IN THE LAND OF HAT'T'AMA'LA' PART 2

this version: is the printed In the Land of Hat't'am'ala' Part 2, 1st edition, 
	version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is 
	the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

	"Look here, Aparna," Anumay said to his little sister, "you're becoming more stupid every day. I've told you hundreds of times to keep away from the Juniper forest south of here. That's where the demons live. If anything happened to you, I'd be in big trouble."

	"You seem to enjoy scolding me about the silliest of things," complained Aparna. "You hardly stop criticising me day and night. I don't like being bossed around, you know. I'm grown up now --I'm almost eight. From now on you should be more respectful."

	Their mother came in unexpectedly. "My little darling," she asked Aparna, "did you address your elder brother as tui* again today ? Haven't you noticed that your neighbour, Supurna, addresses her elder brother as apni ? Some learn by observing others and some learn the hard way from their own mistakes. Observation doesn't seem to teach you anything at all."

	* There are three second personal pronouns in Bengali : tui, tumi and apni.Tui is used for addressing inferiors in age and standing, tumi for intimate equals or inferiors, and apni for social equals or superiors.

	"Mummy, why do you compare me with Supurna?" asked Aparna. "Supurna's brother, Giitimay, is studying for his M.A. whereas Supurna hasn't finished primary school yet. If she doesn't address her elder brother as apni, how else will she address him ?" 

	 "Then it's clear you'll have to learn the hard way, by direct experience," said her mother, leaving the room.

	"I really don't like it when mummy tells you off every day for addressing me as 'tut', said Anumay. "If you want to use tui don't do it in front of mum or dad. You can call me anything you like when they're not around."

	"All right," concluded Aparna, "I swear that from today I'll only address you as apni."

	"You don't have to go as far as that," said Anumay. "If you address me as tumi it'll be enough".

	The sun was sinking below the horizon ; the day was coming to an end. The western skies were radiant, the eastern skies were darkening. Aparna reached the edge of the forest and leaned against her bike in silent contemplation. "What should I do now?" she thought. "If I go back after coming this far I'll lose face. But if I go into the forest I'll have two problems : I won't be able to ride my bike anymore, and I won't be able to see anything --I don't even have a torch. I should have thought about these things before setting out." But that was exactly what she hadn't done.

	Suddenly she thought she heard a sound inside the forest. She leaned her bike against a rain tree and slipped into the forest gloom. She could hear the sound of falling leaves, the wind blowing through the branches and twigs, the movement of wild forest animals and the squeaking of her shoes. All this made a wonderful symphony of sound. Anyone sitting at home could never imagine such a thing.

	She walked on and on. There was still enough light and the way was easy. She remembered a song her teacher had taught her a few days before :

	The intoxicated air 
	Blows joyfully this sweet evening; 
	The softly murmuring forest 
	Is enchanted by that sweet obsession; 
	The leaves, waiting to fall, 
	Quiver in delight.

	Then she caught sight of a herd of colourful deer leaping through the forest. There were so many types of deer: black bucks, swamp deer, barking deer, doe, reindeer, sledge deer, snow deer and many more. Some had short stumpy antlers while others had huge, multibranched antlers.

	Aparna remembered something her teacher had told her a few days ago : "Not all the animals we call deer are actually deer. According to some zoologists, many of them belong to the antelope group. The black buck, blue bull and alpaca can all be classified as antelopes. The antelopes, like many deer, are gradually becoming extinct from the face of the earth." Seeing such beautiful deer reminded Aparna of these words, and she felt great pain.

	She also recalled what her grandmother had told her about the Jhalda* area, where her great-grandfather used to live. Its forests, which covered the Ayodhya hill southwest of Jhaida, and the banks of the River Suvarnarekha, a little further to the west, were the natural habitat of many different types of deer. That vast forest also covered the areas where Bagmundi, Puncha, Arsa, Jaipur, Silli and Sonahatu are now situated. Populated with sal, cheronjee, mahua, dhak, mangosteen, lac and date trees, it was a spectacular sight. Soaring high above the tree tops was a range of unconquered mountain peaks: Kopila, Belamuk, Dimdiha, Satkuthi and Khir'ki. There were many other known and unknown mountains of various heights in that range, although most of them were not so high. The water which flowed out of the forest was carried by the rivers Uttara, Daks' ina, Goal, Alkusi, Kupai, Khirki, Kansai, Kumari, Suvarnarekha and many other rivers of various sizes. Members of the gold-mining community used to pan their sands for gold.

	* Jhalda is a town situated 250 miles west of Calcutta.

	Those forest lands and fertile river valleys were the peaceful habitat of many animals of different shapes and sizes. There were numerous swamp deer, black bucks, lions with huge jaws and long manes, sharp-toothed tigers, extremely long pythons, and many large elephants whose gigantic tusks fightened everyone. That species of elephant is rarely seen today. In former times the inhabitants of the forest used to leave food beside the paths which the elephants used. They didn't cut down the forests, as people do today, and force the elephants to search desperately for food and shelter. Those simple-minded folk had enough sense to realise that every living being has the right to exist. Even though the elephants frightened them, they still fed them. The villagers- -of that particular region (Rarh) would leave food for the elephants, saying,

	"I bow before thee, god Ganesh* 
Save my life and my wealth 
I'll give you banana, give you maize 
And feed you milk and rice 
I'll give you betel leaves and nuts 
And the sacred thread**, too 
Save my life and my wealth."

	* Ganesh is the mythological God of commerce, half man, half elephant 

	** The sacred thread is worn by high-caste Hindus (Brahmins).

	Today those forests have disappeared and the herds of elephants and deer are no longer seen ; they have become extinct from that plateau. Either they were killed by flesh-hungry hunters or migrated elsewhere due to the unbearable torture inflicted upon them by human beings.

	These thoughts made Aparna feel depressed. But then she saw another herd of deer leaping through the forest and became a lot happier. A huge deer with beautiful antlers suddenly came near her. She took one leap and landed right on its back. This was easy for her as she always came first in the high-jump event in sports competitions.

	But what a problem ! What a problem! There weren't any reins. How could she possibly keep the deer under control. What a problem ! However, she had the presence of mind to tightly grip the deer's antlers. The poor deer thought a tiger had landed on its back and ran in fear of its life. Aparna held on with all her strength and cried out at the top of her voice, "Oh what fun, what fun! Great fun, great fun !" 

	But fun never lasts long. Suddenly, would you believe, a huge Royal Bengal tiger aimed itself at the deer and leapt out from behind a bush. The deer, just as proficient in the art of jumping, made an even greater leap. Aparna was jolted and lost her grip on the antlers. She was thrown high into the air, screaming, and landed on a branch of an arjuna tree. Fortunately, many branchlets and twigs were growing out of the branch so Aparna got stuck there and didn't fall down.

	By that time the deer was out of sight. Utterly disappointed, the tiger went into a fit of depression. But that was not the time to get depressed. Pulling himself together, he circled the tree in a fuming rage. There was a faint hope in the corner of his mind that Aparna would fall to the ground like a ripe mango. Then he would chew her up.

	After circling the tree for a long time and realising there was no likelihood of Aparna dropping, he felt like sitting down. But the ground was so dirty. If he sat there his trousers would become filthy. So he cleaned the place with a broom, spread cow-dung, sprinkled a little holy water* and finally settled himself on his tail which he had coiled up like a straw mat. Drooling greedily, he raised his large eyes, stared at Aparna and growled

	* Cow-dung and holy water (from the river Ganges) are used to clean, disinfect and sanctify a place.

	"Halum hulum, halum hulum 
If you fall down I'll chew you up, 
Chew you up."

	Aparna was not bothered at all. Opening her eyes as wide as possible she stared back at the tiger and roared,

	"Halum hulum, halum hulum 
If you climb up the tree
I'll chew you up, 
Chew you up."

	The tiger was shocked by these words. His whole body shook. His chest heaved. His bones rattled. His temples throbbed. His veins and arteries palpitated. His brain spun at high speed. He was so frightened that his entire body, from his mane to the tip of his tail, became drenched with sweat.

	Taking advantage of the tiger's pitiful condition, Aparna taunted,

	"I'm a lion's maternal aunt, 
And a dragon's paternal aunt. 
What I like to eat the most 
Is a tiger cooked whole as a roast."

	Hearing these words, the tiger's soul almost burst out of his body. In fear of his life he fled away as fast as he could. Hardly a second later that huge tiger had reached a distant forest and camouflaged his body. Seeing the extent of the tiger's fear, Aparna burst into laughter. "So that's the strength of a tiger," she thought. "I can easily kill such tigers with my catapult. If my brother were here he would have certainly cut off its tail and said, 'Sister, take this tail and put it in the museum."

	All that riding on the deer's back had made Aparna very tired and even though it was still evening her eyes drooped sleepily. But before she could fall asleep she was startled by a frightful sound. She opened her eyes and saw a group of ghosts sitting on the branches around her.

	Some of the ghosts had horns like East Indian cows, some like Rajasthani cows, some like South Indian cows, some like deer's antlers and some like wild buffalo. Their teeth were quite different from human canine teeth. Each ghost had two long teeth which protruded out of their mouths. On closer scrutiny Aparna saw that each tooth had a hole through its middle, making it look like the hypodermic syringe doctors use to draw blood. Using the same process these ghosts would suck blood from the human body, just as vampires do. That's why they had such teeth.

