Bastar Folklore – The Romantic Story of Jhitku & Mitki
One of the most popular & revered love stories among the tribal communities of Bastar in Chattisgarh, is the eternal romance of Jhitku & Mitki, almost akin to the stories of Orpheus & Eurydice, Odysseus & Penelope, Cleopatra & Antony, Fair Rosamund & Henry, Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo or Layla & Majnu & many more, whose love for each other was romantic almost to the point of divine.
The story narrated in Hindi is on YouTube on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipAwhyeaBeA
The story of Jhitku & Mitki continue to inspire a lot of people in the tribal regions of Chattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh & Maharashtra. This romantic story who gave their lives for the love of each other is so popular that a small cottage industry in Chattisgarh runs completely by making & selling Jhitku & Mitki memorabilia today.
Beautifully narrated by Astha in Hindi, this is part of a series of hidden gems of Eastern Indian Cultural & Literary heritage brought by Explore India TV team.
The eternal love story of Jhitku & Mitki
The story goes like this. Jhitku & Mitki met as young adults at a village fair and soon fell madly in love with each other. Their families consented to their marriage with the condition that Jhitku, the groom, relocates & stays with the bride Mitki in her paternal home. Jhitku, although not happy with this proposal, agreed to move to his bride’s village but would however, stay in a house that he would build for themselves.
With time, the young couple’s love for each other grew. The couple lived a simple life, herding cattle and occasionally making some extra income with other village chores. Their days were happy and their nights were peaceful.
Fate however had something else in mind for this happy couple. Soon a drought struck the village and all the crops dried up, leading to a dire situation for the villagers. The villagers consulted a healer who advised the villagers to sacrifice a human to please the gods to bring rain. The villagers, along with the brothers of the bride, decided to offer the groom as the sacrificial offering to the rain gods.
Soon the brothers of Mitki laid an evil plot to capture the groom Jhitku while he was out herding cattle. A scuffle ensued and eventually Jhitku was killed in the hands of the brothers & the villagers. His blood was offered to at the sacrificial alter.
That night it rained. The village was rocked by thunders & torrential downpour. Waiting for her lover & husband to come back home, Mitki had a terrible premonition that Jhitki was in danger & needed her help. In that torrential rain she ran and followed her vision to the pond, which was now full to its brim. Mitki was in a trance. She could think of nothing but her dear Jhitku beckoning her from the depths of pond. She walked right into the pond and drowned.
The next morning when her brothers and the villagers came to the pond to see the miracle of their sacrifice, they found the dead body of Mitki in the pond. She looked peaceful, she looked like she was in a divine union with the love of her life once again for eternity now.
