The Clearing: A Diwali Tale

Saturday, November 06, 2010

A Diwali Tale

While chatting with my mom the other day, she wanted to know what we (now that I am a married man the pronoun has changed in some contexts) were planning to do for Diwali. Being no match for my mom's enthusiasm, I handed the phone over to the wife who was similarly enthused. She, while still on the phone, asked me if I remembered the story my dad narrates during the Diwali puja. The idea of narrating the story in our own puja suddenly seemed quite appealing to me; I took the phone from her and got my mom to revise the story for me. Here's the story:

Once upon a time there lived a woodcutter and his seven sons. They were poor, down on their luck, neither very employable nor motivated to do too much about it. The six eldest sons were married and had wives who were similarly fairly unmotivated resulting in a very dirty and unkempt household. Things changed when the youngest son got married. His wife was a real go-getter who got the house organized and improved the spirits of everyone in it. She also instituted a rule according to which none of the men were allowed to return home empty handed in the evenings (work was hard to come by in those days). One day, the woodcutter not being able to find anything of value, in desperation, brought home a dead snake. The daughter-in-law consoled him and threw the snake over the roof of their home.

It so happend that the queen and the courtesans of that kingdom would bathe at a lake not too far from the woodcutter's house. That particular day was Roop Chaudas or the day before Diwali, a day on which women traditionally wash their jewelry. An eagle drawn by the glitter of the jewelry laid out to dry swooped down and flew away with the queen's priceless necklace (naulakha haar). The queen was distraught and the king announced that whoever found the necklace would be granted anything he desired. The eagle spotted the snake, swooped down for it and left the necklace behind on the woodcutter's roof. The necklace was found by the family. As the woodcutter prepared to take it to the king, he is instructed by the daughter-in-law to tell the king that it is she who will ask for the reward from the king.

The king is overjoyed about finding the necklace and gets her to come over to the court. She demands that on the day of Diwali, the woodcutter's home should be the only one which has any light in it, all other houses should be in darkness. The king has no choice but to agree and gets that decision announced far and wide.

On Diwali day goddess Lakmi, the goddess of wealth, predictably, is drawn to the only house with any light in it and asks permission to enter. The daughter-in-law asks the goddess what role would she come in as. The goddess replies: as a daughter. The daughter-in-law rejects that proposal saying that daughter's eventually leave the house; she asks the goddess to enter as a daughter in law, instead. Lakshmi agrees and accompanied by the pleasing sounds of the anklets she is wearing walks into their home and lives (... 'aur lakshmi chanchan karti ander aayi').

Dad concludes with the blessing: 'jis tarah lakshmi lakadhare noo baudi saanu aur sade sambandhitah noo bhi baude', i.e., like she entered the home of the woodcutter assuring prosperity for his family, may goddess Lakshmi also come into the lives of our relatives and friends assuring the same for them.

# posted by Mohit Nayyar : 7:49 PM

Comments:

very well written Mohit..one minor correction..7 sons..and one detail..the ranis were bathing on choti diWali day ..roop chaudas..when all the jewellery is also cleaned and laid out...the neckless was the navlakha haar...
and finalyy it should be jis tarah lakshmi lakadhare noo baudi saanu aur sade sambandhitah noo bhi baude...
it would be nice to add lakshmi chanchan karti ander aayi..and then translate it as you have

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