The story of Cinderella is found across many continents albeit with some local variations. This version of Cinderella and sardine man was first collected from Goa, and is based on the Portuguese tale of Pedrosa. The tale was collected from pre-independent Goa by anthropologists Sara Davidson and Eleanor Phelps in 1937.

Pedrosa was a young and exceptionally beautiful girl. But her stepmother was jealous of her beauty and ill-treated her by keeping her hungry and making her do all the household chores. Her stepsisters too made her life miserable by constantly humiliating her. One day Pedrosa’s stepmother ordered her to get sea foam in a glass. As she went to the beach to collect the sea foam, she met a man with a basket full of sardines. Hungry Pedrosa requested the man to give her one sardine, thinking she would feast on roasted fish that night. The man gladly gave her a sardine. The girl was delighted. When she reached home she kept the sardine in a pot near the well and rushed inside the house to complete her household duties. But Pedrosa’s step mother kept her busy whole day. In the evening the girl came to the well and started looking for the sardine. Alas! The sardine had jumped into the well and escaped. She felt so miserable that she began to cry cursing her fate. Hearing her cries, a tall man emerged from the well and asked her why was she crying?. Pedrosa told him about the sardine she wanted to eat. Man consoled her and told her- ‘He’ was the sardine and promised her that if she needed any help she should call him out and he will be there to fulfil her command.

Days went by and the annual ball dance at the palace was announced. All the young girls from the village were excited to attend the ball dance at the royal palace. Pedrosa’s step sisters went shopping for expensive clothes and beautiful gowns and shoes for attending the ball. Pedrosa too wished to attend the dance gala but she neither had good clothes nor any shoes. She remembered the sardine man’s promise. She went to the well and called out for help. At once the sardine man appeared and agreed to sent her to the ball dance gala at the royal palace. As promised Sardine man gave her a beautiful gown and golden shoes and prepared a silver chariot to take her to the gala with a condition that she should return home by the stroke of 12.

When Pedrosa reached the palace, everyone was dazzled by her beauty but no one knew who she was. The Prince danced with her and was mesmerised by her charm. As the clock struck 12, girl hurried back to chariot. The Prince was so smitten by her beauty, he tried to stop her from leaving the dance floor. But Pedrosa slipped away and the Prince was left holding one of her golden shoes that had fallen off her feet. The beautiful girl thus disappeared from everyone’s sight and the Prince was left heartbroken.

Next day the king ordered his guards to look for the girl with a golden shoe, because the prince wanted to marry her. The royal guards began house to house search for the girl. As they reached Pedrosa’s house, step mother ordered her to remain inside the kitchen and presented her ugly daughter to try out the shoe. She knew that shoe would not fit her so she even tried to cut her daughter’s toes to fit the shoe. But shoes was too small for her feet. The Guards asked if there was any other girl in the house and step mother replied “Oh there is only a servant girl and she did not go for the dance gala.” But the royal guards insisted the servant girl also try the shoe. Voila ! It was a perfect fit. The step mother was aghast to see how the golden shoe fitted her step daughter’s feet.

Royal guards took Pedrosa to the palace. Prince at once recognised her and decided to marry her very next day. The girl was happy to live in the palace.She had over come all the hardships in life. Very soon she got pregnant with her first child and step mother told her husband that as per the custom they should bring the girl home during the first pregnancy. Her father went to the palace and requested the prince to send the daughter home. Reluctantly Prince allowed his wife to go home. In due course of time, the girl gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy. Prince sent the message that he would soon come to take his wife and son back to his palace.
But the wicked step mother had thatched a plan. She sent Pedrosa to the well to have bath. She had secretly built and platform out of rotten planks. The moment the girl climbed on the platform, rotten planks gave way and the girl fell into the well. Step mother was overjoyed to see the girl fall into the well , she quickly covered the well with with some planks and closed the well mouth.

Meanwhile, she dressed up her daughter like her step daughter, and sent her and the baby boy along to the palace. Prince was surprised to see how his wife had turned so ugly. But the stepsister sobbed bitterly and explained how during pregnancy and the birth of the boy she had lost her beauty and had turned into an ugly woman. Prince, was aghast and started ignoring her.