	Needless to say, their feet were twisted around and their toes were pointing behind :

	Their feet were twisted around, 
Their toes were pointing behind, 
Their strange gestures and sound 
Put a shiver up the spine. 

	All the ghosts were laughing and making faces. They spread out their hands and feet to show Aparna they had fingers and toes just like her. And to make it quite clear they hadn't eaten for many days, they exposed their hollow stomachs, which were almost touching their spines ! The female ghosts were the most terrifying of them all as they bared their teeth like monkeys. And don't forget, they were women! They were wearing ornaments in their noses, ear rings, long
 necklaces, and high-heeled shoes. Aparna looked closer and saw that they were wearing nail-polish and, as many women do, had put vermilion on
their lips instead of on their foreheads. There were so many different types of ghosts: common ghosts, ghouls, brahmadoityas*, mamdos**, one -handed ghosts, onelegged ghosts, cow ghosts, headless ghosts, fish-loving ghosts, ghosts that haunt treasure troves, female ghosts, and many more. Aparna was amused by their exaggerated, theatrical movements and began to laugh. But the ghosts sang in chorus 

	"To escape the tiger you climbed in fear 
And now we ghosts have got you near." 

	* Brahmadoitya: a ghost of a fallen high-caste Hindu 

	** Mamdo: A ghost which is proverbially dirty.

	"Don't you people have any common sense ?" asked Aparna. 

	"We're not people, we're ghosts !" they exclaimed in their peculiar nasal voices.

	"Does being a ghost exempt you from having common sense? asked Aparna. "What nonsense ! A little girl has come here as your guest and you try to frighten her. It seems you aren't very civilised at all. It's obviously true what the old folk say : there is an erosion of values everywhere in today's society. Now I know it's not only the human society which is degenerating; the ghost society is doing exactly the same. Stop this unruliness and act sensibly."

	The older ghosts said, "That's right, well said. The girl has spoken the truth." But a rather impudent ghost thought differently and sang, 

	"Rotten bullock's heart, din ta dina din 
Cook up some rice and put some fresh bones in. 
Suck all the bones dry and lick them clean 
Until no drop of blood is seen. 
Look at Uncle Mamdo in the bushes over there 
Picking ticks and lice out of all the ghosts' hair. 
Here comes the ugly ghost Shakhcunni 
Stuffing herself with intestine chutney." 

	The moment he said "Shakhcunni" a grotesque, frightfully ugly Shakhcunni ghost appeared making fearful screams. "Who dared utter the name Shakhcunni ?" she shouted. "I'll break that ghost's neck !" 

	"Sister Shakhcunni, why are you angry ?" asked Aparna. "You look as if you haven't had a bath all winter. Have you been bitten by a mad dog ? Are you suffering from hydrophobia ? There are so many boisterous ghosts here making such a noise," she continued, "yet not a single ghost has the courtesy to inquire if I'm tired or not." 

	"Don't get angry, Aparna, don't get angry," said the head ghost. "Before going to sleep you'll need a bed won't you?" 

	"Of course I will," replied Aparna. "You bet I will." 

	The ghosts fetched a huge, freshly-painted bed for Aparna as quickly as they could. They also brought a mattress, quilt, pillow, bolster, head pillow, pillow cover, bed cover and bed sheet.

	In a furious rage, the head ghost scolded all the others, "You're so old and yet you don't have any common sense at all. Why didn't you bring a blanket for Aparna on such a cold winter's night ? Go and get one immediately. I'll time you with my watch. I want to see a blanket here within a minute." 

	On receiving the blanket Aparna went to bed but couldn't sleep due to the continuous noise made by the ghosts. "You see," said the head ghost, "that's why people abuse you by calling you ghosts you behave just like ghosts! Why are you making such a noise when Aparna is here ?" 

	The ghosts started weeping. "But it's our job to make a noise at night." 

	"Whether it's your job or not," said the head ghost, "show a little restraint tonight." 

	Everyone obeyed. However, Aparna still couldn't get to sleep. She asked Shakhcunni, "Dear sister, could you do me a favour ?" 

	"What favour ?" answered Shakhcunni. "If I'm able to, of course I will." 

	"Could you please tell me a story ?" requested Aparna. Shakhcunni caressed Aparna's head and told the following story. 

	Once-upon-a-time there was a king who lived in a huge palace. There was a large gate in front of the palace which had its own clock tower. The king had two wives, Queen Shuyo and Queen Duyo. Queen Shuyo was very wicked. Not only that, she was arrogant and greedy. In a nutshell, she was a shrew. On the other hand, Queen Duyo was a saintly person; trickery and deceit were unknown to her. With a smiling face she would help everyone. If ever anyone got short tempered with her she would smile and say, "May I know why you are angry with me ? Please tell me what I've done wrong so that I can rectify myself."

	One day Queen Duyo was making a potato curry. She had used salt, oil, chili and other spices in the exact proportions. However, the wicked Queen Shuyo threw a huge amount of chili and salt into the pot, and then complained to the king, "Your Majesty, just see how cunning Duyo is. She has intentionally put too much salt and chili into the curry to make it impossible for you to eat a single mouthful." At first the king didn't believe her, so she said, "Why don't you taste it for yourself ? That will remove any doubt from your mind."

	The king tasted it. It was true. Everything Shuyo had said was true. The potato curry had been poisoned with too much salt and chili. "Why don't you give that idiot Duyo a good kick and drive her out of the gate ?" advised the queen. By that time the king's temper was beginning to simmer. On hearing Shuyo's words it boiled over and he threw Queen Duyo out of the gate.

	One day, a long time after that incident, the king was going for his early morning walk near a wood. After a while he came to a cottage and saw Queen Duyo sitting outside. She was putting coconut sweets in beautiful multi-coloured cane baskets. After being driven out of the palace she had passed her days walking to the market and selling her homemade coconut sweets.

	On seeing the colourful baskets the king took a fancy to them. "Duyo, where did you buy those cane baskets ?" he asked.

	Queen Duyo smiled and looked at the king. "Hello, my dear, " she said. "You've come. It's been such a long time since I saw you. How are you ? Come and sit down." She gave him a wooden stool to sit on. "Were you asking me about the cane baskets ?"

	"Yes, my dear, I was," replied the king.

	"I bought them at Arambag market," continued the queen. "Do you like them ? Would you like one ? You can take them all if you like. But why should you take these old ones? I'll buy some new ones today."

	The king took out his wallet. "How much do four cane baskets cost ?"

	Queen Duyo burst into tears. "How could you say such a thing ?" she sobbed. "Are such things still said ? It would be better to block my ears than to hear you say this. Are you my husband ? It's my duty to serve you, to look after you, to make you constantly happy. I've been so miserable since you drove me out of the gate because I haven't been able to serve you at all. I couldn't do my duty. So how could you even think about asking me the price of the cane baskets ?"

	"I inquired about the price because you have to labour hard to support yourself," replied the king. "Where will you get the money to pay for them ?"

	 "Many animals and birds labour hard just to feed themselves," she replied, "whereas a person works hard to feed many other people. I'm a person and you're my husband. Shouldn't I work for your sake ?" The king was at a loss for words. "How many of these colourful baskets would you like ?" asked the queen. 

	"Four will be enough," replied the king. "They are so beautiful, I'll tie one to each leg of my throne." 

	"Why only four ?" asked Duyo. "I'll bring you eight. Four for the throne and four for the legs of your bed." 

	"That's a good idea," he thought. "Whenever I sit on my throne to do my kingly duties, the sight of those cane baskets will remind me of Duyo. And when I lie on my bed and look at the baskets tied to the four legs, I'll also remember her." 

	"Bring me all eight, " he said. "Shall I send someone to fetch them ?" 

	"I'll have to pick them up from the market anyway," said the queen, "so I can just as well deliver them myself. Don't worry, I won't walk through the gate. I'll wait outside and send them to you with the gatekeeper." 

	The king stood up. "Why are you going so soon ?" asked Queen Duyo. "You must be tired after walking so far. Rest a little more." The king sat down again. 

	Queen Duyo served him a plate of homemade coconut sweets flavoured with cardamom and camphor. After eating them the king felt quite satisfied. "Could I have one or two more ?" he asked.

	"Why only two ?" she replied. "Have as many as you like. You can take the rest back to the palace in your pocket and have them with your breakfast tomorrow." 

	Several times while eating the cocount sweets the king felt like asking,"Duyo, please come back with me.Let's forget the past.That sort of thing will never happen again." But in fear of Queen Shuyo he didn't have the courage to voice his desire. He mouthed the words a few times, but no sound came out. 

	At eight that evening Queen Duyo arrived at the palace gates carrying the colourful cane baskets on her head. She handed them to the gate-keeper and said, "Gate-keeper, please inform the king that Queen Duyo has brought these. Tell him she gave them outside the gate and didn't enter the premises." 

	The gate-keeper gave the baskets to the king and told him what Duyo had said. The king started sobbing but quickly dried his eyes. He was frightened that Queen Shuyo would see him. He tied four baskets to the legs of his throne and four to the legs of the bed. The colourful baskets were so beautiful that he stared at them for some time without blinking. 

