Knowledge is Power!

Tag: myth

  • The Last Ritual by Khushboo Singh

    Mohan kept thinking about the argument with his wife while rowing the boat. The passengers were chatting among themselves, but that didn’t bother Mohan. He was immersed in his thoughts. He wanted to send his son to the town for better education, but his wife argued that he was too young to send away. It’s not that he was not attached to his son but wanted a better future for him. He is already 12 years old and there is no good school in the village. A voice broke his chain of thoughts.

    One of the passengers spoke, “When do you cross the river in the morning? I need to go to the town early morning.”

    Mohan replied, “How early do you want?”

    The passenger spoke again, “At dawn.”

    Mohan replied,” I will be here by sunrise.”

    The boat had reached the shore of the river. Mohan hinged the boat to the riverside and the passengers climbed down. They paid Mohan and walked away. It was getting dark now. Mohan carefully hinged the boat and tied it to a stone pillar. He was taking out his stuff when a stranger came close to him.

    The stranger called upon him, “Brother! Take me to the Rajghat.”

    Mohan turned around and looked at the stranger. He was an old man with an overgrown grey beard. He was lean and tall. Mohan had not seen him before.

    Mohan spoke, “ I have never seen you before. Are you from a different village?”

    The old man spoke with a sad voice, “ Yes. I am from a distant village. I have walked all day to reach here. I need to cross the river.”

    Mohan replied in a humble tone, “ Kaka! You are late. It’s dark and misty. I can’t row the boat at this hour. I need to go home. My family must be waiting.”

    At this point, the old man looked tired and distressed. Tears rolled down his cheek while he spoke, “Oh boatman! Please understand my situation. I got a letter today morning. My son is dead. I need to go to Rajghat. I need to see him and collect his body. I need to complete the rituals. He was my only son and I don’t have anyone other than him. You can’t understand my loss.”

    The old man broke into tears as he struggled to speak further,” Take everything I have. Just let me see my son one last time. I will never forget your debt oh boatman!”

    Mohan shivered with pain when he saw that old man crying. He went forward and held him tightly. He gently tapped his arms and said,” Kaka! Don’t worry. I will take you.”

    Mohan took the old man on his boat and went back to the river. He rowed his boat in that dark misty night. He looked at the old man who was sitting still, looking at the wave created by the moving boat. He was feeling bad for the poor stranger. He gained all the courage and asked the old man, “How old was your son?”

    The old man replied in a low voice, “He was 21 years old.”

    Mohan asked again,” He works in the town?”

    The old man was still looking at the ripple created in the river. He didn’t look away but took a deep breath and replied,” He wanted to earn a lot of money. We sent him with his uncle to the town. He joined a goldsmith there and started assisting with his work. He was doing well. In the beginning, things were good and he used to visit us every month.”

    (Image generated with Canva)

    He paused and looked towards Mohan, “ The distance is large. So I understand it would have been difficult for him to travel every week. But we were happy. But later he got busier than before. He couldn’t find the time. His mother passed away last week… and..”

    The old man again broke into tears and he looked away. Mohan didn’t ask any further.

    It was deep dark now. Mohan lit the lamp on the boat. He spoke, “Kaka! We are close. We will be there in another few minutes.”

    The old man didn’t heed at first. Then he looked at Mohan and took out a box from his luggage and said, “ I was going to give this box to my son..but…now..”. His voice trembled and he stopped speaking. Mohan realized that they were at the edge. So he started preparing to hinge the boat. He climbed down the boat and tied it with a rope. He could hear the old man stepping down as well. But when he looked back he was shocked. There was no one near the boat. He went around to see. No one was around. He thought to himself, “Did the old man just run away? Why? Maybe he didn’t have money?..Why would he act like a thief?”

    Mohan was a bit disappointed but then he realised the situation of the old man and calmed himself down. He went back into his boat to return back home. But when he entered the boat he saw a box lying on the sitting area of the boat.

    He opened the box. There were two earthen pots with a cloth covering the mouth of the pots. He knew those were the ashes of two dead people. His fear was turning into reality as he opened the letter kept in the box.

    Son! You never cared to return to us in these two years but we can’t give up on you. After your mother’s death, I felt lonely and I knew I wouldn’t survive for long. I don’t expect much from you but we will be released from this world of Maya if you complete the last rituals meant to be completed by a son. If you find our ashes and this letter we will find our place in heaven.

