Today is the thirteenth anniversary of this blog of mine. My sincere thanks to all those who have been reading my stories and giving me feedback. It is with your encouragement that I have been able to go on for so long.

Today, I narrate to you a folktale from the present-day Odisha.

Long long ago, there lived a wealthy businessman named Bimal in a village in Odisha. He had a lot of money but was extremely miserly, so much so that the villagers had forgotten his name and referred to him only as ‘Kanjus Babu’. He was very irked when he heard people referring to him by that name but could do nothing about it. He was indeed a miser. And an extremely stingy one.

One day Kanjus Babu (Bimal)  had gone to the neighbouring village. He went by walk as he wanted to save on the money he would have to pay to his bullock-cart driver. It was a very hot and humid day. The deal for which he had gone had not materialised. Irritable and tired as he was, walking back home in the hot sun, he was also very hungry and thirsty.

On the way, near a pond, he saw a date palm tree. It was very tall and had lot of fruits on top. Bimal sighted them. “Aha!” thought he. “If I could get some of those fat dates and drink the cool water of this pond, the cost of eating lunch on the way can be saved”. The very thought of saving money made him feel happy.

He started climbing the tree. As he was moving up the tree, the slender top of the tree started bending down due to his weight. Bimal panicked. “What if the tree broke under my weight? I will fall down and die. What will happen to all my wealth??” he thought. Hurriedly he prayed to God and took a vow. “If I am able to pluck some dates and carefully climb down, I will feed a hundred poor people” he vowed in his mind.

He managed to pluck some juicy dates and after stuffing them into his cummerbund, he carefully started climbing down. As he was halfway through, he looked down. Though it felt reassuring to see the ground nearer, he was still at a good height. But now he regretted taking the vow in a hurry. Quickly, he changed his vow. “I will feed some poor people, though not a hundred. Fifty will do. I will feed fifty” he said to himself.

Climbing down further, he saw the ground even nearer. He certainly would not die even if he fell from where he was. Now the cost of feeding a fifty people loomed large in his mind. “With the money spent to feed fifty people, I can buy groceries for a whole year for me and my wife. But what to do? A vow is a vow and I am not the one who breaks vows. Hmmmm…” After thinking for a few moments he changed his vow again. “No need to feed fifty. Feeding five people will do. After all, it is the intention that matters. Thus say the elders”, he thought to himself. Justifying his decision mentally, he continued climbing down.

Before he realized, he had reached the ground. Feeling elated on his ‘safe landing’, he thought, “What is the need to feed five people? I might as well feed only one poor person. After all,  a vow should not be broken, that’s all!” So saying he sat and ate the dates, drank water from the pond and reached home.

Now he had to decide whom to invite for fulfilling his vow. But the very thought of spending on buying groceries made his heart sink. “I will have to feed a poor person as per my vow. But if a person is really poor, he would not have seen good food for days… and so when I feed him, he may eat a lot… And also elders say that we should feed the poor till they are satisfied… and so I have to feed him well. What to do now??” thought Bimal.

He thought for a while and finally hit upon an idea.

There was a poor farm labourer Chandu who lived in the vicinity of Bimal’s house. Bimal had seen Chandu suffering from abdominal colic (chronic stomach pain) many a time. And as far as he knew, Chandu could not afford costly treatment and was putting up with the pain. “I will call Chandu” said Bimal to himself. “Being a patient suffering from colic, he will not eat much. Also keeping up the vow is more important than the person being called for the purpose” So he went to Chandu’s house and told him to come and eat at his house the next day.  Chandu was pleasantly surprised and accepted the invite.

Bimal’s wife cooked  the minimum food needed for a person. As they were waiting for Chandu, Bimal got a message that an important businessman friend of his was coming to his shop that day to finalise some deal. So Bimal had to go to necessarily go to his shop. So, he told his wife, “I have to go to the shop. Feed Chandu well and see that he is fully satisfied. That is what elders advise – that a man should be fully satisfied when he comes to eat at your place. Give him two copper coins as Dakshina as well.” (Dakshina is a small amount of money – usually a few coins given to the person who comes to eat – as a way to thank him/her for accepting the invite). Bimal’s wife nodded her head while Bimal left reluctantly to his shop.

Chandu came at the fixed time. But even as he came in, he was clutching his stomach. “Ha.. Amma..” he was moaning, “too much of pain today… Amma…” Bimal’s wife was about to place a banana leaf in front of him for serving food when he said, “I can’t bear the pain and don’t think I can eat. Give me only the ‘dakshina’ and I will leave”. Hearing this, Bimal’s wife, went in and brought two coins. “Here” she said.

Chandu stared at her. “What is this?” he said. “As it is, I am not eating and your food is saved and here you are giving me two coins, that too copper coins… Give me fifty silver coins. I will not leave this place until you give me”. He removed his turban cloth and prepared to spread it on the floor and squat there. Bimal’s wife was terrified. Bimal had specifically told her said that Chandu should be ‘fully satisfied’ and here he was going to sit there on protest! What would Bimal say when he came back? So, she rushed inside, counted and brought fifty silver coins. Chandu literally grabbed them from her and went off.

When Bimal came back he almost got a heart-attack on knowing what had happened. He screamed at his wife for being so foolish. He decided to go immediately and get the coins back from Chandu somehow. He started walking fast to Chandu’s place.

Without him knowing, Chandu, from his window, saw Bimal coming. As Bimal neared the entrance of Chandu’s house,  he saw Chandu lying on the floor clutching his stomach. As if in great pain, he was moaning and groaning with his eyes closed. His wife was there near him and was crying in a loud voice. “Oh! What a cruel fate I have! I told this man not to go Kanjus Babu’s house to eat. Now after eating there, he is suffering like hell. I don’t know what stale and spoilt food was given to him. Even in the morning my husband was okay but look what has happened after eating there… O God! What will I do if my husband dies? Who will support me? It is all my fate, my destiny…” She was hitting her head with her hands and raising her voice.

The neighbours heard the sound and were peeping out to see what happened. Bimal felt they were all staring at him. He felt very uneasy.

Now some women came out from their houses, glaring at Bimal. They went in started consoling Chandu’s wife. Bimal’s mind was agitated. He overheard one woman telling Chandu’s wife to go and report to the King if Chandu died. Another woman said, “Why wait? Go now itself and report. How dare he tried to murder poor Chandu? What harm have you done to deserve this fate…?”

Bimal’s mind ran into a frenzy. How was he going to get out of this mess?? He quietly removed his gold bracelet and quickly went near Chandu’s wife. Bending down, he slipped it into her hands and whispered, “Woman, keep this for the expenses and stop making a scene now”. Not even waiting for her response, Bimal ran back to his house at a speed which even a seasoned  athlete could not have achieved!

With the amount the bracelet and fifty silver coins could fetch, Bimal could have fed even a thousand persons!!

Bimal took a vow to never take vows again!!!