The Devil of a Crow

Once a merchant was out on his business trip. One the way he had to spend a night in a cave in the middle of dense forest. Soon it began to grow dark. Another uninvited guest came to seek refuge in the same cave. The guest was a lady and she was concealing/hiding her face from him. He had his dinner while she refused to take her share. They were chatting for a while. Accidentally he saw her face that resembled a sealing wax, commonly used by people in the olden days.

The merchant doubted her as non-human creature and chanted mantra and prayed to his protector deities back at home. They began to hear the bells of a horse from afar and approaching nearer to them. The lady guest began to get restless and bewildered. No sooner did the sound of the bell was heard near the cave, than she left the cave. The sound of the galloping hooves followed her hurriedly.

Few minutes later, a man with red face in red gho wearing a metal helmet and a sword, riding a red horse appeared before him. He comforted saying him not to worry. He told him to visit a pond in the morning the walk of which would take few minutes from below the cave. Saying these the red man left the scene. He had a comfortable night and as instructed he went to the pond at the dawn. To his surprise he saw a dead crow.

It’s said that the devil of the crow had come to harm him. But his prayer and mantra was heard by his deities and came to rescue him. Therefore, one must remember our protector deities and never neglect them where ever we go. Our prayers will be always heard by them in times of need provided you have a deep faith in them particularly the Triple Gem.

The merchant who took an oath

Once three merchants were on their business trip to sell bangchungs (a round cane basket used as plates in olden days, especially in the Kheng region). While travelling around for business, they arrived in a place where there was a haunted mansion in the centre of a vast plain. It was in the middle of a thick forest and no neighbours nearby! "Who can spend a night in this mansion?" the first merchant said. "Whoever can spend a night alone in this mansion can get all the bangchungs from two," said the second. "If that is the deal, I can spend a night alone in this mansion," said the third merchant abruptly, as he was motivated by the promises assured by the other two. They agreed and two of the merchants left the place. They halted their night in a cave, about a mile away from the mansion.

Bangchung

It was dark and soon and soon grew dark. Two of them had their dinner and was chatting over a cup of Ara brought as Laamchang (refreshment). Meanwhile, the third merchant also had his dinner. He could not sleep due to loneliness. He was nearby the fire warming himself as he chanted Om Ah Hung Benza Guru Pema Siddhi Hung, seeking refuge for Guru Rinpoche. By the time, it was already 11:30 pm11:30 pm. He heard a noise' Auw….Auw...' from a distance of five kilometres. He was comforted by that and, 'Auw…Auw…," replied the merchant, thinking that someone is coming to befriend him for the night. After few minutes Auw…. Auw… was heard from about a three-kilometre and he replied in the same manner. Then approached from two to a kilometre distance and finally reached near the mansion.

There was a knock on the door followed by a voice. "Please open the door." "Who are you? Are you a man or a devil?" asked the merchant. "I am a man," came the reply. That went on three times and finally being convinced, and he opened the door for the stranger. The stranger was with a bunch of dried Khempa Shing (Artemisia) twigs and dropped them behind the door. He invited the stranger to have a seat and make himself warm. They spent some time chatting. The firewood which merchant had collected began to get exhausted. "What can we do if the ghost is with us right now?" the stranger asked. "Don't worry, I have a knife," the merchant replied, drawing his knife from the case. But he couldn't pull the knife. The merchant was terrified and began to get worried. It is said that the stranger snarled as and when the fire got deem. The merchant started to burn his bangchungs as the firewood got exhausted. He burned and burned, and it's already nearing 1:00 am1:00 am. The goitre began to grow in front of the stranger's neck and it was swelling. He went on burning his bangchungs which was almost finishing.

There was a river-washed smooth stone (Churel Dho/Gangkola in Kheng dialect) nearby the fireplace. He secretly picked it and with the mighty force, he hit the goitre. It burst and out came water which ceased the fire altogether. At the same time, the five sacks which were hanging from ceilings fell on the floor. The other devils were supposed to have dwelt in those sacks, made of leather. All of them together had eaten him within a few minutes.

The following day two merchants went to the mansion to meet their friend. Instead of their friend, they saw a handful of bones in the middle of the house on the floor. Two of them left the scene hurriedly and continued their trip.

There is a belief that one shouldn't take an oath, even if you are in dire need. The third merchant was greedy and promised that he could spend a night alone in that haunted mansion.

What went wrong with Lhamo’s Life?

In this present century many events are changing day by day and we can perceive all these changes. Forget about the activities, even people are changing in every second tremendously.

It’s not very long ago, a girl name Lhamo was residing in a countryside village. Her parents were not well-off but with great effort they were able to provide her necessity items needed in school. She was a good student in her school and brought good results every year. Her parents expected their daughter to be somebody when she finished her studies. Even the villagers and neighbours had a great hope that she would definitely be somebody and look after her parents.

 But after some years the things didn’t go well as expected. She was sent to study in urban school after completion of her primary education. Gradually, lot of changes took place in her. While in school, she was no longer that shy, meek, submissive and homely creature as she used to be in the past. She was no longer confined through the ages to mere hearth or home. She even fought for her rights according to the situation. She had asserted herself in company and she could face the heavy odds.

Lhamo even started imitating the male sex with regard to fashion, behavior, ambition and endeavors. Jean Pants and hot pants replaced the colouful and well-dignified Kira, a national dress, which gave majesty to her personality. The hair, which was well maintained and plaited dresses were no longer the beauty of her. The boy’s cut of hair gave her a boyish look and took hard task which boys were supposed to do. She didn’t bother what her parents and teachers advised her. She was in her own world.