Meanwhile , the sardine man had saved Pedrosa from drowning in the well. Pedrosa would often remember her new born baby boy and would start crying longing to see him. One day she requested the sardine man to take her to the boy, so that she could kiss him. Sardine man arranged a visit in the night. But the palace guard noticed her and informed the prince, and when the girl arrived and kissed the boy he captured her . Pedrosa narrated the entire plot of her stepmother and described how she was imprisoned in a well and how the stepsister was sent back in her place.

The Prince was furious and ordered his guards to behead the stepsister at once. Thus Pedrosa and the prince lived happily ever after.
Story collected by : Vidya Kamat
Text source: Folktales from New Goa India, Ed by Sarah Davidson and Elenore ,Phelps 1937, translated by Dr.Pandurang Phaldesai , 2021
Location: Goa
Image copyright: Vidya Kamat

Listening to the stories from epics as a child is fun, but at times baffling as well. How could Ravana have carried ten heads on his shoulders? Or how did Hanuman leap across great distances? There can be many such questions that remain unresolved till some one tells you a counter story explaining and resolving the mystery.

One such mystery I was curious about was, how did Sita give a gold ring to Hanuman when she had already left all her royal ornaments at Ayodhya while leaving the city as an exile? Bundeli Ramayana, an oral rendition of Ramkatha sung in the form of Tamura Bhajans or devotional songs tries to explain many such anomalies in the Valmiki Ramayana.

When Ram, Sita, and Lakshman completed their 14 years of exile, they began their journey back to Ayodhya. The boatman Kevat offered his services to the royal couple and brought them to banks of  the river Sarayu . When Ram touched the soil of Ayodhya he was grateful to Kevat for bringing him home and wanted to offer him a token of his gratitude. Unfortunately Ram had nothing to offer. Seeing his downcast face, Sita realised Ram’s predicament and removed her chudamani ( an ornament worn on the head by married women in north India) and gave it to Ram, and asked him to gift it to Kevat for his services.

Story tellers of Tamura bhajans explain how Sita carried not one but two jewellery pieces with her while going to exile with Ram. It is said, Sita had received two divine jewellery pieces that belonged to her mother, Sunaina in the form of a ring and a chudamani. These were no ordinary jewels but divine ornaments as god Shiva had gifted them to Sunaina. Tamura singers narrate following tale explaining how Sita acquired these divine jewels.

Being a mendicant Lord Shiva came dressed in a tiger skin with snakes ornaments as the bridegroom of Parvati on the day of their marriage. A huge snake dangled around his neck like a garland while his loose unkempt hair was held together with another snake knotted around his hair. Baby snakes were tied around his wrists and arms as armlets. Incidentally, one of the snakes tied around his arms was too tightly knotted. The baby snake cried in pain, and two tear drops rolled down from the snake’s eyes, turning it divine jewels called ‘nagmani’. Shiva picked up these two precious jewels. When Sunaina, a daughter a Naga king was married to king Janak, Shiva gave these divine jewels to Sunaina as a wedding gift. But Janak gifted these divine jewels to Dasharatha as mark of their eternal friendship. When Ram won Sita’s hand in marriage and brought his bride to Ayodhya, the custom was that in-laws should present the new bride with a piece of jewellery as a gift when they meet her first time, a rite known as “muh dikhai’. Dasharath and Kaushalya gifted these jewels to Sita as a part of ‘muh dikhai’* ritual. Thus Sita acquired these divine jewels that once belonged to her mother Sunaina. When Sita left for exile, she left all other royal ornaments in the palace but carried with her these two ornaments affixed with these jewels, a ring and the chudamani. When Hanuman came to Lanka in search of Sita; she gave her ring to Hanuman as her insignia, by which Ram could recognise her. The second jewel was on her chudamani, given to boatman Kevat as an appreciation for his service as mentioned above.

In another tale narrated by Tamura singers is the story of Shanta’s birth. Not much is known about Shanta, sister of Ram in the Valmiki Ramayana. Valmiki mentions that after sage Rishyashringa helped Dasharath to perform the sacrificial rite of Putrakameshthi*** , he offered his daughter Shanta in marriage to sage Rishyashringa. One wonders here, since she is said to be Dasharatha’s daughter who was her mother? Here is the story that solves the mystery.

Once Dasharatha went hunting in the forest. While chasing a deer he entered into a magical sacred grove that was dedicated to feminine power. Everything in that forest was a feminine force. Men feared to step in to this grove as they would have to live in female body for a designate period of time. Dasharatha having entered the grove inadvertently, too turned into a woman. For many years, he lived in that grove in the form of a woman. Once he came in contact with a man and fell in love with him. He eventually conceived the child from their union and gave birth to a baby girl. He named her Shanta. Having completed designated period of time in the grove as a woman, Dasharatha reverted back to his male body and returned to Ayodhya, with baby Shanta in his arms. Thus Dasharatha is the mother and father of Shanta.

