Tale Bearer : Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar
Translation : Jyotirmoy (Indiamike.com)
Ek je Chilo Raja, Tar chilo saat Rani
There was once a king. He had seven queens -
Boro Rani (eldest queen), Mejo Rani (second queen), Sejo Rani (third queen), Na Rani (fourth queen), Koney Rani (extra queen), Duo Rani (disliked rani) and Choto Rani (smallest queen)
The king ruled over a big kingdom and lived in a huge palace. His stables had elephants and horses, cellars were full of gems and the chests were full of gold. Apart from these he had his ministers and wise counsels, a large army. The palace had servants and helps, the king had all that one could wish for. But the king had no peace. In spite of having seven queens he had no children. The countrymen also shared this grief with the king.
Ta hole shono... so you listen Once on an auspicious day on the way to the river the queens met a sadhu who handed over a root of a certain plant and advised the queens to grind this root and share the pulp equally and by doing this they would soon conceive and give birth to fair sons.
The excited Ranis quickly took their bath in the river and hurried back to the palace. They dried themselves and put on fresh sarees and went to the kitchen. That day it was Boro Rani’s turn to cook rice and Duo Rani’s turn to prepare the masalas. So Boro Rani gave the root to Duo Rani and told her to grind it before grinding masalas. Duo Rani ground the root and consumed a little on the sly and put the rest in a bowl made of gold covered by a dish of silver brought it to Boro Rani. Boro Rani ate some and passed it on to Mejo who came after preparing the vegatables took her share and gave it to Sejo who had to make curries. Koney Rani who was the acting kitchen assistant then scooped up whatever she could.
By this time the bowl came to Na Rani who had just returned from her kitchen duties of fetching water from the well and there was hardly anything was left, Na consumed the dredges. When Choto Rani who had to scale and cut the fish for frying came at last and there was nothing left. With shock and grief Choto Rani collapsed. Now all the other Ranis started blaming each other. Finally Na Rani who was more intelligent and sympathetic than the other queens convinced Choto Rani to wash the grinding stone and drink the water which would have traces of the root and told her if God was willing she would still give birth to a beautiful child.
After ten months and ten days all the Ranis gave birth to beautiful sons except Na Rani who gave birth to an owl and Choto Rani to a monkey. Sounds of celebration rang out from the mahals (palaces) of the five Ranis and gloom descended on the mahals (palaces) of Na and Choto Rani. The king came and greeted his five wives but didn’t bother to visit the other two wives.
The five princes were named: Hirarajputra (Hira=diamond), Manikrajputra (Manik=gem), Shonkhorajputra (Shonkho=conch shell), Kanchanrajputra (Kanchan=gold). The owl was named Bhutum (ghostly) and the monkey was named Buddhu (stupid) Soon Na Rani and Choto Rani were banished from the palace. Na Rani tended the birds at the royal zoo and Choto Rani roamed the forests in search of firewood. They lived a miserable life in a crumbling hut on the outskirts of the kingdom with Buddhu and Bhutum.
The five princes grew up pampered by the king and the queens. Soon countrymen became weary of them as they had turned hooligans. They rode their flying horses, not content with beating up people sometimes the killed people too. Everyone was disgusted with them.
Na and Choto Rani continued to live in the hut. Buddhu helped by going in the forests and bring fruits and roots. Bhutum helped his mother feeding the young birds in the zoo. Buddhu would feed them by bringing the choicest fruits from the forests while Bhutum would carry the choicest betel nuts in his beak to them. One day the princes while riding their flying horses saw a monkey and an owl sitting on a tree. They commanded the troops accompanying them to catch the monkey and the owl. A net was cast and they were caught. The princes decided to have them as pets and brought the captive Buddhu and Bhutum to the palace. Amazed at the splendor of the palace Buddhu asked Bhutum that if people could live in this way, why we and our poor mothers live in such a miserable way. The princes were dumb stuck hearing them speaking in human language. They were not aware of what happened when they were born. Now an aide told them everything and about the queens banishment. The princes threw Buddhu and Bhutum out of their quarters. Now Buddhu and Bhutum learnt of their royal origin and decided to seek out their father the king. On a lazy afternoon the five Ranis were reclining on beds of gold with their legs propped up on leg rests of silver and spent their time chatting.