She started to develop unappreciable habit of spending lots of amount in buying nail polish, lipstick and many other items which made her parents to wonder how she was using the money. She had become more of a painted stick than of a natural beauty with her make ups. She even started abusing drugs, taking alcohol and smoking cigarettes, as if they give some sorts of satisfaction to her hunger and thirst.  These sinful acts rather than giving any benefit to her health all she learned was from one of her friends in school.  Parents send her to school to get good education but she didn’t concentrate on her study and went on chatting and gossiping. In a way she disturbed her friends who had minds to study. She thought that even if she failed in examination she would leave the school and find a husband. Ultimately when she failed she didn’t show any sign of unhappiness. Parents were the losers in any ways and they became the ultimate sufferers.

Luckily, she married a husband who was kind and understanding. He was working in one of the departments as an officer. After one year of her marriage, she gave birth to a child and then another after some years. Though she became a mother, she liked going to parties, functions and meetings. Her lively conversation; her butterfly-like approach, her actress-like behavior added more gaudy colours to the functions. 

It was her nature that most of the time she did not want to stay at home. Quite often she headed towards the town nearby. She didn’t want to miss cinema shows and other outdoor activities. If she was given an opportunity, definitely she would not miss any activities. She had no hesitation in talking to men, no desire to remain reserved and shy. If at all there was shyness, it was a calculated shyness.

In fact, she was in different to her duties as a daughter, wife or mother. Actually, as a house wife/mother of a child, cooking and washing were the sole duty of her but she subdued her gentle husband and let him do all household works. She was the dictator of her family and unfortunate husband suffered under her dictatorship. Her only interest was to derive maximum pleasure out of life. Ending of the life was beyond the reach of her imagination. She thought that she would remain unchanged for forever. Like the girls of the western countries, she was more interested in hooking a moneyed husband. She wanted her husband to take care of himself, she wanted that the baby sitter should look after the children and she herself should remain comfortably like a queen in the palace.

Latest fashions and cosmetics became the most wanted thing in her life. She never realized whether the salary of her husband had been enough or not and was always asking for luxury items. Whenever her neighbor bought new fashion items, she pinched her husband and polished him. If her husband totally disagreed, she would remain enemy for a week or a month.

But at last she died of lung cancer due to heavy smoking. Her husband alone had to look after unhealthy children. But we are not sure what went wrong with her! Is it that because of lack of guidance from her parents and relatives? Or does it mean that teachers were not supportive to her?  I don’t know why? Who was responsible for this?

A Painful Departure

When Wangmo came to spend her winter vacation with her parents from school, she met an awaited boy from the same village. They studied together for three years in same rural school in their Gewog, but in different classes before. After successful completion of Class-V, she was taken by her brother to study in one of the schools in advanced district.

Forget about having inner feelings towards each other when studying together, the boy hated her and even did not feel like uttering a word to her.  But Wangmo having studied for two years in the urban school has now changed and grown beautiful. The poor boy was attracted by her natural beauty. He proposed her and ultimately, she accepted his proposal with great excitement and immense joy. They spent their days and nights together for whole winter. Their love increased day by day and the bond of their love and friendship became tighter like the silken notes. The time has come for them where one couldn’t spend even a single second without each other's presence. Wangmo’s parents were aware of their relationship. There wasn’t any interference from her parents, rather they seemed to be happy and acceptance. Actually, the parents should have guided them as it was not a right time for them to have affair.

Shortly, it was time for them to return to their own school and had to depart from each other. They promised to wait for each other after their studies. Ideally matched, nobody could imagine them being separated. But a twist of fate was to shatter their dreams and happiness. They spent sleepless night together before their departure. They were both inexpressibly sad and couldn’t speak more. The little they spoke was with choked voices and shed tears. They held each other tight. The next morning, Dorji went to fetch horse from paddy field. Since there was no road connectivity the things had to be reached by the horses. He walked as if in dreams with his heavy heart.

At that very odd hour Wangmo and Dorji couldn’t take their breakfast. The thought of their departure itself was really hurting their feelings. For Wangmo, it was really a heart paining fate to go away from her only beloved, who had always occupied a place in her heart. Her neighbours and villagers came to see her off with their limited things like Yu-chum, Datshe, etc.

The journey started at around 9 AM. She was accompanied by her father and other villagers. Dorji actually went to see her off for a short distance, but their love and faith took him up to a day walk distance. They spent the last night together in a small cave, in the forest, on the way.  At least they got another chance to share their feelings. Wangmo’s elder sister and brother in-law, who actually was Dorji's own brother, were also there to see her off. They all spent the night together. The night seemed like a fraction of second for the newly met lovers.

The next morning, Dorji handed her this note:

My dearest Darling,

It’s very hard for me to say good bye at this juncture. As you leave, please take a part of me along. My life without you will be hollow. Do not forget our future together. Please trust me and be true to me. I always pray for your well being and success. Let’s pray for the God that we will meet soon. My love for you will never die. Save journey to you!

Yours forever,

Dorji

Wangmo’s eyes filled with tears and drop fell on the note. Dorji was unbearably sad, thinking that he won’t feel the warmth of her love and moreover may they meet again or not was a hundred dollars questions in their lives. Her last words to him were;

“My dear, please be happy. I am your only and my love for you is really true. Believe me, I really love you and you will always be part of my life. May no other better soul snatch my love! Please keep my words, I will love you forever."

With this she started heading towards her destination, shedding bitterly and finding herself very difficult to hide her tears from others. As he saw her very uneasy to adjust herself, his tears flowed liberally. Dorji couldn’t do anything. He waved his hands which made her shed more tears. Her lovely cheeks grew wet as she shed more tears and wept for her beloved who was waving hands for her.

Dorji was helpless and with a glance he lost her sight…