to note that the camp uses a physical piece of its landscape to develop stories around it.  It is interesting to note that the legend is effective with younger children.

“The Deity Ganesh”

Nationality: Indian, American, Iraqi
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Portland, OR
Performance Date: April 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Persian

            The informant first heard the myth of the deity Ganesh on an audio cassette tape when he was seven years old. His mother was born in India, and although he acknowledged that she would likely identify as Indian-American, she also maintains strong ties to her Indian roots, which is why he was exposed to Indian legends and myths as a child. He also explained that the stories, due to his age, had in large part a simply entertainment value to him, but he did state, “As I got older I realized that, underneath them, as with many different stories and folktales, there were moral teachings. . .and they showed how people think.”

            The stories appeared to him again in the form of comic books, which he said was a popular adaptation for many Indian tales; any bookstore in India sells a number of these comics. The informant also explained that, with many Indian stories, the class of the Indian child can dictate whether or not he has access to the story. Because of the strict structure of India’s caste system, the informant shared, most lower class children and their family did not have the time or leisure to prioritize and share folktales. Work and survival take precedence in value, and thus myths about deities that live in excess and wealth are not as appealing nor as relevant to those in the working classes.

 

            Like with the Greek gods, the Indians gods have this, like, realm that they live in. In this realm, there’s the most powerful god who is Shiva. Oh! And also kind of similar to the Greek gods, these gods resemble human beings. Shiva has a wife, whose name is Parvati, and in this story Parvati is taking a bath. Whenever she takes a bath she says that no one can enter the house, and she appoints one of her vassals in charge of the house to guard the entrance and make sure no one enter. This vassal is Nandi, who has the head of a cow and the body of a human. In the comic he’s, like, armed with a trident and wearing very traditional clothing.

            As he’s guarding and standing watch, Shiva (who’s the head of the household and in charge of all the guards) walks up and Nandi lets him go by because he’s kind of intimidated, I think, by Shiva’s power and his own role is obviously a lot lesser. Shiva walks in while Parvati is bathing and she’s embarrassed. Shiva, though, has kind of a sense of humor, he pokes fun at her and laughs at the situation. She then becomes angry that she doesn’t have any vassals that are loyal to her above her husband. So what she does is she takes the sandalwood paste that she’s been bathing in off of her and she puts it into this, this golden dish. And using that paste she molds a figure of a very handsome, very beautiful boy that she names her son, and she gives that statue life.

            And so the next time she bathes―and this is unknown to Shiva―she posts her son outside of the door of the house and Shiva tries again. He comes back home and tries to enter, and this time the son doesn’t let him enter. Shiva doesn’t know who this is, he’s, like, “Why are you stopping me from entering the house? You know who I am. . . obviously you need to let me go.” But, the son, who has a staff, hits him and throws him out on his ass, basically. So, Shiva becomes absolutely furious and he summons all of his army and all of his commanders and has them attack this one child. But, all of his armies could not defeat him, he took out general after general and all of the other soldiers until the armies were completely gone. So Shiva decides to fight with them, and he uses―in a lot of Indian comics you can tell who the person with the highest spiritual rank, I guess, is because they use this chakra. It’s like a spinning disc that you spin around your finger and you send it out and it goes to wherever you want it to go. Shiva uses his disc and it chops the head of the kid right off. . . so maybe these weren’t the best comics to read as a child, but, anyway, Parvati is enraged. She decides she is going to destroy the entire universe unless this slight is made right in her eyes.

            Basically one of the other high ranking gods, Brahma―who is in charge of creation―begs Shiva to bring the child to life. And by this time Shiva has calmed down; he’s taken out his anger (by killing someone). He grants Parvati’s two wishes―one, that the god be worshipped above all other gods, so basically to elevate her son, and that he obviously be brought back to life. So Shiva uses his chakra again and sends it down to Earth and chops of the head of an elephant. He takes the head of the elephant and places it on the headless body of the child, and so the child comes back to life. Shiva proclaims him, and that’s why Ganesh has the head of an elephant and the body of a child. Shiva then declares that Ganesh is his son, too, since he gave him life as well, and this elevates his position to the foremost and front of the gods.

 

            Recognizably a form of myth, the story of Ganesh incorporates divine figures in a sacred realm, which the informant helpfully analogized to the gods of Greek mythology. While the myth contains quite a lot of entertainment, including nudity and war-related violence, the teaching that lies “underneath,” as the informant said, seems to be the conflict of the power dynamic between a man and his wife. Much of the myth’s action is propelled by Parvati’s feeling of slight; her vassal serves her husband over her, Shiva mocks her embarrassment, and her rage is worrisome enough to the other gods to make them appeal to Shiva. The lesson taught at the end of the myth, then, is one of compromise and equality. Shiva recognizes the error of his ways and uses his power to make things right and satisfy his wife; the equality of genders plays an unusual role when compared to, say, Greek mythology, where Hera is often duped by Zeus only to exact petty revenge on his (many) lovers.

Instant Karma

Nationality: Indian
Age: 50
Occupation: N/A
Residence: New Jersey
Performance Date: March 18, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi, Gujurathi

Contextual Data: Over Spring Break, I was at dinner with my family, and my dad accidentally bit his cheek. He cried out and my mother, who was sitting next to him chirped out, “Instant Karma!” I had heard her do that once before, and so I asked her what she meant by it and where she had heard it. The following is an exact transcript of what she said.

“It’s the saying that if you bit your tongue or your cheek that means you were either having bad thoughts about somebody or thinking bad about somebody…or cursing somebody. That’s why in… uh, karma you got bitten — because of bad thoughts about bad [Laughs]… As soon as you get bitten, you — first thing comes out of your mouth is ‘Ouch!’ and then person across from you knows that ‘Oh, you did something wrong. That’s why.’ So they assume you were having bad thoughts about somebody that’s why you got…”

– End Transcript – 

Karma (the general idea of what goes around comes around) is a big part of Hindu culture and that can certainly be seen in this little saying. For the most part though, it doesn’t seem as though this saying is meant to be taken seriously — partially because it’s not a wholly accurate representation of Hindu ideas of Karma. Beyond this, most of the times that it happens, the person “accused” usually isn’t actually cursing someone else. When it happened in this particular situation, my dad just kind of laughed it off. It therefore seems as though this saying is meant to be passed on as more of a joke. It’s teasing and can make people very defensive, particularly messing with them if they were thinking bad thoughts about someone else. My informant enjoys sharing it just to poke fun.