Magic Kheer – a folktale from Rajasthan

Long long ago there lived a young man named Rajvir Singh in Udaipur. He was an extremely shy person. Over the years he had developed problems in his night vision, but being  very bashful, he neither consulted a doctor nor told anyone about it.

Once Rajvir went to Jodhpur for some work and decided to stay with his  childhood friend Mahavir, who was settled there. Mahavir and his family welcomed him joyfully. A wonderful dinner was served to him. Rajvir had not eaten anything during his travel and was awfully hungry. But given his coy nature, he just nipped and pecked little bits of whatever was served. Whenever a second serving was brought, he immediately waved his hands in refusal, being too shy.

As they finished dinner, Mahavir’s sister brought the dessert which was a special Kheer (sweet rice pudding). When she was about to serve Rajvir, he hurriedly waved his hands out of habit, refusing the dish, not realizing that it was Kheer. The girl thought that Rajvir did not like Kheer and promptly withdrew the ladle and walked away. When Rajvir realized his mistake, she had already moved on.

Rajvir looked around and saw all others happily slurping the Kheer with great relish. He looked down at his plate yearning for the Kheer. To his delight, he found one drop of Kheer fallen on the plate. Quickly casting a glance around, Rajvir  gathered that drop carefully with his finger and licked it. Yummm! It was so delicious. Now he felt utterly miserable to have refused the Kheer. But he could not bring himself to ask for some.

That night, Rajvir could not sleep at all. He was still hungry and the haunting memory of the tasty Kheer was adding to his agony. He tossed and turned repeatedly thinking of his plight.

Mahavir was lying close by. He thought Rajvir’s bed was uncomfortable. “Shall I bring you an extra pillow and blanket Rajvir? Maybe you are feeling cold with just one blanket…” said he.

“Huh… um… no…  Mahavir , it is not the bed umm…” Rajvir hummed and hawed.

“Then why are you restless brother?” asked Mahavir.

“If you will not tell anyone I will… um.. I huh…will tell you” said Rajvir reluctantly.

“Go ahead Rajvir! Tell me what bothers you” said Mahavir.

Very hesitantly Rajvir conveyed his longing for the Kheer to his friend. “I wish I had not refused it  at dinner. Just that one drop tasted so divine. How nice it would be if I can have a cup full?” he lamented, drooling.

Mahavir smiled, “Oh! This can be sorted out easily. The kitchen is downstairs and my sister would have hung the pot of Kheer from the rafters to save it from cats and rats. Go and help yourself” said he. “As soon as you go down the stairs, turn left onto the passage and as you walk, the first room to your left is the kitchen. Go and take as much as you want. The cutlery is also on an open shelf there. But but be careful not to wake up others since it already past midnight” he said. Those were the days when electricity had not been invented.

Rajvir was thrilled and at the same time concerned as to how he would navigate in the dark. But given his nature, he chose not to tell Mahavir about his vision problem. Mahavir came till the staircase to show the way. Holding tight to the railing of the staircase Rajvir gingerly climbed down step by step. As he alighted the last step he slowly walked on the passage putting his hand on the wall for support. It was pitch dark since it was a new moon day as well. Rajvir could not even see his own hand in that darkness. Suddenly the wall ended and there seemed to be a doorway on his left where the door seemed open.

The faint smell of food hit his nostril and he realized that it was the kitchen. The kitchen windows were closed and he could barely see a thing.  He slowly went in  looking up at the ceiling to spot the pot hanging from the rafters. Not able to see anything, he raised his hands and waved them randomly to locate the pot. To his delight his hand touched a pot. Eager for the Kheer, he hurriedly tried to remove the pot through the ropes which held it, and it overturned! Pachchaa…..kkk, the Kheer fell on his upturned face. Fortunately, the lid of the pot landed in his hands.

Rajvir spluttered as the Kheer was all over his face but fortunately his sound was muffled. Not knowing what to do, he eagerly licked away the area around his mouth and wiped the other portions of his face and eyes with his fingers and licked them. To his dismay, he discovered that his dress had also become “Kheery” so to say, wet and sticky.