A maid came in and informed that a wonderful boat has been seen in the river whose oars are made of silver and the rudder made of diamond. A beautiful young woman sits on the deck whose skin glows like a kunch (a seed having shiny glow) and whose hair is as black as the monsoon clouds. Hearing this, the Ranis rushed to the riverbank and found the boat sailing away. They shouted:
“Kunch boron kanya megh boron chul Niye jao kanya panch motir phul" “You whose skin glows like a kunch, and hair like the monsoon cloud
Come ashore we have a blossom of five pearls for you”
To this the woman in the boat said: “Blossom of five pearls, life isn’t so easy,
Send them to Kalabatipur beyond the land of three witches On the banks of the orange river”
Saying this she started to sail away
Taarpore kee holo? Then what happened...?
As the boat sailed away the queens said:
“Kone desher rajkanya kone deshe ghor? Soner chand cheley amar to mar bor” From which kingdom hail you princess where is your land? Cute and lovely sons we have like goddess’s boon Hearing this the princess from unknown land shouted: “Kalavati rajkanya megh boron kesh Ante pare motir phool dhol dagar Sei putrer bandi hoye asbo tomer ghar” “I am the princess of Kalabati with hair the color of monsoon clouds.
If one of them can bring flower of pearl and the hallowed drum
As his wife I would come to your home” Her spectacular boat disappeared over the horizon. The queens sent messages to their sons and they hastily returned home on their “pakkhi raj ghora” winged royal horses. The king heard about this and ordered readying of palace ‘mayurpankhis’ , royal boats resembling peacocks. While the king held his court, Buddhu and Bhutum sought entry. The door man asked them who they were. Buddhu said “I am the monkey prince” Bhutum said “ I am the owl prince” Hearing the word prince the doorman stepped aside and with one leap Buddhu landed on the lap of the king and Bhutum flew and landed on his shoulder.The king was startled so were the dignitaries at the court. Budhu cried out “Father”, so did Bhutum. Tears began to roll down from the king’s eyes. Hugging Buddhu and Bhutum the king adjourned the court.
By now huge preparation was taking place at the port. Flying the five colors of the five princes five ‘mayurpankhis’ were docked at the royal pier. Among huge fanfare the queens saw their sons off to land of Kalabati. While the boats sailed away the King came to the riverside accompanied by Buddhu and Bhutum. They asked their father what was this all about. Having learnt about their brother’s voyage to Kalabati in search of the princess they requested their father the king to provide them boats too. At this the queens broke in to hysterical laughter and shouted: “Kelo kelo bandir chana naki lo Oh maa oh maa chi chi” “Who who are they? Looks like the sons of some disgraced maids Oh my, oh my shame shame” At this point Buddhu said: “Come on brother Bhutum and let us go and meet the carpenter and see if he can make a boat for us”. The carpenter refused to make a boat for them.
The brothers decided to walk along the river bank towards Kalabati.
While walking along the river Bhutum and Buddhu saw two lotus leaf 'dongas' if you have seen the evening aarti at Haridwar you would recollect the boat like thing made of leaf on which lamp and flowers are placed and consigned to the river after prayers. Buddhu said “Brother let these be our boats “ Let’s get on these said Bhutum. So they jumped on to the 'dongas' and moved on. The ‘mayurpankhi’ boats of the other princes approached the land of the three old women. Sighting the boats the three old women dispatched their sentries who raided the boats and captured the princes, the crew and stuffed them in gunnysacks. They delivered the princes to thir masters, the three old women. The three women devoured the captives in whole and went to sleep.The devoured princes began to converse in the stomachs of the three old women. “Brothers we for eternity will be in the stomach of these vile women, we won’t get to see our mothers and father” lamented one. Then there was silence which was broken “Brother can you hear me?
The princes shouted “Who are you? We are in the belly of these women”
“Grab my tail, that I am lowering through the witch’s nostril." Buddhu had lowered his tail. One by one all the princes climbed out of the bellies of the three old women through the nostrils. After the princes and the crew members were rescued there was a stampede and everybody scampered on to the boats and set sail. Nobody cared for Buddhu and Bhutum.