There are many such unusual tales narrated in Tamura songs that explain the anomalies found in Valmiki Ramayana.
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*Muh Dikhai is a wedding rite, literally meaning “seeing the face “. When the bride comes first time to grooms’s house after the marriage, groom’s parents and elders welcome her home and lift the wail from the the bride’s head and “see the face of the bride”. Custom is to give a gold ornament to the bride welcoming her to her new home.
** Stree dhan means woman’s wealth in the form of ornaments given to a woman during the wedding.
*** Putrakameshthi- is a vedic sacrificial ritual that was performed to beget a male child.

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Story collected by Vidya Kamat
Text source: Bundeli Ramayana by Anandi Lal Kurmi
Location: Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh

In Maharashtra the word ‘Mauli’ means mother. But god Vitthal is often addressed as Mauli, meaning mother of the devotee, suggesting the androgynous nature of the deity as the ultimate creator of the universe. In bhakti poetry tradition the relationship between the male god and his devotees is constantly reinforced using the example of the relationship between a mother and her child. Speaking of mother and child bonding, the bond between the mother and her daughter is especially strengthened during the first pregnancy of the daughter. This tale from South India describes how Shiva chose to play the role of a mother to comfort and nourish a daughter during her
first child birth.

For many years a merchant from South India worshipped Shiva and prayed to him to bless him with a child. Eventually, Shiva blessed him with a daughter. When this young girl came of age, the merchant married her to the son of a wealthy family from another state across the river Kaveri. Unfortunately, the merchant died of old age without getting a chance to see his grandchild. Soon the girl became pregnant with the her first child. As per the custom her mother invited the girl to her parental home for the delivery of her first baby. But the husband of the girl advised her, “Your mother is now old. Why do you want to burden her in her old age. Instead she can come and stay with us and help you with our first child.” The daughter readily agreed and conveyed the message to her old mother. The old lady too consented to visit her daughter with all the paraphernalia needed for delivering the baby. Meanwhile river Kaveri got flooded blocking all the travel across the river. The old lady could not cross the river and come to her daughter’s house.

Everyday the daughter would wait at the door way for her mother, counting days and thinking she would turn up today or tomorrow as her delivery date drew near. She kept thinking ” My mother will bring all the clothes for the new baby and saree for me and she would also bring some of my favourite food along. Oh mother! how much I miss you now as I am going to be a first time mother”.

The due date drew closer , but the water from the river Kaveri refused to subside. Meanwhile, Shiva who was observing the daughter of his devotee felt pity for the new mother to be, and took the form of her mother. Like her mother, his back was bent, his hair were white, and he carried a bamboo staff in his hand. He walked towards the girls’s house, taking slow steps and panting a bit. Uma and Ganga were sent ahead as servants with bundles of goods needed for the new mother.The girl was overjoyed to see her mother. ” I have bought you new sarees, and jewels and your favourite sweets” said the old lady. The very next day the daughter went into labour and Shiva as the old woman helped the daughter deliver the baby like a professional midwife. A baby boy was born, whom Shiva cleaned and bathed in perfumed water, placed him in the cradle and and gently rocked him to sleep singing lullabies. Shiva diligently performed each and every duty a mother would do for her daughter during her first delivery.

When the floods receded, the old lady- the real mother of the girl arrived at her house. When the daughter saw the two woman face to face, she cried ” Oh God! who is my real mother? ”
Shiva smiled at the girl, blessed her and quietly disappeared into the sky.

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat
Source: Tamil Temple myths by David Shulman
Location : Tamil Nadu
Image copyright: Vidya Kamat

The region of Mevat is sandwiched between present Haryana and Rajasthan and consists of 1200 villages. Mevat has a rich cultural history, and the inhabitants of Mevat known as Mev, trace their ancestry to heroes from the epics. Traditionally the singing of two great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata are integral to Mevati life and their identity.

