Plop!

I have a book named The Buffalo Fights the Tiger containing some folk-tales of the Tibetans, Mongolians, Huns, Chuangs and Wigus from China. I have this book in Bengali. Somebody gifted the book to me (I forgot who. Perhaps Baba, or Jethu..'cause they used to buy such small books from the roadside stalls during Durgapuja) when I was a kid. I found the book only yesterday after years. Nothing like burying your nose into stories you once knew and had forgotten. Here is one from the book..translated in my flawed English.

2

Plop!

A Tibetan Story

Many years ago there lived six rabbits by the shore of a lake. There was a forest of large papaw trees. One day a ripe papaw fell down into the lake making a loud 'plop'! The rabbits were so scared by the sound that they at once started running breathlessly as fast as they could.

A fox spotted them running and asked, "why are you running?"
"The plop is coming", answered the rabbits.
Hearing this, the fox immediately joined the rabbits.

Next, a monkey saw the fox and asked, " What's the hurry?"
"The plop is coming", answered the fox.
So the monkey started to run with them too.

The news of plop spread everywhere from mouth to mouth. Hence deers, boars, buffaloes, rhinoceros, elephants, leopards, tigers, beers and lions also started running away. They had no though except fleeing. The faster they ran, the more fright engulfed them.

A long maned lion lived at the foot of the hill. When he saw the other lions running, he shouted at them, "Brothers, with your powerful claws and sharp teeth, you are the strongest of all animals. Then why are you madly running away?"
One of the running lion answered, "the plop is coming!"
"Who is this plop? And where is he?", asked the long maned lion again.
Another lion mumbled, " well..I..I don't really know."
"Then why are you being such panicked?", the lion with the long mane demanded, "you should at first try to know what it is. Who told you about this plop?"
"The tiger told me", the other lion answered.
The long maned lion then questioned the tiger who said that the leopard had told him. The leopard said that he had heard that from the beer. The beer then pointed to the elephant. Then all the animals were asked one by one and finally it came down to the fox who said, "the rabbits told me!"
The lion with the long mane asked the rabbits and they said, "all six of us had heard this monstrous plop with our own ears. Come, O long maned lion. We shall show you the place."


They led him to the papaw forest by the lake and said, "the terrible plop is there. "
Just at that very moment another huge papaw fell from the tree into the water with a 'plop'.

The lion chuckled and sneered, "Fools, all of you! Now you have all seen what this plop is - its only the sound of a papaw falling into the water from a height. What is so terrifying about it that made you all run away?"

The animals they breathed a sigh of relief. They panicked for no reason.

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Translator's request : I googled for the word 'plop' and found it here. I didn't like the word much..somehow it did not go with my imagination of a sound that is made when a large fruit falls into water. I shall be grateful if anyone can help me to replace this with a better word.

The Chachatatutu and The Phoenix

I have a book named The Buffalo Fights the Tiger containing some folk-tales of the Tibetans, Mongolians, Huns, Chuangs and Wigus from China. I have this book in Bengali. Somebody gifted the book to me (I forgot who. Perhaps Baba, or Jethu..'cause they used to buy such small books from the roadside stalls during Durgapuja) when I was a kid. I found the book only yesterday after years. Nothing like burying your nose into stories you once knew and had forgotten. Here is one from the book..translated in my flawed English

1

The Chachatatutu* and The Phoenix

A Tibetan Story

Chachatatutu is the smallest and the ugliest of all birds while the fairest and the noblest is the phoenix.

A Chachatatutu once laid three eggs in her nest on the grass. But there lived a pika** in a hole next to chachatatutu's nest. Everyday while chachatatutu was out, the pika ventured into her nest to eat eggs. When two eggs were gone, poor chchatatutu became very upset and went to meet the phoenix to lay an accusation against pika.

"O Phoenix, King of the birds", said the chachatatutu very sadly, "See how unfortunate I am! A wicked pika has eaten two of the only three eggs I laid. I have lost two of my lovely babies already. So here I am, asking for a ruling..."

But the phoenix could not be bothered with a tiny chachatatutu no larger than a thumb. He said sternly, "Can't you see how busy I am? Why are you bothering me with such a small issue? The responsibility of looking after the babies belongs to no one but the mother bird. You, yourself would guard your family!"

Watching the phoenix didn't care for her trouble, chachatatutu became even more anxious and said, "I have come to you because you are the king of all birds! Please don't consider my problem a mere trifle only because I am small, as you should know that even a trifle, if not taken proper care of, could cause a huge misfortune. If this should happen, do not blame me."

But the phoenix didn't hear her any more and started humming.

The chachatatutu thought that the phoenix had not heard her and said again, "Why are you humming? You mark my words. When a disturbance as small as this will cause a disaster, it will be no good blaming me"

Still the phoenix kept humming impatiently without paying any attention to the chachatatutu. Failed, the chachatatutu flew away.

Full of sadness and hatred, the chachatatutu went back to her nest and made a blade of grass into an arrow. Then with her eyes wide open for the greedy pika, she waited on the branch of a nearby tree.

Just as she expected, after a while came the pika for the last egg. Giving the pika no time to react, the chachatatutu furiously stabbed his eyes with the arrow. The pain was excruciating, and all that the pika could do was to squeak and dash round and round.

A lion was taking his nap on the shore at that very moment. Having not a clue about where he was heading, the pika spun and went into the lion's nostril. The lion woke up with a start and jumped into the sea, never knowing what had got into his nose.

A dragon was swimming leisurely in the water. When he suddenly saw a lion jumping towards him, he took a flight up to the sky, scared if the lion grabbed and ate him. And while flying over the phoenix's nest, he stumbled upon it and the phoenix's egg was broken.