	While he was silently admiring the baskets, Shuyo entered the room. "Oh king, where on earth did you find those ugly baskets ?" she asked. "Have you taken leave of your senses ? Have you gone mad at such a young age ? Today I heard you had a very enjoyable chat with Duyo and told each other many funny stories. What a scandal! In my house their are so many delicious sweets, yet you still go to Duyo's house like a tramp to stuff coconut sweets into your mouth. I think you've definitely gone mad. Here, take this rope and pitcher and drown yourself in the Ganges. Who gave you these ugly baskets ?" The king's lips trembled in fear. "Hurry up, say something," shouted the queen, " or else I'll give you a big thrashing."

	"They were brought by Queen Duyo," replied the trembling king.

	"So that's it ! she yelled. "You have the audacity to let Duyo's things enter my house. You'll see the consequences of this."

	The next morning Queen Shuyo stayed in bed. Her voice was quite feeble and she could hardly move. Her maid-servants were feeding her small pieces of Dhaka malpo*, which she swallowed with great difficulty ! From time to time she also ate almond burifi, a little rubori and a few sor'baja-sorpuriya sweets from Krishnanagar. Due to her illness she could hardly eat anything at all ! She had to almost force herself to eat the date sugar sondesh * and somehow managed to eat five kilos of it, thanks to the king's repeated pleas.

	* malpo, burifi, rubori, sor'baja-sorpuriya, and sondesh are different types of milksweets.

	"The end is near," she whispered to the king. "Now I shall leave this world. When I've gone you'll be free to decorate the drawingroom with Duyo's baskets."

	"Shuyo, you shouldn't say such a thing," he said. "You'll get well. I'll call the best doctors. Tell me exactly what you're suffering from." 

	"Oh, it's a fatal disease," she said faintly. "It's never been seen anywhere else in the whole world. Even Shiva** can't cure this disease. It's called the bone-rattling disease." 

	** Shiva was a great Indian spiritualist who lived about seven thousand years ago. He formulated a system of natural medicine.

	Queen Shuyo turned on her right side and immediately all her bones rattled from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Then she turned on her left side and all her bones rattled again. It was a fatal disease indeed. No one had ever seen it before, no one had even heard about it.

	Many well-known physicians visited the patient and set up all kinds of apparatus to examine her but were unable to diagnose the disease. Several eminent homeopaths also came and prescribed sweet globules, but none of them proved to be very effective. A number of ayurvedic doctors paid her a visit, too. They checked her pulse and phlegm, and the functioning of her nervous and circulatory systems, but also failed to come to a conclusion. They administered anupan*, makaradhvaja** and a number of tablets to be taken either
with betel stem juice, burnt goat-stool ash or medicinal paste*** However, her condition stayed the same. 

	* Anupan: the name given to any ayurvedic medicine compounded with another to increase its potency. 

	** Makaradhvaja : an ayurvedic medicine which is a mixture of sulphur and mercury. 

	*** Medicinal paste : medicines which are licked up with the tongue.

	Concluding that the disease was in its last stage, the doctors declared, "The patient should be allowed to eat whatever she wants. There shouldn't be any restrictions at the last hour."

	On hearing these words the king wailed loudly. The queen's attendants fell on their knees and sobbed, "Dear queen, what has happened to you ? Oh, where are you going now ? There is no one whose kindness can compare with yours."

	The king summoned all the reputable confectioners and said, " Send us your best quality sweets. I shall give Queen Shuyo at least four thousand kilos of sweets to eat. Let's see if she'll get better with their strength."

	Whenever she laid eyes on the king Queen Shuyo would taunt, "How many dozen baskets did Duyo send here ? Did you eat once or twice a day at Duyo's honey feet ?" The king stood with his head bowed while Shuyo ate rubori and one or two spoonfuls of cheese polau.

	* Polau: A rice dish cooked in clarified butter.

	"How do you feel now ?" asked the king.

	"Well, I haven't died yet," she replied, " but I'm as good as dead. Are you blind ? Can't you see I'm nothing but a skeleton ?"

	The king observed that Shuyo was fatter than she had ever been. She looked like a huge drum, but he couldn't tell her that. Out of fear he said, "My dear, you've been reduced to a few bones. I can hardly bear to look at you."

	"Do you really want to save me ?" she asked.

	"Of course I do," replied the king. "I want to save
you a thousand times over."

	"Then listen," said the queen. "There's a big forest about five miles away from here which is thick with palm trees. No one can walk a single stop into the forest because it's full of enormous Royal Bengal tigers. One tiger can devour two hundred people at a time. Their eyes are brighter than torches and even outshine searchlights. The mere sight of them makes the most courageous person tremble." 

	"And then, and then ?" asked the king. 

	"There is a huge lake in the middle of the forest," she continued, "which is covered with water weeds and hyacinths. I shall be cured of the bone-rattling disease only if I have a bath with a pitcher of water brought from that lake in the dead of night. Otherwise I shall pass away, shall definitely pass away. At any time, at any moment, I may leave this world." 

	Said the king, "I will immediately send out the town-crier to inform everyone that whoever can fetch a pitcher of water from that lake in the dead of night will be rewarded with caskets full of gold and riches from the royal treasury." 

	The next morning an announcement was made to the beating of the drum that all the gold and riches from the royal treasury would be given to any brave person who could bring water from the tiger infested jungle in the dead of night. 

	The greed of attaining all those riches slowly crept into the minds of the people, but in fear of their lives nobody volunteered. They whispered to each other, 

	"What would we do with so much gold ? 
There's plenty of time before we're old 
To get those caskets of riches and gold. 
A wise person would certainly say, 
"Don't worry yourself about it today."

	No one was willing to try. With tears streaming down his cheeks the king entered the queen's room. "Shuyo, I will die before you do," he wept. "I won't let you perish in this way, slowly, under my nose. Not a single person has volunteered. What should I do?"

	"But you are so eloquent in praising Duyo, " answered the queen. " People say there isn't such a kind-hearted person as her anywhere else in the world. Why don't you invite her here and see what she says. If the witch wants to go, all well and good. If she refuses, I'll shave her head, pour buttermilk on her and parade her around the town on a donkey's back. I'll beat the drum and inform everyone that Duyo's a witch."

	The king rushed over to Duyo's house. How could he possibly tell her about going to the tiger-infested forest ? Instead he said, "Duyo, it's been such long time since you ate with us at the palace. Why don't you come along this evening for a snack ?"

	In the late evening Queen Duyo went to dine at the
palace. The king had prepared quite a feast : fried vegetables, bitter vegetable curry, minced vegetables, poppy-seed cake, green lentils and pumpkin, and sweet rice for dessert.

	Queen Duyo happily ate to her heart's content. After the meal the king gave her a finely woven sari. She was overcome with joy. For so many days she had been wearing a simple jute sari and so, on receiving this best quality sari from the weaver's house, she was simply delighted.

	At that moment the king said, "Duyo, a great calamity has befallen us."

	"What calamity ?" she asked. "Tell me, please tell me. I would give my life to help you." 

	The king said, "A pitcher of water must be brought for Shuyo from the tiger-infested forest in the dead of night. So far nobody has volunteered to go. That's why I seek your advice." 

	"What advice is there to give" asked Duyo. "I'll go myself. The very thought that Shuyo's in trouble makes my heart break. I'll bring the water tonight. Let Shuyo be cured. The smile on her face will bring peace to my life." 

	The king gave Duyo a brass pitcher and a round container full of betel leaves. Chewing on a mouthful of betel, Duyo placed the pitcher on her hip and set off in the direction of the forest. 

	Don't forget, it was a tiger-infested forest. No one would dream of going there during the day, not even to give a passing glimpse from a distance. And going there at night was beyond the most creative person's imagination . 

	Doing a double march, Duyo quickly reached the forest. She marched inside, trampling the ground under her feet. She was going to cure Shuyo's disease, of course she was. With this firm determination she marched ahead singing joyfully, 

	"He's my beloved one 
That's why he gave me rice 
That's why he gave me green lentils 
That's why he gave me poppy-seed cake 
That's why he gave me pumpkin 
That's why he gave me sweet rice 
That's why he gave me a sari 
He's my beloved one."

	On hearing the trampling of her feet and her resounding song, the tigers froze in fear. They stopped dead in their tracks, squatted down, hid their heads behind their knees, closed their eyes and suspended their breathing. 

	They were all in the same state: 

	Not a movement 
Not a sound 
Nothing of the sort. 

	They thought they had died. "What's happening ? What on earth's happening ?" they wondered. 

	One or two of the older tigers glanced at their watches. They wanted to write in their diaries the exact time this event occurred. After all, if the time wasn't properly recorded, history would be meaningless. 

	Queen Duyo marched on as quickly as her feet would carry her. After travelling a long way she spotted the huge lake full of water, weeds and hyacinths in the forest gloom. When she finally reached its banks she was jubilant. Without any doubt she would cure Shuyo's disease and make the king happy. She threw the pitcher into the water and burst into song , 

	"He's my beloved one 
That's why he gave me rice 
That's why he gave me green lentils 
That's why he gave me poppy-seed cake 
That's why he gave me pumpkin 
That's why he gave me sweet rice 
That's why he gave me a sari 
He's my beloved one."

