Santal (South Asian people) -- Folklore; Santali literature -- Translations into English; Tales -- India
At cockcrow, Lelha, having eaten the last grain of his fourth parcel,
looked up and beheld an Indarpuri Sadom with an Indarpuri Kuri rider
descend into the garden from the North. She was the youngest of the
sisters. Lelha crept stealthily up, and laid hold of the horse's
mane. The Indarpuri Kuri then exclaimed, "Hands off! Lelha. Hands
off! Lelha." Then Lelha replied, "You Lelha greatly this morning. It
is almost dawn, where can you go to escape punishment?" Then the
Indarpuri Kuri said, "Oh! Lelha, We are four sisters, daughters of one
mother, I will give you a blessing." Lelha replied, "In this way three
persons have fled. You also appear the same." The Indarpuri Kuri said,
"We four sisters have one blessing. Place your hand upon my head, and
release me." Lelha did so, and the Indarpuri Sadom on being liberated
sailed off into the sky with his Indarpuri rider. Lelha tied the four
locks of hair of the Indarpuri Kuris each in a corner of his plaid,
as he had before done with the roasted grain. When the day fully
dawned he returned to his home weeping, for his four brothers seeing
the bushes laden with blossom were envious of him, and had hurled him
headlong to the ground from off the raised platform on which he sat.
On reaching home his mother said to him, "You see your brothers have
beaten you. I warned you against going." Lelha replied, "What help
is there for it? My brothers beat me. No one else did. I must bear
it." His mother said, "Then, why do you let others know?"
In the morning the raja said, "Last night Lelha was watching. I will
go and take a look at the garden." He went and found a perfect sea
of blossom, the sight of which almost overcame him.
It so happened that as the raja gazed upon the fairy scene around him,
Koema Jugi turned up, and addressing the raja said, "You are lost
in wonder, but if you hang hiras and manis on the branches the whole
country will be resplendent. Then your wonder and amazement will be
increased twentyfold."
III.
The raja's garden was without an equal in the world, but the words of
Koema Jugi had caused him to become discontented with it, and because
there were neither hiras nor manis hanging from the branches he, as
before, began to sulk. They reasoned with him saying, "Do not grieve
over it. We will bring hiras and manis." So he rose, and having bathed
partook of some refreshment.
About this time Lelha's mother went to a shop to purchase food. On
seeing her the shopkeeper said, "Something is amiss with the raja,
and she is hungry, and comes here giving annoyance. Go away. I will
not weigh anything for you." So she returned home empty-handed. As she
entered the house she encountered Lelha just returned from hunting,
who said, "Oh! mother, give me cooked rice." His mother replied,
"Something is wrong with the raja, and here my young lord is fasting,
and cries for food. He is greatly concerned about his own affairs."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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