Oh! What a spot to be in! His thoughts raced. He certainly could not bathe as the sound of water would wake up the family. He decided to tell Mahavir what had happened. As he fumbled and turned around, his leg hit a huge brass utensil and it rolled with a big clang “Gadangodangidingininganagonanona…”. Rajvir froze in fear as he heard the booming voice of Mahavir’s father “Hey! Who is there in the kitchen?” Luckily Mahavir’s mother voice said “It must be that cat only running around in the night. I had shut all the windows myself so don’t worry”. The house was quiet once again and Rajvir scrambled out of the kitchen.

In his hurry however, instead of turning right towards the staircase he turned left. Walking to  the end of the passage he found himself in a sort of shed. The smell of the dung and the occasional bleating told him that it was the shed where the goats were housed. There was a door on the other side of the shed which seemed locked from outside.

A cold wind was blowing outside and brrrrr…. Rajvir’s teeth chattered involuntarily. Wanting to keep warm, he crept on the ground like a child, moving among the goats to the other side. He suddenly stumbled on something which felt a jute sack. It was a huge sack. “Huh!” he sighed. “At least I got a sack!”. He pushed his legs into that big sack trying to keep warm. As he was mulling over what to do next, he heard some footsteps outside the door. It was accompanied by whispers in gruff voices. The footsteps stopped and now Rajvir could hear their conversation clearly.

The voices were of two men. Apparently they were robbers!

The door of the shed opened with a light screech. Two hefty men entered. Rajvir immediately buried his head also inside the sack .

One man said, “Hey! this is that empty sack I threw in here when we heard that clanging noise in the house… but some goat seems to have gotten into it!”

“Well and good!” said the other. “We got such a grand loot today in that trader’s house, that we should sacrifice this goat as a thanksgiving to Maa Kali. Come on, pick up the sack with the goat. I am already carrying the loot.”

To the horror of Rajvir, the burly man picked up the sack in which he was huddling and slung it behind his shoulder. Rajvir could neither shout or escape and his heart was going ‘dhak-dhak-dhak-dhak’ in panic. Rajvir could hear the conversation of the men but in his mental state, nothing registered in his mind. They kept walking for a long time and Rajvir could realise that it was going to be dawn, as he heard sound of cocks crowing and birds chirping. But since it was winter there was a heavy fog blanket and it was still very dark.  

“ Uff… this sack is so heavy. Good that we have reached the temple” said the man who was carrying Rajvir. As he was about to put the sack down, Rajvir, now terrified of being sacrificed, let out a cry (though he had not intended to). And since his throat was parched, the sound was so eerie and cackly. Almost immediately, he shut his mouth. But that one cry was enough. The men looked at each other. Now horror was writ on their faces.

“Demon! Demon! Ghost!” cried the fellow carrying Rajvir. Throwing down the sack with Rajvir, he started running without looking back. The other fellow paused for only a minute before throwing his sack containing the loot and ran even faster. After a few minutes, Rajvir warily peeped out and then came out of the sack. He was facing the temple, which was quite far from the town. There was a well in front. Thankfully he had not been thrown into the well! The sun had risen and Rajvir could see the shiny objects inside the other sack. He quickly washed himself drawing buckets of cold water from the well.

Picking up the sack containing the loot Rajvir trudged back to Mahavir’s house. There, a search was already on for him! Mahavir’s family was so relieved to see him safe and sound. When Rajvir described his adventure to them, Mahavir said, “See what magic that Kheer has done for you – you have become wealthy overnight with this sack of valuables!”  

“Yes indeed!” said Rajvir with a twinkle in his eye. “Not only wealth, the magic of that Kheer has made me give up my shyness. Now I will demand Kheer rightfully in your home!”

Can you guess what Mahavir’s mother made for dessert that afternoon?

 You are right! “Magic Kheer” it was!

Note: The picture used in this story was generated by me with the help of AI.