A section of wandering folk singers of Mevat known as Mevati jogis, belong to the Muslim community and are popular for their narration of Ramayana sung in the form of dohas. Their rendition of Rama katha differs in many ways from Valmiki Ramayana. Some of the key characters from Valmiki’s Ramayana are missing in the Mevati-jogi Ramayana. For instance, the character of Shurpanakha the sister of Ravana is missing in Mevati-jogi Ramayana. There are also a number of new narratives branches introduced in this version of Ramaynana. Here is one such example, of Lord Ram’s first meeting with Hanuman.

After Sita’s disappearance, Ram and Lakshman embarked on their search for her. They would spend hours searching through deep jungles calling out her name, but with no result. One day, in the middle of their fruitless search, hungry and tired the brothers sat under a tree planning to look around for some food and water. Lakshaman was particularly worried about Ram who had not eaten properly after Sita’s disappearance. “Sit here brother, I will look around for some water and food” saying thus he climbed a tallest tree to lookout for any water source close by. Instead he saw a large orchard full of ripe fruits close by. It must be somebody’s private orchard as it is well tended and well nurtured, he thought to himself. As he climbed down he asked Ram to give him some money and walked towards the orchard. At the orchard he could not find any one guarding the entrance. He tried calling out to the caretaker but no one answered his call.

He finally climbed a tree and plucked some ripe fruits. After keeping a few coins under the tree, he began walking back to Ram. Just then a huge monkey appeared seemingly out of nowhere and confronted him ” Hey you thief! you are stealing fruits from my master’s garden ” he accused Lakshman. “How dare you steal these fruits while I am guarding this orchard of great Mahadeo” The monkey roared. ” O Monkey, I am not a thief! I tried calling out for the caretaker but no one responded to my calls. So I picked a few fruits for my brother who is hungry and tired. And of course, I have left some money under the tree” he said as he turned around and pointed at the base of the tree.” But the money he had left there was gone! Furious, the monkey rushed at Lakshman saying, ” You are not only a thief but a liar too”. The monkey grabbed Lakshman by the nape, thrust him into his huge mouth and swallowed him.

Meanwhile Ram was getting restless and worried as Lakshman had not returned. “Why he is taking so long ? He wondered, and marched towards the orchard. Ram saw a huge monkey guarding the entrance. “I am sure this huge monkey has harmed my little brother”, the thought crossed Ram’s mind and he aimed his bow and arrow at Hanuman. In response Hanuman leaped at Ram. But Ram in a swift move grabbed and squeezed Hanuman so hard that he screamed in great pain. The scream was was so loud, that Mahadeo and Gauri Parvati who were sitting on Kailash heard it. “I am sure Hanuman’s life is in great danger, my lord. You need to help him as he is in great pain” Gauri Parvati nagged Mahadeo. When Mahadeo arrived at the orchard, he saw Ram crushing Hanuman with his bare hands. Mahadeo challenged Ram” Oh you stranger! why wrestle with a monkey! If you are a man fight with a man like me”. Ram kept his bow down and got ready to wrestle with Mahadeo. As he looked at Mahadeo he saw Mahadeo was suffering from a strange skin disease that had discoloured his skin. Apparently, it was Anjani’s curse that had caused the skin disease of Mahadeo. And only Vishnu could cure it.
As soon as Ram touched Mahadeo’s body in preparation to wrestle, Mahadeo’s his skin decease disappeared. Mahadeo realised the person before him is none other than Lord Vishnu. He bowed deep to Ram and said ” Oh great Vishnu! Forgive me for not recognising you. Why are you angry with my servant Hanuman?” Ram narrated to Mahadev the story of missing Sita and Lakshman. Hanuman immediately brought back Lakshmana from his mouth. Mahadeo then ordered Hanuman to help and support Ram in his search for Sita.

Story collected by Vidya Kamat
Source: “Mevat jogiyonki Ramkatha- lanka chadai ” by Umar Farooq Mevati and Satyendra Singh
Location: Rajasthan

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

One often gets surprised when a stranger narrates you a story that you long ago heard from your grandma at bedtime, albeit with a twist. Stories travel far and wide. And sometimes they return with new additions. These new additions can transform the meaning of the story that once you knew within a particular context. Here is one such story from my childhood, that I heard later on with a totally different ending. Read on.

