A Folk Tale
Text by Anil Kumar Illustrations by Karen Boyhen
The Rural Changemakers e.V. is a not-for-profit association based in Berlin. Its purpose is to support youth welfare, education, vocational training and cooperation in the field of developmentaid as well as to promote an international ethos, tolerance in all areas of cultural life, and understanding among nations. In particular, its Articles aim at the planning, execution, and supervision of interdisciplinary projects with and for children and young people in the rural areas and villages of India. www.rural-changemakers.com
1. Edition 2020 Copyright: The Rural Changemakers e.V. HauptstraĂ&#x;e 17 10827 Berlin Germany www.rural-changemakers.com hello@rural-changemakers.com Idea and Concept: Ulrike Reinhard Text: Anil Kumar Illustrations: Karen Boyhen Layout: Bea Gschwend
A Folk Tale
Text by Anil Kumar Illustrations by Karen Boyhen
Anil Kumar is 15 years old. He is one of our Barefoot Skateboarders and takes part in the Open School Project. Anil is homeschooling and soon ready to pass 10th grade exams. Karen Boyhen lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and has worked in the visual communications field for 30 years. She loves to draw people and is never without her sketchbook. She was happy to support Anil to tell his story through her drawings. www.karenboyhen.com
When I was about five years old my father and my grandfather were telling me a somehow mysterious story about the beautiful lake we have in Janwaar. Since then the story captured my interest. I always wanted to tell it to a greater audience. So a few weeks ago I decided to write it down. I started to gather the details, kept asking my father and grandfather about the names and the places and, and, and – and now my story is ready. I hope you like it as much as I do :-) But first let me give you some information about our village and the lake itself. Janwaar is a very small village. A little bit more than 1000 people are living there. It is 7 km from the next bigger city, Panna, and the entire area is called Bundelkhand. The people living here are called Bundela. The lake is the first thing you see when you reach our village. Today it is surrounded by tamarind and mango trees. In summer time the kids love to go there because there is always a cool breeze. In the shadow of the huge trees they love to eat 9
the delicious mangos and to take a nap, particularly when they are fishing all day long in the lake. Once a year the villagers come to the lake to offer their prayers. So do people from Panna and other villages. Here is how the story goes …
JAnnu In JAnWAAr
Jannu, a very strong hardworking man, had two brothers – Sataiya and Mannu. The brothers were as strong and as hardworking as Jannu. I don’t know where they came from and how old they were. It is said, that the brothers wanted to build something spectacular that will remain after their death. And so they decided to build lakes. Sataiya chose a place called Satabi, a little outside of Janwaar. This is where he built his lake. Mannu has built a lake on the way from Janwaar to Khajuraho and Jannu has built the one in Janwaar. This is what the tale is telling us. 12
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The structure of these lakes is made out of large and very heavy stones. It’s truly massive. It must have taken more than three or four years to build it. The villagers keep saying that thousands of years ago these large stones were less heavy than they are today. I do not know why, but this is what they say. Back then the lake in Janwaar looked different than today. It was surrounded by a huge jungle and there was a garden of guava trees. Janwaar was famous for its very big and sweet guavas. In the jungle there were all kinds of animals – bears, deers, snakes, etc. and once in a while they came into the village. The animals came to the lake at night to drink water. One day there was a Bundela royal marriage. A princess, the bride, came with her prince, the groom to Janwaar. The prince was wearing a shining Sarewani, a traditional Indian dress that a groom wears for his wedding. He was wearing a crown and shoes – both in golden colour. The princess was wearing a long red Lehenga,a typical wedding dress for an Indian. It had a beautiful floral design. She was also wearing some gold jewelry. The 14
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couple was accompanied by various people from different communities. The princess was carried in a palanquin and the prince was riding proudly on a horse. It was a tradition that the bride and groom did not sit together in the palanquin. They passed the lake. The lake had no water. Through one of the two windows the bride looked out of the palanquin and when she saw the pretty lake, she said, ”What a beautiful lake this might be, if there only would be water!“ The moment the princess said this a heavy storm started. The light changed into the darkness. The unlimited blue sky was now covered with deep hanging huge, black clouds. It was pouring. Wind had picked up and it was storming. The branches of the trees were crushing under its power. A musky smell of the wet soil was in the air. In no time the lake was filled with water and was flooding the surrounding area. Waves swamped over the road and it disappeared.
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The bride and the groom were fighting for their lives. So were the other people. They were trying badly to get out of the storm, but they could not escape. The wind and the rain were too strong. Suddenly everything was flooded and muddy. They were stuck! The royals and many of the people drowned in the lake. But somehow other people, who belonged to different communities – the barbers, Hindu priests and the band wallahs, the men who play the music at the weddings – were saved. They escaped the floods and luckily survived. The story says, that those who drowned will drown again if they ever try to return to Janwaar. After the bride and the groom lost their lives at the lake, a memorial statue was built. One person’s prayers were heard and he thanked the gods and promised to build a temple right at this place. And this is what he did. He built a temple and inside the temple there is a statue of the god Doolha Dev. It is symbolizing and remembering the groom. Doolha Dev is sitting on a horse, with one hand he is holding the horse harness and with the other hand he is holding a Turkish sword. He is wearing a crown which looks like a triangle from the front. 18
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The Doolha Dev temple with the statue inside is located right next to the lake, half way down to its end. It is overlooking the lake and you can see it from the road when you enter Janwaar. The temple is painted in white. There is a platform in front of the temple and huge stairs lead up to the platform. Platform and stairs are built in a semicircle and the temple is in the centre of it. Above the surrounding land. The entrance has three platforms and the stairs are in the middle of the two platforms. They divide the two platforms into four. The temple priest is the grandfather of the current village head man. His home is just behind the lake. He is 85 years old. The villagers have accepted the statue as a god and they started oering their prayers. until today people are coming to the temple in Janwaar to pray. And not only Janwaar villagers are coming, also people from other villages come. They pray to the god and ask for advice when they have problems. And the god is blessing the villagers. This is the story of Jannu, our lake and our village people.
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I love to go to the lake – my grandfather has a farm very close by. I love to eat the mangos and tamarind, just like the other kids do. I also used to catch fish when I was younger but now I only help once in a while the other kids. When the lake is full of water I swim in there with my friends. And sometimes we play a game – who can reach the other side of the lake first! We always have lots of fun when the lake is full!
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Thank you Karen Boyen Bea Gschwend Rachael Hammerlein
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