    The letter had an address on the backside and was addressed to a person named Raghav. Mohan still in shock decided to deliver the letter and the ashes to the given address.

    When he reached the given house and knocked, a lady opened the door. Mohan showed his face in the light of the lamp and spoke, “ Does Raghav lives here?”

    The old lady looked surprised. “Why do you ask?”, she spoke.

    Mohan said, “I have a message from his parents.”

    The lady still in surprise spoke again with a hint of irritation in her voice, “ How come his parents ask his whereabouts now? No one came to ask in the last two years. His ashes were lying abandoned in his old room for so long. Do you know the amount of trouble…”

    Mohan got numb. All the words were vanishing in thin air as if the whole world had gotten silent. He could only speak in a faint voice, “Where are his ashes?” The lady went inside shouting and came back with a pot.

    Mohan himself completed the rituals early morning and prayed for the soul of the entire family. Then he returned home where his wife was waiting for him eagerly. She kept asking questing while he sat on the floor.

    He finally spoke, “Our kid will stay with us.” Both looked at each other in comforting silence.

    By Khushboo Singh

  • The box by Khushboo Singh

    15 years old Shanti went to see the fair with her friends. Her mother gave her 50 Rupees to eat and buy stuffs. She was quite excited.

    When the girls reached the place, they got even more excited. There was a huge crowd. There were shops selling toys, little clay pots, bangles, etc. There were stalls for different snacks like Samosa, tea, chat, and different kinds of sweets. There were swings and rides for children.

    The girls were exploring all the options. The place was filled with joyful sounds and laughter of people. Shanti was curious while going through different shops. While her friends were busy eating various snacks, she decided to spend her money on something unique.

    As she walked away from her friends, she came across shops selling pottery, clothes, handcrafts, and many more. She noticed that there was a shop selling antiques. She entered the shop. It was a big one. There were boxes, statues, coins, and wall paintings. She looked at the beautiful boxes as the shopkeeper approached her.

    “Do you want to buy one?”, he asked and smiled.

    Shanti replied, “ Yes! How much for one?”

    “150 Rupees”, the owner said.

    Shanti’s smile turned into disappointment. “ I only have a 50 Rupees”, she said.

    The shopkeeper looked at her and said, “I have one old box which I can giveaway for 50. But it’s in a bad condition. Someone threw it near my shop. I collect antiques and it looked really good so I kept it. But no one would buy it as it is broken.“

    The shopkeeper went inside and brought a wooden box. It was a rectangular box. It’s handle was broken and there were scratches on upper cover. It seemed like someone tried to damage it. But from inside it looked brand new. Finely polished inner walls with a mirror on the top lid. The interior had fine engraved miniature designs. There was engraved a text saying,

    Return anything you take from here

    “What does it mean?”, asked Shanti.

    The shopkeeper replied,”I don’t know. It’s just for decorative purposes. Don’t bother. Do you want it?”

    Shanti replied at once,”Yes!”

    She happily brought the box with her. She was excited about putting ornaments and jewellery in it, but her mother denied. She said that the gold jewellery were kept in safe and should not be touched.

    Finally, Shanti kept her artificial bracelet in it. She had bought it from a local shop. It was made of fake pearls but looked really pretty.

    That day Shanti’s friend Meenal visited her. Shanti showed her the box. Meenal was fascinated by it. She put her own earrings in the box and said, “It looks so good in it. We will keep all our jewelry in this box.” Shanti’s eyes sparkled with excitement. They both spent some time together and then Meenal took her earrings from the box and went away.

    The day went by and at night Shanti closed the box and went to sleep. The next day when she opened the box, she realised her bracelet was not there. She asked her mother and father about it. No one had touched her box. She was confused. She went to Meenal’s house to ask her.

    When she reached her house, she saw policemen standing at Meenal’s door. Meenal’s mother was weeping and her father was talking to the police. Apparently Meenal disappeared from the house when they were asleep. The parents searched all places in the village but were unable to locate her. The mother was screaming, “ She was sleeping with me. How can she go anywhere in the middle of the night? The doors were also locked from the inside when we woke up.”