After sailing overnight the ‘mayurpankhi’ boats reached the huge orange river. It was a huge expanse of water with no shore in sight.
The boatmen lost direction, the five ‘mayurpankhis’ went spinning and finally landed up in the sea. The great waves of the sea hit the boats and was about to sink. The princes cried out and wished Buddhu and Bhutum were there to rescue them again.
As luck would be the princes spotted the 'donga' of Buddhu and Bhutum trailing them. They shouted for help. Bhutum told them to set sail towards north which they did. The boats reached an island where mangoes and jackfruits grew in abundance. The princes ate the fruits and rested. Then they said “Why should we carry this monkey and the owl anymore? Let’s throw them in the river” The crew dumped Buddhu and Bhutum in the river and sailed away.
After having disposed off Buddhu and Bhutum, the ‘mayurpankhis’ carrying the princes sailed away. With a favorable wind and calm water they covered a long distance. Suddenly one mast head raised an alarm spotting a huge whirlpool ahead. The wind grew stronger and the boats lurched forward. Before the sails could be unfurled the ‘mayurpankhis’ got sucked in to the whirlpool and sank. The whirlpool slowly died down Buddhu and Bhutum had found a petal of banana flower and using it as a boat had resumed their journey. As they approached the spot where the tragedy had taken place -Buddhu said “Dada” (Big Brother) “ What is it Bhai” said Bhutum
“I have a feeling that something happened here Dada, let’s dive and try to find out”
“If it has to do with our brother princes I wouldn’t care less and I am not inclined to dive” said Bhutum
“Please don’t talk like that Dada. Here I am tying a cord around my waist and going down to investigate. When I give two pulls you pull me out of the depth” saying this Buddhu jumped in to the river. Buddhu went down and down till he reached a subterranean settlement, a wonderful settlement with glittering streets, and magnificent palaces. But there were no living beings except a hundred plus year old lady who sat at the town square mending a worn blanket. Having spotted Buddhu the old lady threw the blanket on Buddhu. From nowhere hundreds of soldiers materialized and took Buddhu prisoner. As Buddhu was dumped in to a cold and dark dungeon Buddhu could hear his human siblings crying in despair. Next day Buddhu feigned death and lay on the floor with his eyes shut. A maid who brought food for the prisoners saw a dead monkey and threw the carcass outside the prison. Then as Buddhu opened his eyes he saw above him on a balcony sat the princess with the skin as glowing as the kunch and hair as dark as the monsoon clouds conversing with a parrot made of gold.
Buddhu then climbed the trees and walked on the branches and went on the terrace and stood behind the princess with the skin as glowing as the kunch and hair as dark as the monsoon clouds. At this moment the princess was lamenting to her parrot...
"My golden bird oh my dear parrot Time is lost, lost are the silver oars And the hull made of diamond No boat has yet reached our shore No one stepped on our pier"
There was a flower made of mother of pearl stuck to the princess's hair. Buddhu quietly removed that. Then the parrot blurted out-"Oh my dear the princess with the skin as glowing as the kunch and hair as dark as the monsoon clouds.”
What happened my dear, to the flower of mother of pearl?
The princess felt her hair and couldn't find the flower.
The parrot said -"Kalabati princess don't you worry any more, lift your head and behold your husband"
The startled princess lifted her head and found a monkey behind her.
She bowed her head in shame, yanked off her bracelets and threw them and crashed on the floor....
But then what could the princes do? Some time back she had herself had announced "Blossom of five pearls, life isn't so easy, Send them to Kalabatipur, beyond the land of three witches, On the banks of the orange river."
And had followed it up "I am the princess of Kalabati with hair the color of monsoon clouds If one of them can bring flower of pearl and the hallowed drum As his wife I would come to your home" So finally the princess exchanged garlands with Buddhu and became his wife. Buddhu asked “Who are you now the fair maid skin glows like a kunch and hair like the monsoon cloud” To which the princess answered “I was the apple of my parent’s eyes but now I am wedded to you”
Hearing this Buddhu told her to arrange for the release of his brothers immediately from captivity and accompany him to his land. But the princess said that she will be travelling hidden in a container. A metal container was brought in and the princess went in to it and the lid was tightened.