Ms. Cockroach had got new clothes stitched from the tailor. The new dress fitted her so well she looked like a bride. Dressed in new clothes she would sit by the window and dream of getting married. I want to marry ‘ a man’ with a sweet voice. She thought. One day while she was sitting by the window, a dog passed by and looking at her dress Dog said,” Oh lady, you are looking so gorgeous today, who are you waiting for ?” “Oh Mr. Doggy, I am waiting to marry some one who can sing for me. Can you sing a song for me? ” Mr. Dog got excited with the prospect of getting married. “Sure! Bow! Bow! Bow” Dog barked. But the sound frightened Ms. Cockroach and she scampered and hid under the window sill until Mr. Dog went away.

Next day she again sat by the window wearing the tailored dress . A duck passed by. The duck asked the cockroach would you marry me if I sing for you? ” Yes . Please Mr. Duck” Ms. Cockroach sat attentively to hear the song.” Quack! Quack!! Quack!!” Duck quacked loudly. ” No! No! I don’t like your grating voice Mr. Duck, I am sorry I can’t marry you”. Disappointed duck left crestfallen.

Then came a big tomcat. He was known as the casanova of the town. ” Ms.Roach, he said blinking his eyes and rubbing his head on the window sill. ” I can serenade you with my song. Marry me.” “Yes Mr. Tom, first sing for me” replied Ms. cockroach” Meow! Meow Meow” Tom cried in a flat gruff tone. “No! No! I don’t like your gruff voice Mr. Tom.” said Ms. Cockroach rejecting tomcat. Finally came a tiny rat, and asked Ms. Cockroach to marry him in a squeaky soft voice. Ms. Cockroach fell in love with his voice and married him.

My grandma’s story would end at this point. By this time we kids would have fallen fast asleep.

Recently I heard the same story with a new ending.

Ms. Cockroach wanted to celebrate their marriage so she cooked a meat dish and went in search of bread and wine so that she and Mr. Rat could raise the toast. She told Mr.Rat to wait till she returned with the wine. But Mr.Rat got greedy and started eating the food in a great haste and he fell inside the cooking pot and got burned to death. When Ms. Cockroach retuned with bread and wine, she could not find her husband. She looked everywhere and finally found him dead in the pot. She cried and cried and decided never to marry again.

I wonder if my grandma deliberately avoided the sad ending of the tale, or the tragic ending of the tale a later addition? The story continues.

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat
Source: Mrs. Sitabai Panandiker( grandmother) also see Folk tales from New Goa India by Sara Davidson and Eleanor Phelphs. Translated into konkani by Dr. Pandurang Phaldesai
Location: Goa
Image copyright: Vidya Kamat

Many communities in India, celebrate the onset of Uttarayana season by feeding crows. The summer solstice or Uttarayana when the sun enters the northern hemisphere of the earth is celebrated on 14th January in India. It also coincides with the harvest season and is of special significance for the people of India.

But what is its connection to crows? In the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, the festival of Ghughati is celebrated as children’s festival where mothers prepare a special sweet dish and ask their children to feed crows. Many years back the Kumaon region was ruled by a King named Kalyanchand from the lunar dynasty. He longed for a son so that his dynasty would continue after him. But a number of years passed by and the King could not sire a son. A shrewd and wicked minister in the King’s court began to dream about becoming the next King in the absence of an heir to the throne. As time went on by his resolve to become the King grew stronger.

One day King Kalyanchand and his queen visited the temple of Baghnath and prayed for a son. The god finally answered their prayers and the queen in due course delivered a healthy baby boy. The baby prince was named Nirbhaychand. Prince was pampered with all sorts of toys. King got a special waistband with tiny bells made for the prince, and when the boy started walking, the sweet tinkering sound of the bells of the waistband was music to the King and his queen’s ears. Lovingly, the queen would call the prince Ghughati. ( Ghughuti is a bird found only in Uttarakhand)

As the little prince grew he became naughty and stubborn and started demanding more attention. Queen would affectionately scold him by saying she would ask the crows to take him away. “Kale Kaua Kale, Ghughati Mala Khale” ( Oh Black crow come and take away this pretty waistband of my little Ghughati). Hearing the queen’s call, crows would come and perch on a nearby tree. Watching crows perched on the trees, Ghughati would stop crying. And the queen would then feed the crows out of affection. Soon Ghughati became friends with crows and started playing with them.

Meanwhile, the wicked minister with his ambition of becoming the King was getting frustrated and began plotting to kill the prince now lovingly called as Ghughati. He even managed to win the support of a few ministers from the King’s council by promising them plum positions in the court once he became King.

