Baram-Pari Tale!

Kasnau, Rajasthan

Late November evening, a lively couple ,Keya and Ratan, in the remote village of Kasnau were celebrating the joy of the new arrival in the family. Friends,family and well wishers from the entire village had gathered around their old rustic home aiding moral support and to be a part of celebrations.

As Ratan held his daughter for the first time, he exclaimed "This encounter is magical". Ratan was beyond himself with happiness as congratulations poured in from every corner of the village. The baby was no doubt an angel with lovely inquisitive little eyes. Keya was not able to pull off her eyes from those cute chubby pink cheeks, tiny little fingers , soft and tender skin. The happy couple, Keya and Ratan named their bundle of joy - Pari.

Pari was perpetually sweet and obedient, even to those who abused her of being unlucky and a bad omen. Yes you read it right. Soon after Pari was born, in about a month's time, Ratan's paddy fields had been infected, leaving the family with no harvest. Ratan could not repay his loans.Poverty hit them hard. Though the size of the family was small, his financial position turned very tight due to continuous famines, which had been ravaging for over a period of five years. The villagers blamed the child for bringing ill luck and bad fate.Ratan and Keya ignored these comments and tried to lead life as normal as possible.

With situations as this, school or education was not affordable. However, Keya played the role of teacher in Pari's life. She guided her through the good and bad, right and wrong. Pari's best friend was her mom. Pari was a keen observer, was inclined to the world of music and dance. Keya and Ratan noticed this unique and charming talent of their beloved daughter, inspired and motivated her to pursue this interest of hers.

As years passed by, Pari, true to her name, turned into a stunningly beautiful young lady, with skin as pale as milk, petite and slender build, and evident extreme youth. She was completely innocent and ignorant. Love, passion towards music and dance rested within.

Ratan's family was rotten poor by now, but never did they associate this fate of their's to the birth of Pari. As the family could no longer tolerate the taunting from the villagers, Ratan decided to leave the village in search of a job that could buy a meal a day for the three in the family. Accompanied him was his wife and their loving daughter Pari.

Kimpu, Rajasthan
After covering a long distance they had a sojourn at Kimpu village. Keya made a roti each which she served with some raw onions. After the simple meal, fatigue took a turn and the three fell asleep. Next morning Ratan moved from one corner to another of the village, in search of a job that would help them buy a day's feed. Pari was playing with a calf that was tied to a tree nearby. Dance, the hidden language of her soul came alive. Her feet dreamt, each movement of hers described a word! She portrayed each expression of happiness, joy, sadness, envy perfectly! For Pari, dance was her pulse, a short-cut for happiness!

A merchant who was travelling through Kimpu happened to notice Pari dancing to the tunes of nature. He was impressed by her graceful dance and froze to her moves. Beauty and passion complimented each other, a perfect cent percent. Pari jolted as she saw the merchant watching her performance. She ran towards the shelter while the merchant tried calling her. He followed the dancing beauty which lead him to the temporary hut pitched by the lake of Kimpu village.On reaching the hut he saw Keya washing clothes. Merchant enquired with Keya about the girl who was dancing in the fields. Keya responded - "It is Pari, my little girl". She explained to the merchant that Pari was her daughter and her dance - god's gift. While this conversation was on, Ratan came back home disappointed, he had no job in hand that day too.

On knowing the status of the family merchant seeked permission if Pari would be able to teach dance to the girls in the village of Kimpu. "She would be rewarded five gold coins a month" Said the merchant. Ratan and Keya readily agreed to it and so did the innocent Pari. The ray of hope was back. Soon the tales of her dance spread to neighbouring villages. They called her to perform in front of various honored guests from the country and outside. She was amazingly graceful , had a dignified style in each of her move. The proud parents regained the wealth they lost to famine all these years. Pari proved the villagers of Kasnau to be completely wrong. She was the best ever thing that happened to the lively couple.


One day there came a surprise letter from the land of west, the son of a rich merchant - Baram , wanted Pari to perform for the music he played on his flute. Baram's music was famous worldwide and honoring the offer, Pari travelled far across the ocean and took part in this vague proposal. Baram played flute amidst the bamboo grove and she danced on the stage set up next to the grove. The combination of his flute magic and her dance grace were romancing in the air. Pari returned home after the performance.

Baram fell in love with Pari, a beautiful lady with gorgeous eyes. Back home Pari thought of Baram and was in love with him too. Baram came down to ask Ratan, hands of his daughter Pari. Ratan and Keya could not have asked for more. He was a prospective groom for their darling daughter.

Everyone agreed and the blessed couple led a happy life ever after.

- A new attempt on folk fiction - woven based on the random glass paintings I painted.

Note: 1) All characters and situations used in this post are purely fictitious. If resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely co-incedence.
2) The paintings are copyright material. Please do seek permission before making copies.