	Overcome with joy she sat down and sang many delightful songs at the top of her voice. She offered her deep thanks to Parama Pursusa*, "Oh Parama Purusa, you are truly kind; otherwise why would you make it so easy for Queen Shuyo's disease to be cured ?" With this thought in her mind she continued singing.

	* Parama Purusa = The Supreme Consciousness 

	Back in the inner room of the royal palace Queen Shuyo was lying on her bed, turning from side to side and making the rattling sound : rattle, rattle, rattle.

	Actually Queen Shuyo didn't have any disease at all. She pretended to be sick as part of her plan to kill Duyo by getting her to go to the tiger-infested forest. Do you know what Queen Shuyo had done ? She had put many dry jute sticks under her bed. Whenever she would turn on one side the sticks would make a rattling sound, and whenever she would turn on the other side they would also rattle. Therefore everyone in the town believed her and took it for granted that she was afflicted with the bone-rattling disease. How could the doctors diagnose such a disease ? 

	After gleefully singing song after song on the banks of the lake, Queen Duyo dozed off to sleep.

	Queen Shuyo was still lying on her bed. No sleep would fall on her wretched eyes. Her room was full of the most distinguished doctors and nurses. Standing attentively, they said, "Your Majesty, try to get a little sleep."

	But sleep wouldn't come to her eyes. Her bone-rattling disease had become even more serious. When she turned on one side: rattle, rattle; and when she turned on the other side : rattle, rattle. She thought, "Good, by now the tigers must have ripped Duyo to pieces and chewed her up. How wonderful ! How wonderful ! How wonderful Tomorrow the king won't be able to go to her house any more and enjoy those coconut sweets. How wonderful ! How wonderful How wonderful !"

	The king was lying on his bed. His troubled thoughts also prevented him from sleeping. Duyo's words kept turning in his mind : "Dear king, don't worry at all. Go to sleep. Let Duyo take the entire responsibility of fetching the water. It won't take me very long Don't worry. Go and have a deep sleep."

	The king thought, "How can I possibly have a sound sleep ? Has anything happened to Duyo ? What has happened to her ? Oh dear, what has happened to her ?" He didn't get a wink of sleep.

	After a short snooze beside the lake Queen Duyo woke up. She felt immensely peaceful and overjoyed because Queen Shuyo would certainly be cured.Oh whatjoy! whatjoy! whatjoy! Then she suddenly remembered that the water had to be taken in the dead of night. So she climbed down into the lake and searched for the pitcher with outstretched arms. But she couldn't find it ! It was under the hyacinths beneath the water-weeds and concealed some where in the mud. She swam on her front, on her back and even under the water, but was unable to find the pitcher. She was so sad; her heart was bursting with grief. "Oh Parma Purusa," she sobbed, " Won't I be able to cure Shuyo's disease ? Please help me find the pitcher."

	Everywhere in this part of the jungle the tigers were silently crouching on the ground and hiding themselves as best as they could. Queen Duyo climbed onto the bank and hit one of them with her foot. It was terrified. The queen thought it was the pitcher picked it up with both hands and placed it on her hip. "Why has the pitcher become so heavy ?" she wondered. "I know why," she reassured herself, it's full of water, that's why it's so heavy."Duyo held the tiger even more firmly against her hip. The poor animal was paralysed with fear -and remained silent. The queen quickly set off for the palace doing a double march and singing out at the top of her voice, 

	"He's my beloved one 
That's why he gave me rice 
That's why he gave me green lentils 
That's why he gave me poppy-seed cake 
That's why he gave me pumpkin 
That's why he gave me sweet rice 
That's why he gave me a sari 
He's my beloved one."

	Hearing her firm steps and loud voice the rest of the tigers stayed rooted in fear to the spots where they were crouching. Queen Duyo marched forwards quickly. Sometimes her left foot hit a tiger's back, and sometimes her right foot hit a tiger's back. But the tigers were all paralysed Queen Duyo marched on and on. She was overcome, with joy because now Queen Shuyo would be cured and the king Obuld smile with delight.

	Luckily it was still night when Duyo arrived back in the town with the tiger so there was no-one in sight. Had the townsfolk seen the tiger they would have run in all directions out of fear. So Queen Duyo marched on unhindered and reached the main gate of the palace. The gate-keeper was holding his gun against his shoulder, standing with his feet wide apart and snoring loudly. He was fast asleep. Duyo slipped through the gate and quickly walked into Shuyo's room. By that time all the doctors and nurses had left. Queen Duyo placed the tiger firmly on the ground, looked at Queen Shuyo and said,

	"I'll leave your pitcher here 
And your water too. 
I really must get going 
There's so much work to do." 

	Queen Duyo arrived back at her modest home before dawn and started making coconut sweets. Early in the morning she would have to sell them in the market.

	The tiger had been paralysed with fear and apprehension. When Duyo placed him violently on the ground his teeth clenched and he became senseless. Some time later, when the golden light of the dawn shone through the window onto his face, he came back to his senses. Opening his eyes, he saw an extremely fat lady lying on the bed in front of him. She must have weighed as much as ten elephants. How could he miss such an opportunity ? In one leap he ripped Shuyo's head and neck from her body, and in another leap landed outside the window. And then he fled away as fast as his legs would carry him. Queen Shuyo's mortal life was over.

	"Sister Shakhcunni, what happened to Queen Shuyo after she died ?" asked Aparna.

	"Well, she committed a lot of sins," replied Shakhcunni, "and therefore became a grotesquely ugly Shakhcunni ghost after death. The king was basically a good man, but due to the bad influence of Shuyo did many terrible things. He became a one-handed ghost and now lives in that palm tree over there. Queen Duyo was a saintly person--such people are very rare--and went to heaven where she now eats basketful after basketful of coconut sweets." 

	"So where is that ugly Shakhcunni now ?" asked Aparna. 

	"She roams around this forest," said Shakhcunni, pausing. "By the way, there's still something I haven't told you, sister Aparna. I am grotesquely ugly Shakhcunni. I was Queen Shuyo herself. Now Aparna fell asleep. 

	Night was coming to an end and Aparna was woken up by the birds' dawn chorus. Shakhcunni and the other ghosts advised her again and again, "When you arrive at the demon kingdom, your every step must be taken cautiously." Ugly Shakhcunni tied a few chocolates and lozenges into her handkerchief and said, "Suck these while you walk." The other ghosts said, "The demons are horrible. The strong ones oppress the weak and even snatch their food from their mouths. No one trusts anyone else; they all suspect each other. You'll never see a smile on their wretched faces, because they are forbidden to smile. They're nothing but chickens." 

	"Think about Parama Purusa all the time," advised Shakhcunni. "Don't make anyone angry unnecessarily. If you think there's some impending danger, give a bird one of the chocolates to eat and say, 'Grotesquely ugly sister Shakhcunni, I'm in trouble.' I'll immediately rush to help you and do whatever's necessary."

	Aparna walked into the southern part of the forest. She walked on and on and suddenly heard a kot kot kotakot, kot kot kotakot sound. "Let me go and see what that is," she thought, but then decided, "Well it probably isn't anything interesting ; a woodman must be cutting wood."

After going a little further she heard a kot kot kona kon, kot kot kona kon sound a little way off. At first she thought, "Let me go and investigate," but then decided, "No, what's the use; it's probably a labourer digging the rocky soil with a pick-axe."

She continued her journey, and soon came to a stream. Its dancing transparent waters looked so beautiful that she cupped her hands and drank. She heard a gentle murmuring and wondered what it was. "It's quite natural for rivers to make such sounds," she thought, so what's the point of bothering about it?

A little farther south the forest came to an end and Aparna found herself on the edge of a vast plain. The soil was completely dry and as hard as rock. The only trees she could see were some very tall coconut trees. But there wasn't a single ripe coconut on any of them, only unripe ones. "This is very strange," thought Aparna.

	Aparna noticed that the people who lived there weren't talking with each other. In fact they hardly looked at each other. They were only concerned about their own affairs. Aparna saw a little girl like herself beside the road and asked, "Sister, would you like a chocolate?

	"Why do you want to give me a chocolate?" she asked. "I bet you've poisoned it."

	Aparna was amazed. She ate half the chocolate herself and said, "Look, if this chocolate was poisoned would I eat half of it myself ?" 

	"All right, please give me a chocolate," said the demon girl. "But first eat a little piece of it yourself," she added suspiciously. 

	Aparna was astonished. She gave the little girl a chocolate, and asked, "Why is this place so dry ? There's nothing growing here except a few coconut trees and they only have unripe coconuts on them. That's very strange." 

	"It 's a long story," replied the demon girl. "There is a garden beside the demon king's royal palace where many vegetables used to grow, including a rather unusual egg-plant. One day we noticed the egg-plant had grown five feet in a single night. Having never seen such a strange thing, we could hardly believe our eyes. The top officials of the agriculture department went to see for themselves but couldn't give any explanation at all. Muttering this and that they tried to hide their ignorance. 

	"It seems I sent you overseas to get your degrees in vain," lamented the demon king. "Neither have you learnt anything, nor have you understood anything." 

	"Good heavens!" exclaimed the officials. "How do you expect us to solve this mystery with the little knowledge we acquired studying overseas all those years ago ? The standard of education abroad has since greatly improved and if you were to send us there now we'd be t able to give you the correct answer." Disgusted, the demon king returned home.

	"One day the egg-plant grew an extra ten feet, the next day twenty feet. It kept growing until it was about to touch the sky and its roots were about to penetrate the underworld. Moreover, every day it produced thousands and thousands of tons of different types of eggplants : deep black egg-plants, American red egg-plants, Chinese white egg-plants, long egg-plants, thorny egg-plants and giant eggplants. Some were sweet, some sour, some salty, some pungent, some astringent and some bitter. 

	"That huge egg-plant which stretched from the sky down to the underworld made a gurgling sound as it sucked the earth dry. The water-table sank lower and lower until it was finally beyond reach. Without water all the plants withered and died. The situation was much worse that in any calmining area. All the ponds dried up : women had nowhere to get water, bathing became impossible and farming stopped. 

	"Fortunately the plant produces a lot of egg-plants which we eat to survive. They are out of reach and have to be pulled down to the ground with a long pole."

	"How do you cook without water ?" asked Aparna.

	"Luckily there are unripe coconuts on the coconut trees," replied the demon girl. "We use their water for cooking, rinsing our mouths, drinking and bathing. That's why we don't let a single coconut ripen : they are all picked when they are still unripe. The coconut water is taken to the waterworks where it is filtered and then piped to people's homes. On the king's orders meters have been installed to extract charges and reduce wastage.".

	"And then?" asked Aparna.

	The demon girl continued, "The king announced that anyone who could cut down the egg-plant and raise the water level would be given half the kingdom and the right to order the release of all the prisoners in the jail."

	"Why do people go to jail ?" asked Aparna.

	"Because they commit crimes," she replied. "Some due to a faulty education, some out of poverty, and some due to their inborn nature. By giving a good education to everyone satiety could make its citizens just and honest. However, no-one in our present society has the necessary knowledge, intelligence or concern to do that. So what can people do ? Because they cannot do good, they resort to bad actions. Then they are thrown into prison where they mix with dishonest people. They become even more corrupted and finally choose the path of the demons. Our society is now full of them.

	"The king announced that those who are unsuccessful in cutting down the egg-plant will be thrown into prison and their ears and noses cut off. Actually, only the men have to face this punishment; the women are not dealt with in such a way. If they are unsuccessful they have to wear ear-rings in their noses and nose-rings in their ears. " 

	" I'll have a go," said Aparna. "I'll go and try."

	She went to the demon king and said, "Your Majesty, I would also like to try. Please give me permission."

	"You can try if you so desire," he told her, "but I know you won't succeed." 

	The water is too deep 
For elephants and horses 
But the mosquito says, 
"It's not too deep for me." 

	Aparna struck one of the branches of the egg-plant with an axe. Of course it fell to the ground, but immediately a thousand other branches grew out of the same place. Then she struck one of the roots and severed it, but from that spot thousands of roots grew out in an instant. 

	The demon king's guards seized Aparna and threw her into jail. Needless to say, she was forced to wear ear-rings in her nose and nose-rings in her ears. The black shadow of doom descended on her life. 

	Prisoners in the demon jail had to spend the whole day locked up, but at night the gates were left open and they were free to go anywhere they liked. However, no one would leave the prison. The demons used to pose as innocent citizens during the day, but would become blood-suckers at night. That's why the prisoners preferred to stay confined to the jail. If they ventured outside they would surely fall into the clutches of the demons. Aparna sat in the inky darkness of her cell. While wondering what to do next she noticed many different types of owl perched on the branch of a drumstick tree just outside her cell window.

	Most birds cannot see at night and take shelter in their own nests. Owls and a few other varieties of birds, however, are unable to see during the day and can only see at night. There are many species of owl: the brown fish owl, the barn owl, the northern spotted owlet, the Indian brown hawk owl, the graveyard owl, and many more. The northern spotted owlet is the only one which can see in the late afternoon. The others can only see after sunset. Owls eat more flesh than birds. They are quite cowardly during the day, but become brave at night. 

	When she saw these owls, Aparna remembered ugly Shakhcunni's parting words. She gave one of her chocolates to a brown fish owl. The owl ate it without any hesitation. "Brother fish owl, brother fish owl," said Aparna, "you ate the chocolate as soon as I gave it to you. Didn't it occur to you that it might be something bad ?" 

	"Why would I think that ?" replied the owl. "When people give things with affection, would they, or could they, give anything harmful ?" 

	Aparna thought, "Oh, just see how different this owl is from the demon girl." Having given the chocolate to the owl she mentally summoned ugly Shakhcunni. "Sister Shakhcunni, I'm in great trouble." Shakhcunni appeared that very instant and said, "Here I am. Don't worry. I know what trouble you're in and will do everything I can to help. Don't bother yourself about it. Go to sleep." Just as she was about to leave she added, "By the way, my dear, you made a small mistake. Instead of calling me 'sister Shakhcunni', you should have called me 'grotesquely ugly sister Shakhcunni'. After all, I'm a very bad person, you know."

	* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

	Anumay had gone to Purulia to participate in a sport's competition. It was expected that he would stay there for a few days. The first night passed uneventfully, but during the second night his sleep was suddenly broken. He thought he heard someone say in the darkness, "Don't be afraid, Anumay, I've come here for a good cause."

	"Who are you ? Who are you?" he asked. "Tell me who you are." 

	"I'm grotesquely ugly sister Shakhcunni," came the reply.

	Anumay looked around and saw ugly Shakhcunni standing beside him. She did look quite grotesque, although her eyes and face were shining with spotless purity. He had seen very few ordinary people glowing with such purity.

	"You shouldn't stay in Purulia any longer," whispered Shakhcunni. "Aparna has fallen into the clutches of the demons and I need your help to rescue her. Leave this place immediately. I'll follow you like a shadow."

	Anumay left immediately. He set off in the direction of his home. "Don't go home now," advised Shakhcunni. "Go to the juniper forest." 

	So Anumay turned south. While looking towards the forest he felt as if he was being drawn by some inexplicable attraction. He was not sure what caused him to move like one entranced, as if in a dream. He was aware, however, of the forest leaves quivering in the breeze, softly murmuring. The quivering charmed him, but he was unable to explain why. He did realise that nothing in this universe is meaningless, nothing is burdensome, nothing is valueless.

	In your vast universe 
Nothing is lost, Oh Lord, nothing is lost 
Foolish people cry endless tears 
Under the spell of ignorance.

	What was, still is, and will always be. Everything has its own inner significance. Even the murmuring of the forest has a hidden meaning; some understand it, some don't. 

	The waves dash against the shore 
Raising a deep roar 
In the breeze the forest grove quivers 
Softly murmuring.

	Suddenly Anumay saw a bicycle leaning against a rain tree. "Hey, that's my sister's bike," he thought as he got closer. "She must have come this way."

	Dusk was drawing in. The forest was unknown, unfamiliar. To the left and right, in front and behind, in all directions, he peered into dense darkness. "Wait here," whispered Shakhcunni. "A deer is coming. When it arrives climb on her back. She will take you where you have to go."

	After a short while, a huge deer approached and stood beside Anumay. He jumped on her back, and she set off.

	After travelling a short distance they met a king cobra coming from the deep forest. "Brother king cobra, do you work here asked Anumay.

	"Yes, I'm on duty here," replied the cobra. "It's my job to check passports and visas. Show me your passport, please." Anumay handed over his passport. The cobra then turned to the deer. "Sister deer, show me your passport please." 

	"I'm a citizen of this forest," said the deer. "I don't need a passport or a visa." The cobra was satisfied, said goodbye and left. 

	They crossed the checkpost and walked on a little further. All of a sudden a huge Royal Bengal tiger emerged from the bushes and started creeping towards them very slowly. He was thinking how nice it would be to have his first kill so early in the night. "I've got two tasty dishes in one catch," he thought. He approached them and roared, 

	"Halum hulum, halum hulum 
Now I'm going to eat you, 
Now I'm going to eat you." 

	"Stop all this nonsense," said Anumay, unperturbed, "and introduce yourself first." 

	The tiger had never seen such boldness before -- never, never before --and his heart missed a beat. "Something terrible must be about to happen," he thought. Somehow he summoned all his courage and growled, "My name's Sardar Shardul Singh Hingshuta. What's yours ?" 

	Anumay answered in a stern voice,

I'm a lion's uncle, 
I'm Bhombol Das the Terrible. 
A thousand lion chutney for me is just a mouthful." 

	"Oh good heavens ! that's terrible," thought the tiger in a panic. "A thousand lion chutney is just a mouthful ? Oh my goodness ! run for your life, save yourself." And he ran away as fast as he could.

	After a while Anumay and the deer reached an arjuna tree. Nestled in its branches Anumay saw Aparna's bed and bedding just where she had left them. Anumay climbed up the tree and was surprised to find a number of ghosts, ghouls and mamdos sitting on the branches, looking as if they were waiting for him. Ugly Shakhcunni had already given them instructions: " As Anumay is in great trouble you'd better be on your best behaviour." 

	As soon as Anumay arrived the head ghost invited him to have a rest. "I've already ordered some hot asofoetida kochuri* for you," he said. "Eat it and then go to sleep." Anumay ate and then lay down under a quilt, but sleep eluded him. Suddenly he saw a ghost walking under the tree. He looked like he was a leader of some sort as many other ghosts were hovering around him. 

	* stuffed unleavened bread fried in oil 

	"Who are they?" Anumay asked the head ghost. "Where are they going and where have they come from so late at night?" 

	"Would you like to hear their story?" asked the head-ghost. 

	"I'd love to," replied Anumay. 

	The head-ghost told the following story: 

	The name of that leader of theirs is Kabla Kanta. It's doubtful if there's anyone as intelligent as him not only in India but throughout the entire world. One morning while taking a walk he saw some ghosts digging up the soil around a fish-pond. "Why are you digging here?" he asked. 

	 "Well you see," they replied, "the last rites of the father of a onelegged ghost are going to be observed soon. We're digging here to make a
cooking place for the confectionary." 

	"This is a lame excuse," thought Kablakanta. "They've really come here to steal the pond. To uproot a tree you have to first dig away the soil around it and then pull it up slowly. They're using a similar technique. First they'll dig away the soil around the pond and then they'll lift up the whole pond and carry it away. What a terrible thing. If they steal it how will we bathe, cook food and drink water? There won't be any more fish. How will we eat fish with our rice? No, we'll never allow the theft of the pond to occur like this in broad daylight." 

	Kablakanta held five street-corner meetings every day. In a moving voice he would say to his audience, "Friends, come nearer. We must put an end to this daylight robbery. Our future depends upon that pond. Our very existence depends upon the pond." 

	Everyone who gathered to hear Kablakanta's speeches returned home in fits of laughter. After two days of street-corner meetings little boys and girls would burst into song whenever they saw him passing by their ghost houses: 

	"Handa Gangaram*, Handa Gangaram, stay beside the pond 
Stuff your mouth with cloth to keep your brains from falling out. 
Habakanta, Habakanta, stay beside the pond 
Plug your ears with wool to keep your brains from failing out. 
Kablakanta, Kablakanta, stay beside the pond 
Block your nose with corks to keep your brains from falling out." 

	* Handa Gangaram, Habakanta and Kablakanta are names given to idiots.

	When Kablakanta first heard the song he took it to be a sign of his popularity and his chest doubled in size with great joy. After a time, however, he realised that it was not praise at all, but mockery and ridicule. After that he used to punch or slap anyone he heard singing the song. 

	One morning, while walking along the banks of the River Bhaba*, he saw a female ghost, the wife of a brahmadoitya ghost who lived in a nearby wood-apple tree. When she saw Kablakanta she burst into laughter and sang, 

	"Handa Gangaram, Handa Gangaram, stay beside the pond 
Stuff your mouth with cloth to keep your brains from falling out. 
Habakanta, Habakanta, stay beside the pond 
Plug your ears with wool to keep your brains from falling out. 
Kablakanta, Kablakanta, stay beside the pond 
Block your nose with corks to keep your brains from falling out." 

	*The River Bhaba is the mythological river that separates the living from the dead 

	Kablakanta flew into a rage and gave her a violent shove from behind. She fell into the water with a splash. "Oh God save me!" she screamed, making for the other side of the river. 

	After seeing all this commotion from his tree her husband climbed down and shouted at Kablakanta, "What have you done? What have you done? You've sent my wife to the other side of the River Bhaba. You idiot! Don't you know whoever goes to the other side never returns?" Pausing, he wiped his eyes with a black, silk handkerchief. "Oh what a terrible disaster! Oh dear, my wife has gone to the other side of the river Bhaba! Who's going to cook my meals twice a day ?" 

	There were a few ghosts standing nearby so he kept weeping, but as soon as they went away he put his handkerchief back in his pocket. Kablakanta noticed there wasn't a single tear in his eyes: he had been crying crocodile tears, nothing more.

	"You rascal !" screamed the brahmadoitya. "I'm not going to let you get away with this. Come with me. I'm taking you to the king." And he dragged Kablakanta to the royal court.

	By evening time the trial was well under way. The king had finished hearing the complaint from the brahmadoitya, and asked Kablakanta, "What have you got to say in your defense ?"

	"Your Majesty," said Kablakanta, "men and women do penance life after life to get to the other side of the River Bhaba. They perform all kinds of rituals and spend a fortune on their last rites. It's not an easy task to reach the other side of the river,you know. If my little push has helped the brahmadoitya's wife reach the other side, what could be more joyful news than that ? The brahmadoitya should invite me to a feast of curried grasshoppers and intestine chutney."

	The king heard everything, thought it over for a while, and then said, "Kablakanta's argument is irrefutable. I honourably acquit him." And turning to the brahmadoitya he declared, "You have greatly harassed Kablakanta by making false accusations against him. This is your punishment : for two months you are forbidden to wear wooden sandals*."

	* In former times orthodox brahmins (high-caste Hindus) would only wear wooden sandals.

	The brahmadoitya pleaded, his head lowered in shame, "Your Majesty, the wood-apple tree is covered with thorns. At all hours of night I have to walk through thickets, prickly bushes and stagnant ponds. If I can't wear my wooden sandals I won't be able to go anywhere at all. I'll starve." 

	The king proclaimed in a grave voice, "I've prohibited you from wearing wooden sandals but not from wearing leather shoes." The brahmadoitya seemed a little more satisfied. 

	After hearing this story Anumay turned over but still couldn't get to sleep. He kept hearing an incessant munch munch, crunch crunch sound coming form the nearby tree. "What's that sound, brother ?" he asked the head ghost. 

	"The most respected Gandharba Singh the Great lives by that tree over there," he replied. 

	"And who's he ?" asked Anumay. "Or what is he?" 

	"Would you like to hear the story of Gandharba Singh ?" asked the head ghost. 

	"I'd love to." 

	"Then listen," said the head ghost, and he told the following story : 

	Once-upon-a-time there was a famous and respected king called Kulabanta Singh. His personality was so awesome that in his kingdom cows and tigers would drink from the same pond. Six foot tall gate-keepers, dressed in glamourous uniforms and sporting giant mustaches, stood on guard at the palace gates. The head gatekeeper was called Kushabanta Singh. One day while keeping guard at the main gate, a gun propped against his shoulder, Kushabanta Singh spotted the palace laundryman, Chabbyulal Rajak. He was pushing a hand-cart full of bundles of clothes and, surprisingly, had shaved his head. Kushabanta Singh thought, 

	"What's happened, what's going on ? 
Maybe someone's dead 
Why has the laundryman 
Completely shaved his head?" 

	"Hey brother Chabbyulal, why have you shaved your head?" he asked. Chabbyulal burst into tears. "Haven't you heard ?" he sobbed. "In my neighbourhood everyone's weeping; tears are pouring from their eyes. The news must certainly be in the papers: Gandharba Singh is no longer in this earthly world. Gandharba Singh is dead." 

	Kushabanta Singh had no idea who Gandharba Singh was; he had not even heard the name before. But from what he had just been told, he guessed he was not an ordinary person. "There can't have been a braver man than he," he thought. 

	"Haven't you heard anything about this important event ?" asked Chabbyulal. 

	"Well, I've been busy here since early morning doing my duty," replied Kushabanta Singh, trying his best to hide his shameful ignorance, "so even though I heard about it, I really couldn't do much at all." And he thought, "There's only one way out of this embarrassing situation." He immediately called a barber and had his head shaved. 

	Gunabanta Singh, the rent-collector, was hurrying towards the palace. The water was not running in the early morning so he could not have his bath at the usual time. As a result he was now late for work. When he arrived at the palace gates he noticed that the gatekeeper had shaved his head, and thought,

	
"What's happened, what's going on ? 
Maybe someone's dead. 
Why has the gate-keeper 
Completely shaved his head

	"Brother Kushabanta Singh," he asked, "what's happened Why have you shaved your head ?"

	"I suppose you didn't have time to read the papers this morning," he replied. "The country's most beloved leader, Gandharba Singh, is no longer with us. What more could I do for such a noble person ? By shaving my head I've paid my last respects." Tears welled in his eyes.

	The rent-collector decided he would not go to the royal court just yet. First he would have his head shaved ; then he would go.

	The manager, Balabanta Singh, was in a fuming rage : the rent collector was late ...again. "I've had enough," he thought. "I'm going to deal with Gunabanta Singh once and for all. Only then will he stop his habit of coming late." But when he saw the bald rent-collector rushing into his office, he thought, 

	"What's happened, what's going on ? 
Maybe someone's dead. 
Why has the rent-collector 
Completely shaved his head ?"

	"Hey rent-collector," he asked, "what's happened?"

	"The biggest news of the day is the passing away of Gandharba Sirnh," he replied. "Didn't you read the papers ? Today we've been shaken by a terrible catastrophe. As a government employee, you know, I can't take the liberty of being absent from work. So I've paid my last respects in the only way possible -- by shaving my head." 

	"I'm also a government employee in mourning," thought the manager. "Unfortunately there's nothing more I can do either." He went to a nearby hair-cutting saloon and had his hair shaved off. 

	Work was going on as usual in the royal court when the manager entered the private office of the minister, Hanumanta Singh, with some urgent files. 

	Seeing Balabanta Singh's shaven head the minister thought, 

	"What's happened, what's going on ? 
Maybe someone's dead. 
Why has the manager 
Completely shaved his head ?" 

	"Oh manager, has there been some mishap in your family?" he asked. 

	"Not in my family," replied the manager, "but in my country." The minister became attentive. "What's happened ? What's happened ? "I haven't heard anything." 

	"Didn't you listen to the radio this morning ?" asked Balabanta Singh. "The biggest news of the day is the demise of the national leader, Gandharba Singh. Being a government official, how else can I pay last respects for the departed soul except by shaving my head ?"

"Oh dear, dear, dear," lamented the minister, "What a terrible thing! What a terrible thing! It's a tragic loss, an awful catastrophe. I'll look at your files a little later. First I'll have my head shaved." And he went and quickly did just that.

      That day all the work in the royal court was a little delayed. Nevertheless, the minister still went to see the king, Kulabanta Singh, although a little later than usual. When the king saw him, he thought ,

      "What's happened, what's going on ?
Maybe someone's dead
Why has the minister
Completely shaved his head ?"

      "Minister Hanumanta Singh," he asked, "tell me what type of unexpected event has happened." The king's tone showed that he was quite concerned and deeply sympathetic. He thought that perhaps the minister's ageing father, who had been suffering from gout for so long, had finally left his body. Or maybe his elderly mother, a long-time sufferer of asthma, had passed away.

      "Your Majesty," replied the minister, "didn't you watch television this morning ? It's the day's big news."

      "What's happened, Hanumanta Singh ?" asked the king anxiously. "What's the news ? Tell me quickly, I can't wait any longer."

      The minister replied, "The country's most beloved leader, respected by all, Gandharba Singh the Great, is no longer with us. He will no longer be here to stand by our side in times of prosperity or in times of adversity. He has gone to the world of immortality." 

	"What a terrible disaster !" lamented the king. "and the public relations department didn't tell me anything. Anyway, let me do my first duty." The king's personal barber, Darbarilal, came and shaved his head. "What else should we do to honour him ?" asked the king.

	"We could declare a week's state mourning," suggested the minister.

	"What an excellent idea ! What a wonderful proposal !" exclaimed the king. "Before making a public declaration, however," he continued after a pause, "I'd better go and have a word with the queen in her private chamber. You see, during the period of mourning she won't be able to wear her red-bordered sari, she'll have to wear a black-bordered one. It would be prudent to inform her about this before putting my signature on the official declaration."

	The king hurried into the queen's chamber. Queen Buddhimatii Devil was sitting with her back to the sun rolling wicks and singing to herself, 

	"Oh my friend Lolita 
Hold the candle please 
So I can walk along 
Safely and with ease." 

	Surprised to see the king rush in at an odd hour, and even more surprised by his bald head, Queen Buddhimatii Devil thought,

	"What's happened, what's going on ? 
Maybe someone's dead. 
Why has the king 
Completely shaved his head ?"

	"Dear king, what's happened ?" she asked. "Why have you shaved your head?"

	"All you seem to care about is rolling your wicks," said the king. "Haven't you heard about the greatest disaster to befall our country? What's the use of having a television set if you never watch it ? Not only was he the glory of our country," he continued, "but Gandharba Singh was the glory of the entire world. Now he's no longer on the earth. Causing us to weep, immersing us in a sea of grief, he has gone to the divine world."

	"That's very sad, my dear, " said the queen.

	"Yes," he continued, "that's why we've decided to go into state mourning for a week."

	"What should I do ?" asked the queen. "I'll do whatever is necessary."

	"During the week of mourning," said the king, "you should wear a black-bordered sari instead of a red-bordered one."

	"Of course," she agreed. "Of course I will."

	"My dear," added the king, "it would be even better if you shaved your head like the rest of us."

	The queen affectionately stroked her Albert-style hair-bun. "Will I have to shave my whole head or can I keep my bun ?"

	"People will praise you more if you shave off both
your hair and your bun," said the king.

	The queen apprehended danger. Would such a precious bun really have to be shaved off ? "Since the king has given the order," she said, "I will have to get my bun shaved off. Before that, however, I'd like to hear a brief biography of Gandharba Singh."

	"Gandharba Singh the Great!" exclaimed the king. "Gandharba Singh the most famous ! What else is there to know? What more do you want ?"

	"Dear king, you are a very learned man," said the queen. "You have an M.A. in three subjects whereas I only have one M.A., in psychology. My shallow knowledge can hardly be compared to your profound learning, so please let me know the biography of Gandharba Singh."

	The king was in a fix. "I...I... I don't know all the minor details," he stammered. "I can't tell you anything. The minister, Hanumanta Singh, told me."

	"Call Hanumanta Singh."

	Hanumanta Singh came in. He was also in a fix. "I ... I ... I don't know all the details," he stammered. "The manager, Balabanta Singh, told me."

	Balabanta Singh came in. He was also in a fix and stammered, "I ... I ... I don't know all the details. The rent-collector, Gunabanta Singh, told me."

	Gunabanta Singh came in. He was also in a fix and stammered, "I .... I .... I don't know all the details. The gate-keeper, Khushabanta Singh, told me." 

	Khushabanta Singh came in. He was also in a fix and stammered, "I ... I ... I don't know all the details. The laundryman, Chabbyulal, told me." 

	"Bring Chabbyulal here," ordered the king. 

	The king's guards brought Chabbyulal to the palace with hands bound. Chabbyulal stood in front of the king and burst into tears. 

	"Chabbyulal," said the king, " Gandharba Singh's demise is a distressing event not only for the country, but for the whole world. We are overwhelmed with grief. If you know anything about him, please tell us." 

	Replied Chabbyulal, "Right now all the people in my neighbourhood are weeping day and night. Due to Gandharba Singh's untimely death their chests are bursting with grief. We could never have imagined that Gandharba Singh would pass away." 

	"I understand," consoled the king. "We are also grief-stricken. Gandharba Singh has gone leaving us in an ocean of sorrow. Out of grief we have shaved our heads. We are ready to shave them a thousand times if necesary--But I want to know who he was exactly." 

	"Your Majesty," replied Chabbyulal, "it is indeed a great loss. No loss can be greater than this. What else can I tell you about him? Gandharba Singh was the name of my dearest, my most beloved donkey. In his absence I've been pulling my laundry cart around myself today." 

	"Gandharba Singh was quite famous when he was alive," said the head-ghost, "but even more famous after death. His name has been permanently recorded in the annals of history. After dying he became a donkey ghost and came to live with us here. Donkey ghosts are by nature a little shy and rarely show themselves. That's why he stays behind that banyan tree over there making a munch munch sound as he eats grass and a crunch crunch sound as he walks around. So that's what those munch munch and crunch crunch sounds are." Anumay fell asleep.

	Just before dawn Anumay climbed down the tree and washed his hands and feet. He was almost ready to set off when ugly Shakhcunni offered him breakfast. "Eat it before you leave," she advised. "You know, when you go to a foreign country you can never be sure where or what you'll be able to eat."

	"Thank you," said Anumay, "but it's too early to eat anything. I'd prefer to go straight away."

	So Anumay set off. After walking south for a long time he heard an incessant kot kot kotakot, kot kot kotakot sound coming from within the deep forest. "Let me go and see what that is," he thought, but then decided against it. "No, while travelling one shouldn't make any detours; otherwise'one may forget one's destination."

	But just at that moment ugly Shakhcunni whispered in his ear, "Go and take a look, it'll be to your advantage."

	After walking a little way Anumay saw an axe cutting off the branches of a tree. Branches were falling everywhere. He inquired,

	"Oh brother axe, for whom are you waiting
Alone in the vast forest ?"

	"Anumay, you've come," replied the axe. "I've been waiting a long time for you to come by this way. I'm ugly Shakhcunni's axe. It's my job to help good people as much as I can. Put me in your bag. I'll be very useful."

	Anumay put the axe in his bag and set off once again on his journey. After walking a little way he heard a kot kot kona kon,kot kot kona kon sound. This time, before he could even think about it, ugly Shakhcunni whispered, "Go and investigate, it'll be helpful to you." 

	After walking a little further he saw a pick-axe digging away at the rocky earth and inquired,

	"Oh brother pick-axe, for whom are you waiting 
Alone in the vast forest?"

	"Anumay, you've come," replied the pick-axe. "I've been waiting for you. I work for ugly Shakhcunni. It's my job to help good people in all circumstances. Put me in your bag. I'll be very useful."

	Anumay put the pick-axe in his bag and set off once again. After a while he reached a small stream. While he was drinking its waters with cupped hands, a murmuring sound drifted into his ears. "Should I go and find out where that murmuring sound is coming from ?" he asked himself. And then ugly Shakhcunni whispered in his ear, "Yes, go and see. It will be helpful to you."

	After walking upstream a little way Anumay saw a red pumpkin. The stream was murmuring as it flowed out of a hole in the pumpkin. Anumay inquired,

	 "Oh brother pumpkin, for whom are you waiting
Alone in the vast forest?" 

	"Anumay, you've come," replied the pumpkin. "I've been waiting for you. I'm ugly Shakhcunni's pumpkin. It's my job to render all kinds of service to good people. Put me in your bag. I'll be very useful." 