One day he hired a group of assassins to abduct the prince and kill him. The assassins found the prince playing alone and they grabbed him and ran towards the jungle. A crow seated on the tree saw this and sensed the prince was in danger. He followed the abductors and started calling out to other crows to join him. As more and more crows joined in they started creating a ruckus. Ghughati sensed the agitation of the crows and started crying. The abductors got scared of the cacophony dumped the prince under a tree and ran off. The crow asked Ghughati to handover his favourite waistband with little tingling bells. Crow picked up the waistband in his beak, flew to the queen and dropped it in front of her. The Queen instantaneously recognised her son’s waistband and sensed danger to her son’s life. She demanded the King to send the royal soldiers and to follow the crow. Soldiers followed the crow who showed them the tree under which Ghughati was sitting and thus the prince was saved and returned to the palace.
Queen knew that the crows had saved her beloved son and to show her gratitude, she cooked various types of sweets and offered that to the crows. The King then continued the queen’s gesture of feeding the crows during the first day of Uttarayana. Eventually, feeding crows on the first day of Uttrayana became a tradition and the people of Uttarkhand began celebrating the event as Ghughati Festival.

Story collected by Kanika Singh

Source: as heard in her childhood

Location: Uttarakhand

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

All stories have a beginning and an end. That’s what makes a story. But what if a story has no end or conclusion. Here is a curious example where the storyteller tricked a King by not ending a story.

Once there was a King who was very fond of listening to stories. He would listen to each and every storyteller that would visit his kingdom and keep demanding for more stories. Often these storytellers would run out of stories and King would be disappointed because he wanted more. One day, the King sent his town crier around his kingdom with the announcement that the King would award a thousand pieces of gold to any storyteller who could make the king get tired of listening to stories and make him admit “I had enough.” Many storytellers from adjoining towns got excited about the prize money and thought of trying their luck. But soon they would exhaust their collection of stories and the King would be still looking forward for more stories.

Defeated and crestfallen the storytellers would return home. One of the storytellers who had tried his luck at meeting the challenge and lost, told his friend about the challenge of storytelling. “Well if you win the challenge you would get thousand gold pieces,” he told his friend.

The friend of the storyteller was tempted by the award money and thought hard the whole night. Next day he arrived at the King’s court and said he was ready to accept the challenge. King’s courtiers led him to the chamber where the King would listen to the stories. The King entered the chamber and settled down and the storyteller’s friend began narrating his story… ” Once upon a time, a large flock of parrots sat on a tree. The tree was located next to a huge field that was freshly harvested with the gathered grain left in a large heap in the field. The farmers were planning to husk it the next day and send it to the granary. Suddenly one parrot swooped down from the tree towards the heap of grain, it picked up a few grains in its beak and flew back to the tree. Very soon another parrot swooped down towards the heap of grain picked up a few grains in his beak and came back…” Thus the storyteller went on for hours narrating one by one the parrots swooping down and picking up a few grains. The King, according to the contract had to respond with ” Hmmmm…” to suggest he is attentively listening to the tale. But after hours of listening to the same thing the King was now getting tired, bored and sleepy, but the storyteller was still counting parrots swooping down one by one.

There was a village simpleton who dreamt of becoming a respected wise man as he was mocked by his friends as the village fool. One day he expressed his wish to his friends. “How can I become a wise man ?” he asked innocently. They advised him to visit the Guru who sat under the Peepul tree just outside the village boundary.

The village simpleton approached the guru who was none other than one of his friends in disguise as a Guru. Folding his hands, he asked” Sir, the whole village laughs at me and calls me an idiot. I want to become a wise man like you . What should I do to be a wise man?” Guru thought for a while and said, ” If you follow my instructions religiously, you will be a wise man one day. You will have to get me a large fresh fish from the river every day”. It was a strange request. But simpleton was desperate man, willing to do anything to achieve his goal.

He started getting fish for the guru every day. Guru would cut the head of the fish give it to dullard and tell him to cook and eat it as ‘prashad’ . Months passed by and the routine followed. One day, simpleton after handing over the fish to guru asked him” Sir, every day I get one whole fish. You give me the head as ‘prashad’. but what happens to the rest of body of the fish?” Guru laughed and said” Son, you have become a wise man now. you need not get me fish from tomorrow onwards.”

Story Collected by Vidya Kamat
Source: Kamala Nilakanth
Location : Kerala

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

Every local version of Ramayana has tried to include additional details to Valmiki’s Ramayana, that they thought were missing or lacking in the text. Thus every local version enriches the original text with layers of counter narratives adding to the tradition of Ramayana in India.

