The Sunderbans
Dhuke was the only son of a widow who lived in the sunderbans. dona was a boatman who had hired dhuke to do his biddings and run daily chores on the boat. Dhuke's maa had reluctantly relented to Dona's offer of hiring Dhuke and had made him promise that he'll treat Dhuke like his own son...and thus began Dhuke and Donachacha's journey. Dona wanted to collect honey from the forest and start a small business out of it....but Dona was not having much luck...wherever he went he met with failure...he could not find even a single drop of honey anywhere...confused and disheartened Dona gave up all hope. it was then that Dokhkhinrai appeared in his dream and told him that he must trade Dhuke for good luck! Dokhkhinrai wanted Dona to give up Dhuke to him...and promised that he will get as much honey as he wanted from the forest..but if he did not give Dhuke to the Tiger King he would drown on his way home. Dona reluctantly agreed. he sent Dhuke off to the forest to get firewood and sailed off...leaving Dhuke all alone at the mercy of Dokhkhinrai!On realising what had happened Dhuke started praying to Bonobibi, the forest Goddess, for help. She and her brother Shah Jongoli fought the Tiger King and defeated him...and sent Dhuke home.
the struggle for power between the two forces, Bonobibi n Shah Jongoli and Dokhkhinrai continued for a long time till Gazi Saheb intervened and reached an understanding between them.
People of Sunderban offer prayers to these Deities every time they venture out to the forest...they narrate this tale in the form of Jatras and keep gthe folklore alive...!!
maa interacting with the locals
No comments:
Post a Comment