    As Shanti heard all that she ran back to her house. She went into her room and took out the box. She opened the box. As she looked carefully she noticed something. She went to her father’s room and got his magnifying glass.

    With the glass when she looked at the miniature designs she realized something. Those were ornaments engraved on the walls of the box. She could see her pearl bracelet among them. Then she saw something that froze her. Some of the ornaments were engraved with the human figures wearing them.

    She quickly turned her attention to the text again

    Return anything you take from here

    Shanti understood that her friend was never coming back. She took the box in her hand and ran quickly towards the fair. She went to the antique shop, threw the box at the door, and ran back home.

    The shopkeeper came out and saw the box. He picked it up. He went inside and kept the box on the shelf. It read

    For sale

    By
    Khushboo Singh

  • The old lady and a magical lake by Khushboo Singh

    A cloth merchant was returning to his town. On his way, he passed a small village. It was already late evening and he was tired of traveling so he decided to rest before moving ahead. He looked for a place to stay as he didn’t want to spend any money on renting a room. He saw a temple on the outskirts of the village, where people were going for evening prayers. Nearby that temple was a beautiful lake. But surprisingly the lake was completely isolated. No one was to be seen there.

    The merchant decided to take a nap near the lake. It was quiet so he won’t have to bother about any disturbance. He chose a tree and put his bag under it. Then he used the bag as a pillow and slept on it. The bag was important to him as he had kept all his gold coins in it, from his recent sales. He was almost asleep when some voice woke him up. There was someone at the lake. He hid behind the tree and looked in silence. An old lady had approached the lake. She took out something from her saree. It was a gold coin. She threw it in the lake. The merchant was taken by surprise.

    Image for illustration: Khushboo Singh

    He kept looking. The lady waited momentarily and then something shiny appeared from the lake. It was a bowl filled with gold coins. The merchant was astonished. He got goosebumps all over his body. He had never seen such magic before. He thought to himself:

    One gold coin gave her a full bowl of gold. What if I throw five gold coins? I will get five times as much money as she has.

    He was filled with excitement. He waited for the old lady to leave. The old lady took the bowl full of gold and left. As soon as she left, the merchant rushed towards the lake and took out five gold coins. He threw them into the lake. He waited with impatience. But nothing happened. He was confused. He waited more. Still nothing. He didn’t understand anything. He looked around. No one was there. The old lady was gone. He searched for the coins by entering the lake. But he found nothing but mud and water.

    He realized that he was missing something. He ran in the direction where the old lady had gone. But he could not find her. He thought to himself:

    The lady was so old. How far she could go? Maybe she is from the village.

    So he decided to go to the village in search of the lady. He roamed like a madman in an unknown village but could not see any recognizable face. For a moment he wanted to return to his hometown. But he had lost five gold coins. That was a big part of his sale. How could he let it go? Plus he still wanted to use that magical lake for gaining more wealth. The greed made him stay.

    He rented a house in the village by a goldsmith. He kept asking about the old lady in the entire village. But he could not reveal his motive, so he made up a story and told everyone that the old lady stole his 5 gold coins near the temple gate. After two days of searching, he found nothing. So he decided to go back.

    On his way back home, he again crossed the temple. This time he decided to enter the temple. He did his prayers. Then he looked at the head priest. He realized that he had yet not talked to him. So he approached him and asked him about the old lady. But this time he told the truth to the priest.

    After hearing from the merchant, the priest burst into laughter. The merchant was confused. He asked the reason for such mockery. Then the priest said:

    I am not laughing at you but at the very nature of human greed. You threw your hard-earned money into the lake, to get more money that does not belong to you. You are not the first one to fall into the trap. Don’t you see that the lake is abandoned?

    This is a very old lake and is ruled by a Yaksha. Yakshas are the protectors of wealth and treasure. They change form and are shapeshifters. The Yaksha presiding over this lake creates illusions by taking various forms and testing people coming close to it. The greedy people lose money and gold as you did. The ones who are truthful have been rewarded in many instances. The lake is filled with treasure but people like you won’t get anything out of it because the Yaksha protects that ancient treasure and increases it over time.

    The merchant was filled with deep regret. He was sad about losing his hard-earned money. He also regretted going to the village and telling lies to people. Had he told the truth, he wouldn’t have wasted more money on his stay. Filled with remorse he went back to his town.

    By

    Khushboo Singh