Bundeli Ramayana from Bundelkhand an area sandwiched between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh is no exception. Sung in the oral form, the following incidents are added in Bundeli Ramayana to throw light on some of the unanswered questions in Valmiki’s Ramayana text such as who was Rama’s sister?

Not much is known about Rama’s sister Shanta. The only time she is mentioned in Valmiki’s Ramayana is when Dasharath invites sage Rishyasringa to officiate the sacrifice of Putrakameshthi, to get son/s and an heir to his kingdom. After the completion of the  sacrifice Dasharath offers his daughter Shanta in marriage to Rishyasringa in lieu of his officiating fee. Valmiki does not tell us anything about Shanta’s birth. The question becomes interesting as all the queens of Dasharath were childless. Who then was the mother of Shanta ? Bundeli Ramayana tries to address this lacuna through the following tale.

Once King Dasharath and his friend King Janak was on a hunting trip. As they tracked their prey, King Dasharath inadvertently entered a forest patch where men were barred from entering. The belief was the forest resonated with feminine power and was strictly reserved for women, and if any male would enter the forest, he would turn into a female. Dasharath, having entered the forest by chance turned into a woman. For years he wandered around in female form. Then one day he met a man, had a relationship with him and conceived a child. This female child was named Shanta. After the birth of Shanta, Dasharatha regained his maleness and returned to his palace with the child. Thus Shanta became Dasharath’s first child, but he was her mother.

The story of Shikhandin from the epic Mahabharata is particularly intriguing because it highlights his trans-transgender disposition. Born as a girl child to Drupad the king of Panchal, and named Shikhandini, she goes on to live the life of a male archer eventually killing the great teacher Bhishma. In Mahabharata Shikhandin’s trans-gender state is attributed to the story of Amba who takes revenge on Bhishma. Here is another version that explains Shikhandin’s story of gender transformation.

According to the South Indian version of Panchatantra, there was king who was childless for many years. After performing many vows and sacrifices, his wife finally bore him children. But to his disappointment all the children were girls and the King longed for a boy. Frustrated the King decided to abandon his queen and remarry so that he could get a baby boy and the heir to his kingdom. But as the queen was pregnant again with a child, his minister pleaded with him to wait till she delivered, as the astrologer had predicated that the heir to the King would be born this time.The King agreed to wait.

But alas! Once again it was a baby girl. The minister was distraught and worried and he decided to hide the baby girl and sent the astrologer to the King with the news that a baby boy was born, but as the birth was during an inauspicious moment, the father should not see the face his child for the next sixteen years. Else, it would cause grave danger to the King’s life. Thus the baby girl grew up in the palace hidden from the view of everyone.

As soon as the prescribed fifteen years passed, the minister approached the King and said” Oh King! Our prince has grown into a handsome young man and we need to find a suitable girl for him before he turns sixteen. Please allow me to approach the neighbouring King for his eligible daughter.” The minister then marched to the neighbouring kingdom and asked the King to surrender his daughter for the prince, and the neighbouring King gladly agreed.

Meanwhile back at the palace a Brahmarakshasa who happened to see the beautiful hidden princess fell madly in love with her and begged the minister to allow a meeting with her. The cunning minister said “Well ! Brahmarakshasa, I can allow you to meet her but only on the condition that you will exchange your manhood with the princess for the coming six days.” Bhrahmarakshasa agreed and thus Bhrahmarakshasa turned into woman and the princess turned into a man. Minister immediately arranged the wedding of the ‘prince’ with the daughter of the neighbouring King.

The six days of the agreement passed and the ‘prince’ had to return his manhood to Brahmarakshasa and take back the womanhood. The Prince with a heavy heart went to Brahmarakshasa and said “ Oh Brahmarakshasa , here I have come to return your manhood as we had agreed. You can turn me back into a woman again.” But to his surprise Brahmarakshasa begged him to continue as a man. “ Oh prince I beg of you to allow me remain in my current female form. I am now madly in love with another man and pregnant with his child. There is no way I can turn back into a man in this state. So please.”

The Prince returned joyfully to the palace as a man and took the reigns of the country as the new King.

The story goes on to state, it was the same Bramharakshasa who was born as Shikhandin in his next birth.

Story collected by : Vidya Kamat
Source: Tamil Temple Myths By David Dean Shulman
Location : Tamil Nadu
Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat