The tales of Chandaini, or Lorik Chanda tells the story of the romance of an Ahir hero and heroine Lorik and Chanda. Versions of the story told across north and central India, particularly in U.P, Bihar, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

They emphasize different elements of the narrative—the bravery of Lorik as a Ahir hero who defends the honour of his caste, the intrepidity of Chanda who steers the course of the love story between Lorik and herself, or the many challenges faced by Lorik and Chanda when they elope—a strain that was moulded into a masnavi, or a Sufi tale with mystical overtones in the Chandayana, composed by Mulla Daud in the 14th century.

Directorate of Culture and Archaeology, Government of Chhattisgarh

Lorik Chanda Story Telling on YouTube

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6_YGz1ITdmJqtWHCLWXufEyKa-0jmIJJ

Subscribe to the Channel: https://youtube.com/ExploreIndiaTV

While there are numerous other love stories prevalent among the various tribal communities of India (like the Love Story of Jhitku & Mitki video below), the stories of Lorik & Chanda have stood the test of time, probably because of the relevance of these stories to various modern day relationships & their challenges.

One can draw a lot of parallel & relevance to modern day societies. For example, love affairs have remained a major theme to this day in literature & novels. And love triangles, often seen as a taboo in cosmetic cultures, have been thriving in societies ever since rules & social laws have been put to practice.

However, one cannot avoid the simplicity of the stories of Lorik Chanda, set in medieval India & the straighftorwardness with which they are presented. Such presentation implies the often ignored innocence in the players. It is also argued by anthropologists who have studied these tribal cultures that the so called love-romance that existed between Lorik & Chanda is more on the side of devotion than physical attraction.

Subscribe to the YouTube Channel Explore India TV for more episodes and stories from the Lorik Chanda saga.

The post Lorik Chanda Videos – The Love & Romantic Tribal Short Stories first appeared on Explore India TV.

शाम को छत पर टहलना बेहद पसंद था मुझे । रोज सुबह एवं शाम को हाज़िरी लगाने मैं छत पर अवश्य जाया करती थी। वैसे छत पर जाने की अनुमति नहीं थी मुझे । मेरे पापा एवं मां का कहना था कि हमारा आंगन और घर इतना बड़ा तो है ही कि हम को छत पर जाने की जरूरत ना पड़े ।

इसमें कोई शक नहीं था कि हमारा घर किसी रजवाड़ों के घर से कम नहीं था लेकिन परिधि में गिरा एक मकान था । गिने-चुने लोगों का ही आना जाना था वहाँ। उन गिने-चुने लोगों में एक काम वाली, बंधुआ मजदूर, एक दूधवाला, एक समाचार पत्र वाला और कुछ परिवारिक दोस्त ही थे ।

जब भी मेरी कामवाली आती मुझे बड़ी खुशी मिलती। मेरे मुस्कुराने पर उसका मुस्कुराना मुझे अति प्रिय था । जब वह आती तब मैं उसके आसपास ही रहती थी क्योंकि मेरी मां और बड़ी मां के लिए वह किसी समाचार पत्र से कम नहीं थी और मेरे लिए कहानी की किताब जो दो-तीन घंटों में पूरे मोहल्ले की खबर सुना डालती थी।

एक दिन मैंने हमारी कामवाली बाई जिसे हम ‘नानी’ बुलाते थे, उनको अपनी मां से कहते सुना –
“सती अब अपना सारा काम छोड़ रही है । “
मां ने पूछा – “क्यों ? “
नानी- “जिसने सती को अपना रखा है वह नहीं चाहता कि वह धंधा करें । “
मां – “शरीर रहते तक चलेगा यह सब फिर क्या होगा ! कुत्ता भी नहीं पूछेगा । “
नानी- “सही कह रही हो बउ ।” (बउ- माँ एवं किसी सम्मानित महिला के लिए भी उच्चारित किया जाता है )

मेरे मन में उत्सुकता थी, “यह सती कौन है ? “
नानी अपना कार्य समाप्त कर जाने लगी ।
मैंने नानी से पूछा- “सती कौन है ? “

नानी – “रोज सुबह सतीचौरा में गीले कपड़ों में जल चढ़ाने आती है बेशरम, देख लेना । “
अगले दिन सुबह मैं जल्दी उठ चुकी थी । अपना नित्य कार्य करके पढ़ने बैठ चुकी थी । उस दिन पहली बार मैं सुबह 3:30 बजे उठी थी और सुबह 5:30 बजे तक पूर्णता तैयार थी । ऐसा करके अपने माता-पिता को रिश्वत दे रही थी मैं जिससे उनकी नज़र से बच पाउं मैं।

सबसे छुपते-छुपाते मैं छत पर गई थी ।

सूरज निकलने , मेरे छत पर आने और सती का सती चौरा में दिखने का समय आज एक ही था ।
पूरब की ओर सूरज को निकलते देख रही थी मैं और वहीं से सती को आते भी देख रही थी । थोड़ी ही दूर तालाब से नहाकर गीले कपड़ों में हाथ में कांसे का लोटा लिए वह तुलसी चौरा की तरफ आ रही थी । श्यामल रूप, बड़ी एवं गहरी आंखें, घुंघराले बाल मध्यम ऊंचाई, साड़ सुगठित शरीर और उस पर गहरे पीले रंग की साड़ी सबकी नजरों में सचमुच बड़ी खूबसूरत थी वहवह और मुझे भी पहली नज़र में आकर्षक लगी थी।

मोहल्ले का नाम वैसे तो सतीवाड़ा था पर वह मोहल्ला सतीचौरा से ज्यादा सती के नाम से मशहूर था । अब समझ में आया था क्यूँ ?
मैं उसे सतीचौरा में जल चढ़ाने के बाद उसको उसके घर की ओर जाते देखी । छोटा सा था उसका मकान परंतु फूल पौधों से खिलता लहलहाता हुआ दिख रहा था ।

मैं उसे तब तक देखती रही जब तक वह ओझल ना हो गई हो । दिन भर उसका चेहरा मेरी आंखों में कौंधता रहा । शाम होते ही मैं फिर छत पर गई । उसके घर की ओर देखना जैसे आज की शाम की मिठाई हो-रसगुल्ला, जो मेरे बा रोज हमारे लिए ऑफिस से लौटते वक्त लाते थे और मेरी माँ मेरे अच्छे काम के इनाम स्वरूप मुझे देती थी।

मैंने देखा उसका मकान रोशनी की लड़ियों से सजी थी। इस मकान को मैंने कई बार देखा था लेकिन रोज शाम को इतनी गाड़ियां खड़ी होती थी उसके दरवाजे पर कि घर कहीं खो जाता था और बस गाड़ियां ही दिखती थी । अब ऐसा नहीं था, वह मकान अब खूबसूरत घर था ।

एक लंबी सांस अंदर लेकर मैं छत से नीचे उतर आई। दूसरे दिन की तैयारी करनी थी मुझे, वापस हॉस्टल जाना था । फिर वही कान्वेंट का अनुशासित जीवन जिसका अपना ही मजा था ।

कुछ महीनों में सती की यादें धूमिल हो चली थी, परीक्षा खत्म हुई और मैं वापस अपने घर आई । पापा के घर में रहते हुए मैं कभी कान्वेंट के अनुशासित जीवन को भूल ही नहीं पाई क्योंकि मेरे पापा किसी हॉस्टल वार्डन से कम नहीं थे । उनके घर में रहते हुए छत पर जाना किसी जंग से कम नहीं था और मुझे बखूबी मालूम था की मैं यह जंग नहीं जीत सकती।कुछ दिन यूं ही चलता रहा और पापा अपने कार्य पर वापस लौट गए ।

अब मेरी सुबह-शाम छत की हाजिरी पक्की हो गई थी । शाम होते ही मैं छत पर चली गई थोड़ी देर सूरज को डूबता हुआ देखकर मैं सती के घर की ओर देखने लगी । मुझे एहसास हुआ “जैसा मैं अंतिम बार देखी थी वैसा उसका घर अब नहीं था , सारे पौधे सूख चुके थे , अचानक से दीवारों का रंग भी उड़ चुका था ।” मैं उदास मन से अपने कमरे में लौट आई । मुझे इंतजार था अगले दिन की सुबह का और नानी की ।

सुबह होते ही मैं छत पर सूरज का और सती का इंतजार करने लगी । सूरज तो रोज की तरह निकला पर सती कहीं नहीं थी । नानी घर में आ चुकी थी । अपना कमरा साफ करवाने का बहाना बनाकर मैंने उसे कमरे में बुलाया और उससे सती के बारे में पूछने लगी ।

उसने बताया- “जिस आदमी ने पति को अपनी रखेल बना कर रखा था वह एक व्यापारी था जिसकी किसी दुर्घटना में मौत हो गई । वह पहले से ही शादीशुदा था उसके बड़े-बड़े दो लड़के भी थे और उसकी पत्नी भी जिंदा थी । वह आदमी अपने परिवार से सती के बारे में सब बता रखा था और सती को भी सब मालूम था फिर भी उसने उसके लिए अपना धंधा छोड़ दिया, पागल थी वो। सती को जैसे ही उस के मौत के बारे में पता चला शमसान घाट पर चली गई और जलती चिता में कूद गई ।

अच्छा हुआ समय रहते हुए उस आदमी के बेटों ने बचा लिया उसे, बहुत जल गई थी । उस मृतक आदमी के बेटों ने इलाज करवाया।

अब कोई काम धाम नहीं करती । उसको कौन रखेगा काम पर भी, उसके बेटे ही खाने-पीने भर पैसा दे जाते हैं ।”
अचानक मां की आवाज मेरे कानों में सुनाई दी – “गुड़िया ! नानी को भेजो तुम्हारा काम हो गया हो तो”
मैंने कहा- “हां, मां! “
मेरा कमरा साफ हो चुका था, महीनो से पड़ी इस कमरे की धूल नानी ने साफ कर दिया था । उस दिन मुझे शाम की नहीं बल्कि दूसरे

दिन सुबह का इंतजार था । रात भर सो नहीं पाई थी मैं इसलिए सुबह जल्दी उठ गई थी कहना गलत होगा ।

अनमने और शायद भारी मन से मैं छत पर गई । सूरज अपने सही समय पर उग रहा था और गीले कपड़ों में सती सतीचौरा की ओर जाते दिखाई दे रही थी। उसके शरीर पर गीले सफेद वस्त्र थे । जल चढ़ाते हुए वह पहले से भी सुंदर दिखाई दे रही थी ।
शास्त्रों में राधा, मीरा एवं सती को अलग-अलग तरीके से चारित्रित करते हुए उसकी महत्ता बतलाई गई है परंतु सतीवाड़ा की सती

इन तीनों चरित्रों का एक ही रूप में समावेश थी।
मैं पुनः सती को उसके घर जाते देख रही थी ।
सती के घर का सफर, मकान से घर और घर से मंदिर तक का था । आज पहली बार मुझे लगा कि मैं चीख कर कहूँ कि मैं वहां रहती हूं जहाँ सती रहती है ।
मेरी मां मुझे खोजते हुए छत पर आ चुकी थीं।

मां के कुछ भी कहने से पहले मैंने कहा – “मां ! कल से मैं आपके साथ सती चौरे पर जल चढ़ाने चलूं क्या ? “
मां यह सुनते ही खुश हो गई थी । बेहद खूबसूरत सुबह था वह जो आज भी मेरे जीवन में रोशनी बोलती है ।

अब हकीकत की भीषण आग सती के लोटे के जल से शांत हो चुकी थी और सतीचौरा में माँ सती की मूर्ति मुस्कुरा रही थी।

A close English translation is in the following page.

The post Sati – A Short Historical Story first appeared on Explore India TV.

This folklore from Bastar may not have been heard so widely but within the children of the tribal communities of Chhattisgarh, the story of the two song birds this is still a popular story with a big moral for children of the family & a great reminder to the youth.

This is a close translation while you can listen to the original version beautifully narrated on our YouTube Channel here https://youtu.be/PKpJwCUcrYM

The folklore goes like this. A mother bird had 2 chicks, a Koel and a Pargi, both are beautiful young song birds. The sisters were growing up happy & cheerful. The Koel’s voice was becoming sweeter by the day and she was learning to sing in her beautiful voice to the other birds and animals around her. Whoever listened to her songs were filled with joy.

It is almost like the Koel could bring happiness to anyone around her just by her beautiful songs. The Koel, being simple as she was, however was not aware of her talents & remained humble.

The Pargi on the other hand was growing up into a beautiful bird as well. Her feathers were colorful and lit up the air around her. Her charm and beauty was growing by the day and everyone around her would look at her beauty in wonder. The Pargi was fully aware of her beauty and started to enjoy her privileges. It seemed like she started to feel proud of her beauty & her looks.

As time went by the Koel turned up to a a kind bird who was always there to help anyone who needed assistance. And with the sweetness of her voice she charmed anyone around her with her songs.

The Pargi grew up to be proud and adamant. She felt entitled to a life to adoration, love & luxury. She stayed away from any hard work and was quite selfish, being so aware of her own beauty, her silky features & her bright colorful attractive feathers.

With time the mother bird became old and soon fell sick. Her health deteriorated fast and very soon she could not sing at all. The Koel stood by and started to serve her mother. The Koel brought her mother food, water and whatever she needed to survive. Her daily life changed drastically. She could not longer afford the time to fly around and sing in the sun.

The Koel put in all she had to help her mother to feel a little better. Things got so bad that she called for her sister, Pargi and asked her to come and help her take care of their mother. The Pargi was too busy leading her cosmetic life. She ignored her sister Koel’s repeated plea for help when she most needed.

Much later, the Pargi came over to see her mother. The Koel greeted her at the door. Pargi went over to her sick mother’s nest and was immediately repelled by the stench. The mother bird was all skin and bones and she did not smell good either. Pargi suffocated and immediately left her mother alone with Koel.

Much later, when the mother bird was on her last breath, she called both Koel & Pargi one last time to bless them. She blessed Koel with grace and said Koel would always be there to help anyone in need. People would wait to hear her sing and she would bring good health and life to people around her.

The mother bird also blessed Pargi and said people would always appreciate her beautiful feathers and her attractive looks. However, when people would hear her sing they will be gulfed in fear of bad health, sickness and death. She would be the harbinger of a hard life ahead to those who would listen to her songs.

With that, the mother bird passed away, but her blessings continued to live with Koel & Pargi to this day. While everyone loves to hear the Koel sing, they love the colors of a Pargi but would drive her away in fear of ill-luck.

This beautiful folklore carries a moral that is even more relevant in these days, teaching children the values of love, compassion and the need to care for each other in the community.

The post Bastar Folklore – The Song Birds Koel & Pargi first appeared on Explore India TV.

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.

The post Bastar Folklore – The Romantic Story of Jhitku & Mitki first appeared on Explore India TV.

Bolai is a part of a collection of short stories Galpa Guchchha written and narrated by Rabindranath Tagore for Barsha-Utsab, a festival to celebrate the onset of rains in Santiniketan. It was later published by Visvabharati Publications. This is a free form translation by the Amit Mukhopadhyay.

I have this video of the story being read out. While you are on the video, please Subscribe to our ExploreIndiaTV Youtube Channel & let me know your thoughts.

The saying goes that the human life is documented in the conclusion of different phases of the history of life of different other animals. It’s pretty-much known to us that we get to see the different animalistic behaviors in the people around us. Actually we call us human when all the internal animalistic attributes are combined together to project us as an amalgamation of all our traits, which combines all our virtues and vices together, to cage us inside the package of this so called human life. Just like how all the do re mi fa so la ti are combined to form the melody in musical symphony.

None of them can make noise any more when they are combined in music. But in musical harmony too, some of the notes become major and plays a vital role to lead the symphony, sometimes it’s the fa, sometimes it’s mi in minor, sometimes it’s so, you never know.

My nephew Bolai – he has the traits of the plants and trees as his major in his soul symphony. From the very childhood he loves to stare at things sitting quiet in a corner, unlike running around like other kids. In the eastern sky the dark clouds keep on mounting in their cumulonimbus patterns, his mind get soaked into the wet winds from the rain forest of Sharavan evening; when it rains as if the train crosses the river bridge, as if he listens to that through all his bare body!

When the evening sun lows down the sunlight on the rooftop, he sucks that sunlight in his wide open arms, as if he is absorbing something, god knows what from the whole sky! In the beginning of the spring the flowers bloom on the Mango trees, that flourishes an intense delight in his blood flow! Like a Sal forest in late spring, his temperament spreads into wide open, gets fulfilled in sheer joy, as if gets filled in with a dense, thick hue of nature around him.

He feels like talking to himself only, he talks to himself about all that he has heard in the stories, and fairy tales, like the age old bird couple that dwells in the whole amidst the branches of that very old Banyan tree – the Byangoma & Byangomee. That boy with his far stretched eyes, can’t speak out much. So he has to be thoughtful, more and more in himself.

Once we took him to a hill station. In front of our house there is a deep slope goes down to the valley down under that is fully covered with green grasses, he just stares at that slope and that delights him like never before. He doesn’t seem to feel that the grass layer down the slope is a static one, for him it seems like a rolling down game play, just rolling and rolling down the slope, often he himself used to roll down the slope on the grass carpet – he used to feel himself as an integral part of the grass – used to be delighted immensely by the cordial cuddles by the grass heads in his neck and ears.

The post Bolai – A short story by Rabindranath Tagore first appeared on Explore India TV.