The golden parrot beat the magic drum and from nowhere a busy market place appeared. There were traders trading various things and a huge crowd of buyers thronged the market. In the melee the container containing the princess got mixed up with the containers of the traders. Sensing trouble Buddhu stuck the other side of the drum and in the blink of an eye the market disappeared with the traders and buyers and their goods. Only the container with the princess in it remained. Kneeling near the container Buddhu said
“Oh my lovely wife, is it sleep that makes you speak not Look I have the drum, the flower of pearl and the lot” The princess said that it was not sleep but hunger. Buddhu lifted the container, the drum and went to the forest in search of food. The forest was full of trees laden with delicious fruits. Both Buddhu and his wife ate to their heart’s content. Nothing untoward happened in the forest except a chance encounter with an over jealous python but no match for Buddhu’s intelligence.
The princess now said that it is time to go home. Buddhu said that they would go home only after rescuing his cousins. On the order of the princess all the princes were released. Then Buddhu tugged at the thread and Bhutum pulled the string and Buddhu, his wife in the container and all the cousins along with their ‘mayurpankhi’ boats and the crew came out of the water.
Soon they set sail and started for home. One sailor found Buddhu opening the container and talking to someone. This sailor informed one of the princes. That night when everybody was sleeping the princes took away the container and threw Buddhu along with his magical drum in to the river. Bhutum had been resting on the mast. One of the princes shot Bhutum with an arrow and Bhutum fell in the water too. Having disposed Buddhu and Bhutum the princes opened the container. They asked the princess to whom did she belong to. The princess said that she belongs to the one with the magical drum. Hearing this, the princes locked her up in a cabin.
The voyage came to an end, and the princes were received in the palace. The Ranis asked her to which of them would she give her hand, on this the princess said she would speak on the subject only after one month, till then she would keep a vow of silence. Her word was accepted and the princes were forced to curb their impatience.
In the midst of all this, the mothers of Buddhu and Bhutum disconsolate and apprehensive for their sons lives decided to drown themselves in the river and end their lives. They went to the neighboring river bank when lo the objects of their affection, their sons burst into view with the sacred name of “Mother” on their lips. Nothing could surpass the happiness of the two mothers. The happy night following this lucky day came to an end and people who woke in the morning were surprised to find a crowded bazaar near the two Ranis hut. A beautiful orchard had sprung up into existence and thousands of soldiers stood guard. Princess Kalabuti on being informed of this went to the Raja and said “The period of my vow is over, but I will not marry any of the five princes you may kill me if you like” The Raja on hearing this said “I am not so great an idiot as to not understand the meaning of this, Is there nobody who will go fetch Nau and Chhoto Rani to the palace?” this speech of the Raja added fuel to the fire of excitement that Kalabuti was feeling and she hurried off to the hut of the two Ranis and escorted them to the palace. The other Ranis and sons in shame sought their own chambers. Budhu and Bhutum came to the durbar and saluted their father. Their stars were at last ascendant, and the very next day Budhu was married to Kalabuti and Bhutum to a foreign princess by the name of Hirabuti. The other five princes met a sad fate, the doors of the rooms in which they had locked themselves were sealed shut with mud and thorns and they were left to die of hunger.
Time passed smoothly when one day the entire palace was roused to the cries of the princesses Kalabuti and Hirabuti who on waking from their sleep had seen on their beds the skins of a monkey and an owl respectively. The whole house resounded with wailings at the probable deaths of Budhu and Bhutum, but soon the princesses recognized two princes of godlike appearance standing guard on the palace gates as their husbands. They understood the mystery and burned the owls and monkey skins so that their husbands would no longer have to assume the disguise. Budhu and Bhutum were officially crowned as 'Jubaraj' (Crown Princes) and their names were changed to Rupkumar (Handsome) and Budhkumar (Intelligent) . The Raja spent time with much happiness with his his two Ranis, sons and daughters-in-law till in his old years he decided to retire to the forest to seek spiritual and eternal welfare and left his kingdom to his sons. Bangla Natok - Thakurmar Jhuli (Buddhu-Bhootum) - Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar - eSnips