The phoenix was furious. He spat at the dragon, "Hey! You are a dragon and I am a phoenix! You live in the water while I live on land. We never poke our noses into each others businesses. You surely know that we phoenixes only lay a single egg a year and have only one baby. Then why would you jump out of your watery dwelling and destroy my nest and egg?"

"I am not the one you should blame, O phoenix!" said the dragon. "I was only swimming in the water when a lion jumped down into it intending to eat me. That is why I took off and, by accident, broke your nest and destroyed your egg. Its entirely the lion's fault. You should blame him, not me!"

So the phoenix went off to see the lion.

"O wise phoenix", said the lion, "you must not blame me. I was only sleeping by the shore when a pika dashed right into my nostril. It caused me such pain that I jumped into the water. You see, it is his fault. If you want to blame, go and blame the pika."

So the phoenix went off to see the pika.

"O noble phoenix", said the pika respectfully, "it is not my fault either. I was only wandering about the grass when the chachatatutu stabbed my eyes with an arrow. It cause such pain that I, confused, went into the lion's nostril mistaking it to be a hole. The fault is entirely the chachatatutu's! Go and ask for yourself if its not true."

The phoenix had nothing to do but to go and ask chachatatutu.

Chachatatutu solemnly said, "O phoenix, I made you aware. But you did not care because I am small, short feathered, tiny winged, weak, ugly and of no good. You did not pay any attention to my words of caution, as if my distress was only a trifle, and told me that only mothers should look after her child,and not to trouble you. How is it, then, that your sorrow also is not a mere trifle? Why are you blaming others, while you yourself would have guarded you egg properly? When my eggs are eaten by a pika, it is a trifle. But is it not a trifle when your egg is destroyed by the dragon? We chachatatutus lay eggs in grass. I laid three eggs and I had to go out for food every day while you laid you egg on a tree. Is it not much easier for you to look after your egg? Why didn't you do that? Did I not warn you before that unsettled trifles could cause disasters? Why are you blaming me now?"

The phoenix was very much ashamed and flew away gloomily.

* Note from the book : A very small ash coloured bird that makes nest in the grass.

** Note from the book : A kind of small tailless mountain rat.

The Dark Days At Cuddalore

The Dark Days At Cuddalore
Testimony of a recently released prisoner.

Achintya Pal
1972

Part 1
 

It has been a few days since I had been released from Cuddalore prison, and yet it haunts me as nightmare. I always remember the tyranny of Cuddalore and the whims of the prison authority. I feel sorry for those prisoners whom I left in the midst of endless brutality and tyranny. Anything can happen to them at that wretched place; we even may not get back some of them. I am eagerly waiting for the day when the prisoners from West Bengal will be released and will return with great courage and firm determination amongst us.

We were imprisoned under 'Misa' at some jail in West Bengal. We were allotted rooms. On 28th December, the jail authority ordered to shift the prisoners under 'Misa'. On being asked, they said that the prisoners under 'Misa' with no other charges, who were ordered by the Advisory Board to be held for one year, were to be transfered by the West Bengal Government to some other Prison. The leadership of the political prisoners protested against this decision and it worked. We were dicided to be transfered to some prison in West Bengal, possibly Baharampore. We didn't even dream of being transfered secretly to Cuddalore in Tamilnadu, far away from Bengal. On 29th December, we came to know that we were being transfered to some prison in Tamilnadu. Prison authority did not tell us discretely, they kept it all foggy. We collected this bit of secret information from other sources. The Government was afraid that the people of West Bengal might protest and form huge movements against this order if they were aware of this decision. They would never allow such decisions of the wayward Government without protest.

The day of departure approached. We were given farewell by the political prisoners of the prison. We noticed that even the young and immature prisoners were not upset to go to a remote and unknown place in south, leaving their relatives and friends. They clearly announced in the meeting, ' Once that we have started this fight for changing society, no attack or no torture from the rulers can demoralize us. We have learn to walk with our heads held high; we shall never succumb to the tyrants.'

We were ready by the afternoon. The prison authority announced our time of departure to be eight o'clock in the evening on 30th December. The other political prisoners gave us Guard of Honour and we started our journey to the unknown. We were counted outside our rooms and searched at the jail office, and then we were taken outside the prison gate. It was funny to see that the Government arranged a huge battalion of C.R.P with rifles and bayonet to shift such a little number of unarmed people. Then we were put into the police van. Each van was for twenty, but at least thirty people were accommodated in a single vehicle. Besides seven or eight C.R.P sat in our car, which made half of us to go to Howrah station standing. We were roped and handcuffed inside the van. When the car started, a C.R.P said,' Be quiet, you scoundrels, or you will have the treatment'. And started the bitter experience of the way to Cuddalore. Anyway, we reached Howrah station at last, bearing the insults of those non-violent and peaceful ambassadors of Indiraji. We were not taken straight to Howrah station from Howrah Bridge, but through many narrow alleyways of Howrah. The sight at the station was astounding. It was crowded with innumerable police officers, police constables, C.R.Ps and B.S.Fs. There were all the ranked employees of the prison division of West Bengal. There were hatred and brutality etched on their face. They were reverberating the station with their footfalls in such a way as if they were going to a war against the enemy. We were kept in the van for a couple of hours, suffocated, without being allowed to drink some water or pee. At about twelve o'clock, we were shifted to the prison van of the train. It was completely wrapped with compact snare. Only about fifteen men could sit in that compartment, and about five could lie down. But they huddled about thirty of us like cattle in a single compartment. Besides there were our own goods and the rugs given by the jail authority. Naturally, some of us could not have a chance to sit. We had to journey a distance of about three days in this ugly and miserable condition.

(To be continued..)