	Anumay blocked the hole with wax, put the pumpkin in his bag and set off on his journey once again. After a while the forest opened onto a vast plain which stretched as far as the eye could see. Above was the blue sky; below, the stony, dusty, dry soil. Anumay noticed that there was no vegetation except a row of tall coconut trees that bore only unripe coconuts. 

	He also noticed that everyone's hair looked very untidy. They obviously hadn't oiled it for quite some time. How could they have used oil anyway? Coconut oil is made from ripe coconuts and here the coconuts had to be picked before they were ripe to solve the water problem. Not a single one was given the chance to ripen. "They could easily use mustard oil in their hair," thought Anumay. Then he realised that all farming had stopped due to a lack of water. If they couldn't grow mustard plants they certainly couldn't produce mustard oil. They kept a few cows, which they fed with imported cattle feed, so were able to produce milk and ghee. But ghee can't be used to oil the hair! After making a few inquiries, Anumay discovered that people who used to put mustard oil in their nostrils and sleep the whole day were now greatly inconvenienced because they had to use ghee instead.

	Anumay walked a little further and came to a fork in the road. While he was puzzling over which route to take ugly Shakhcunni whispered in his ear, "Take the road on the right. The demon king's palace is that way."

	When he reached the palace he read the large notice about the egg-plant: whoever could cut down the tree and raise the water level would be given half the kingdom. Moreover that person would earn the right to order the release of all the prisoners. Once again he remembered the warning given by ugly Shakhcunni and the other ghosts as he was climbing down the tree: "The demons are dangerous. The strong oppress the weak and even snatch the food from their mouths. Be very careful, Anumay." 

	Anumay had already made up his mind to be careful. He went to the royal court to meet the king. Bowing low according to protocol, he said, "Your Majesty, kindly give me permission to cut down the egg-plant."

	Said the demon king mockingly, "I see you wish to go to jail and have your nose and ears chopped off. Go back home and drink milk with a bowl and spoon like all little boys."

	"Your Majesty," persisted Anumay, "I'm too old to drink milk with a bowl and spoon. I'm almost ten," 

	"Since you're so arrogant," said the king, "go and try."

	Anumay stood beside the tree to assess the task before him. He took the axe out of the bag and said, "Brother axe, brother axe, get to work."

	The axe made such a deafening kot kot kotakot, kot kot kotakot sound as it cut the tree that it shook the earth, air and sky. Thousands of branches were flying in all directions, blacking out the sky and causing the day to become as dark as night. Everyone started running in all directions, shouting, "Oh my god! save yourselves, run for your lives."

	In order to find out what was going on the demon king rushed out of his palace and headed in the direction of the egg-plant. The route was treacherous--many huge branches flew into his ears and nostrils. So he ran back to the palace, shouting, "Save me! Save me !"

	At first he hid himseIf under the dining tabIe, but even there it was not safe. He was bombarded on all sides by hundreds of egg-plants of various sizes and colours: deep black egg-plants, American red egg-plants, Chinese white egg-plants, long egg-plants, thorny eggplants and giant egg-plants. On being badly wounded in the face by a volley of thorny egg- plants he had no other option
than to jump into an empty rice sack and somehow save his life.

	Within a few minutes the axe had cut down the whole tree, thus solving the first problem. But how could the water level be raised? The earth had become as hard as stone. "Brother pick-axe, brother pick-axe, get to work," said Anumay. Five minutes later the pick-axe had dug a huge lake bed out of the rock-hard earth.

	The lake bed had been dug, but where would the water come from ? The water table had sunk below the underworld. Anumay took the pumpkin out of his bag, put it in the middle of the lake bed and removed the plug. "Brother pumpkin, brother pumpkin, get to work," he said. A murmuring stream of water flowed out of the pumpkin and quickly filled the lake. It seemed, however, that the entire country was about to be flooded. People climbed to the tops of the coconut trees to save their lives. The rich left the ground floor of their homes and took refuge on the first floor.

	When the danger had passed everyone wondered where the demon king was. They searched high and low. There was no sign of him on the ground floor of the palace so they searched all the rooms on the first floor, but still couldn't find him,. Then from inside a rice sack they heard his feeble cry. "I'm inside the rice sack. Come and rescue me.

	"There's no need to be afraid anymore, Your Majesty," they said.

	"The egg-plant has been cut down and the water table has risen. You
can come out of the sack now."

	"When the tree's branches were falling everywhere," said the demon king,"my body shrank in fear and it was easy for me to get into this rice sack. However, now that the egg-plant has been cut, and the water table has risen, I've become as fat as a pig, and my belly is as big as a mammoth. I'm stuck so tightly in the sack that I can't even move. It's impossible for me to get out."

	So they cut open the jute sack with scissors and liberated the imprisoned demon king. He heaved a sigh, of relief. But remember, the demon king was very wicked. Every moment his mind was full of evil designs. He thought, "I won't give Anumay half the kingdom, nor will I let him free the prisoners."

	Then Anumay arrived. "Your Majesty," he said, "now you should honour your promise."

	"Whose promise?" asked the king, pretending not to know. "What promise ? I certainly didn't make any promise. The egg-plant withered under the blazing sun and the water-table rose due to an earthquake. What's your achievement in all this ? Go home naughty boy, and drink milk with a bowl and a spoon."

	"I see," said Anumay, "then it's going to be a case of tit for tat. Brother axe, brother axe, get to work."

	The axe started to hit the demon king's eyes and nose. Kot kot kotakot, kot kot kotakot came the sound. Just as he was about to lose one of his ears he cried out, "I'm guilty. I'm at fault. I surrender. Anumay, please forgive me, please forget everything. Oh, how you must hate me."

	"I can forgive you," said Anumay, "But remember, I can never hate you. I can't hate anyone. I never learned how to hate."

	"Then just forgive me," said the demon king.

	"But first it must be considered if you've changed
your bad ways." said Anumay.

	The demon king pleaded for mercy with folded hands and then sang one of Rabindranath Tagore's songs

	I've accepted defeat, I've accepted defeat 
Your defeat means my defeat 
This I have realised times without number.

	Anumay was a great lover of Tagore's songs. Their noble ideas were a great source of joy for him. Now, hearing these lofty ideals from the mouth of the demon king he couldn't help but forgive him.

	"I hereby give you half the kingdom and the right to free all the prisoners," said the demon king.

	"I'm still a student and a little boy." said Anumay. "What would I do with half a kingdom ? Either become honest and run the administration yourself, or hand it over to any honest person. I just want the right to grant the release of all the prisoners."

	Anumay ordered the release of all the prisoners. He made arrangements for those who had their noses and ears cut off to be given new ones using the latest techniques of medical science. On hearing the news the prisoners were overcome with joy. They rushed through the prison gates shouting, "Victory to the human race Victory to the kind-hearted ! Victory to our little brother, Anumay.

	The demon king accompanied Anumay to the prison. When Aparna saw her brother, she rushed up and hugged him. "Anumay, you're here !" she cried. Anumay was so happy to be with his sister again that he burst into tears of joy.

	In due time suitable arrangements were made to send the prisoners back to their countries. A rocket was ready to give Aparna and Anumay a comfortable trip back home.

	While walking along the main street on their way to board the rocket Anumay and Aparna saw the demon king's elder son, Madhumay, younger son Rupamay, and only daughter, Madhupurna, waiting for them. "Do you wish to say something, friends?" asked Anumay. 

	"Yes, brother Anumay," they replied. "We would like to ask you a question. It will be our first and last question." 

	"Please ask," said Anumay. 

	"Look brother," they said, "we don't like this demon society at all, we're completely sick of it. We want to breathe freely. Here the strong oppress the weak and even snatch their food from their mouths. Please save us from this wretched plight. Can we go with you to the human society ?" 

	"Of course you can." replied Anumay and Aparna. "You can come today, right now. You are our brothers and sisters." 

	Hearing these words their once sad and pale faces glowed in the light of a golden smile. The five of them burst into song: 

	"Victory will be ours, victory will be ours 
Victory will be ours, victory will be ours 
The soil of the earth was made for humans and not for demons." 

	Aparna and Anumay climbed into the rocket. After the take-off Anumay asked Aparna, "Little sister, I want to know once and for all how you will address me when we get home." 

	"Why do you want to know the same thing over and over again?" asked Aparna. "I've already told you that I took a vow to only address you as apni."

	"I don't need such respect," said Anumay. "It'll be enough if you call me tumi." After a pause he continued, "Look, you've been addressing me as tui since the day you were born. I've heard you calling me tui so many times that I've come to like it. So why don't you address me as tui while we're in the rocket and as tumi when we get home.

	Making faces at him, Aparna replied, "Dear me, that's very unreasonable. What's all this childish talk about addressing you as tui in the rocket and as tumi when we get home ? It just won't do. From now on I'll only address you as apni. I don't care if you like it or not. I simple don't care."

	* * * * * * *

	"My throat's sore after telling so many stories," said the mynah bird. "That's enough for now."

	But his brothers, sisters and cousins chirped, "That's not fair. That's not fair at all. You can't stop telling stories. It's not allowed, it's simply not allowed. Our demands must be met, they must be met. We've brought baskets full of puffed-rice and containers full of potato kochuri for you. Eat it by the mouthful and go on telling stories.

      "Our demands must be met
            must be met 
                  must be met."