Sheikh chilli Aur Kuen Ki Pariyan: Lok-Katha (Uttar Pradesh)
In a village lived a dull and sluggish man. No one used to do sex-dham, yes, he was very expert in making things. That’s why people used to call him as Sheikh Chilli. The condition of Sheikh chilli’s house was so bad that the stove could not burn for twenty days in a month. His wife would also have to bear the punishment for Sheikh chilli’s stupidity and lethargy and starve. One day Sheikh chilli’s wife got very angry. She got very upset and said, “Now I do not want to listen to you. Whatever you do, but I want money. I will not let you enter the house until you earn some money.” Shekhchilli was forced to go in search of a job. Along with this, four dry rotis were also tied for the way. There was no saag-salan, from where? Thus Sheikh chilli had to go out in search of a job unwillingly.
Sheikh Chilli first went to the moneylender of his village. Thought that maybe the moneylender would give some small job. But had to be disappointed. The moneylender’s servants scolded him from the door and drove him away. Now there was no way before Sheikh chilli. Still, he wandered throughout the day from one village to another. He could not return home, because his wife had given strict instructions not to set foot in the house until he got a job. While walking throughout the day, when Sheikh chilli got tired and crushed, he thought that he should take some rest. Hunger was also in full swing, Therefore, the matter of eating food was also in his mind. Then a well appeared some distance away. Shekh chilli got courage and went towards him. Sitting on the platform of the well, Sheikh chilli opened the bundle of rotis given by his wife. There were four dry rotis in it. The hunger was so strong that even the four of them could not quench it completely. But the problem was also that if all the four rotis were eaten today, what would I do tomorrow – the day after tomorrow or the next day, because it was impossible to enter home without finding a job. In this thinking, Sheikh chilli would repeatedly count the rotis and keep them again and again. Can’t understand what to do. When no decision could be taken on her own from Sheikh chilli, she wanted to take the help of the god of the well. He stood up with folded hands and said, “O Baba, Now you show us the way forward. Haven’t eaten anything throughout the day. The hunger is so much that even after having eaten all four, it can hardly be eradicated. But if I eat all four, what will I do next? I have to wander around here for several days now. Therefore, O well Baba, now tell me what should I do! Should I eat one, eat two, eat three?” But there was no answer from the well. He could not speak, so how would he answer!
Four fairies lived inside that well. When he listened to Sheikh Chilli, he thought that some demon has come who is thinking of eating all four of them. So it was decided that all four should be taken out of the well and prayed to the demon so that he would not eat them. Thinking of this, the four fairies came out of the well. With folded hands, she said to Sheikh Chilli, “O demon king, you are very powerful! You are thinking of eating all four of us in vain. If you leave us, we can give you some things which will be of great use to you.” Seeing the fairies and hearing their words, Sheikh Chilli was stunned. Didn’t know what to answer. But the fairies took this silence to mean that their words were accepted. That’s why he gave a puppet and a bowl to Sheikh Chilli and said, “O demon king, you have obeyed us, That’s why we all owe you a lot of gratitude. At the same time, I am giving you these two insignificant gifts. This puppet will play your job all the time. You will do whatever you say. And this bowl will present to you every food item that you ask for.” After this the fairies went inside the well again.
Shekhchilli’s happiness knew no bounds. He thought that now he should go back home. Because when the wife sees the feat of both these things, she will not be blown away. But the sun had set and night had come, So Sheikhchilli went to a nearby village and asked a man to stay with him for the night. He also promised that in return he would feed good food and sweets to all the people of the house. The man agreed and made Sheikhchilli to attend his meeting. Shekhchilli also took out his bowl and asked him to perform his tricks. In the matter of talk, there were heaps of good things to eat. When all the people had eaten and drank, the man’s housewife walked towards the drain with the leftover utensils. Seeing this, Sheikhchilli stopped him and said that my puppet will clean the dishes. It was too late for Sheikhchilli to say that the puppet had disposed of all the utensils in a moment. Seeing this strange feat of Sheikhchilli’s puppet and bowl, greed came in the mind of the village man and his wife. When Sheikhchilli fell asleep, both of them got up secretly and stole the bowl and puppet of Sheikhchilli and replaced them with a fake puppet and fake only kept the bowl. Sheikh Chilli did not know this. Waking up in the morning, he washed his hands and both of them went towards the house with fake things.
When he reached home, he boasted and said to his wife, “Lord, now you will never have to pee for anything. There will be no shortage of anything to eat in the house, nor will we have to do any work – you will have to eat whatever you want.” If you want, this bowl of mine will feed you and this puppet of mine will make you do whatever you want to do.” But Sheikh Chilli’s wife did not believe these things. He said, “You make such brats everyday. If you do something, then I know.” She was fake, so Sheikhchilli’s statement turned out to be false. As a result, his wife became more angry than before. Said, “You try to deceive me like this. Ever since you left home, There is no stove in the house. If you go somewhere and work with your heart, then you will get some salary and both of us are destined to eat on June 2. Nothing to do with these magical things.”
The helpless sheikh chuckled and walked away. He then sat down on the platform of the same well. Couldn’t understand what to do now. When he lost his mind and did not understand anything, then his eyes trickled down and started crying. Seeing this, the four fairies of the well came out again and asked Sheikh Chilli the reason for their crying. Sheikh Chilli narrated the whole ordeal. The fairies laughed. She said, “We thought you were some terrible demon. And that’s why we gave those things to please. But you turned out to be a very naive and straight man. Well, no need to panic. We will help you. Yours. The puppet and the bowl have been stolen by the same people whose place you stayed at night. This time giving you a rope and a stick. With the help of these, you can tie and kill them and get back both your things.” Then she went to the well.
Shekhchilli again reached the same man’s place with the magic rope – stick and said, “This time I will show you some more new tricks.” That man was also a victim of greed. He understood that this time some more magical things would happen. That’s why he happily kept Sheikhchilli in his place. But this time the opposite happened. As soon as Sheikh Chilli ordered, the family member and his wife were tied tightly by the magic rope and started beating the magic stick. Now both of them started screaming and apologizing. Sheikh Chilli said, “You both have cheated me. I thought that you have given me a place to live, so I should also do some good to you. But you treated me the opposite! He stole it. Now when you return those two things to me, only then I will order my rope and stick to stop.” They both immediately returned both the stolen things to Shekhchilli. Seeing this, Sheikh Chilli also ordered his rope and stick to stop.
Now Sheikhchilli returned home with a happy heart with all his four magical things. When the wife again saw that Sheikhchilli was back, she got very angry. She had not got anything to eat for many days, so she was also annoyed. Seeing from afar, she cried, “Doodle, you are back again! Beware, don’t set foot inside the house! Otherwise a cylinder has been kept for you.” Hearing this, Shekhchilli stopped at the door! In his mind, he ordered the rope and the stick to control it. The rope and the stick started their work. The rope tied tightly and the stick started beating. Seeing this magical feat, the wife also laid down all her weapons and promised never to behave like that. Then he too got rid of the rope and the stick. Now Sheikh Chilli started ordering his puppets and bowls. What was there!
