Funday Times

A Sri Lankan folk tale retold by J.B. Disanayake
Gifts for a daughter
Once upon a time there was a Gamarala, a village chieftain. He had a wife, a Gama Mahage. They had a pretty daughter. She was their only child and they loved her very much. However, when she was about twenty years old, she died, making her parents very sad. Her mother kept thinking of her daughter all the time. How nice if she were living because she would have become the prettiest bride in the village. But fate was such that she had to leave for the other world too early in life.

One day, when Gamarala went out, a beggar came to their house. He looked very sick and Gama Mahage felt sorry for him. She gave him some food and began to talk about his ill-health. "You know, madam, I was taken ill suddenly and almost died". To say 'I almost died' in Sinhala folk speech, they say 'man elova gihin melova ava', which means literally, 'I went to the other world and came back'.

When she heard that the beggar had gone to the other world and had come back, she became very curious. "Did you say that you went to the other world and came back?" The beggar knew that the woman lacked common sense. So he said, "Of course, that is what I said. I really went to the other world and came back. Why did you ask madam?"

"You know, I had a daughter called Kalu Hami, and she also died and went to the other world some time ago. I was just becoming curious. Did you by chance, meet my daughter when you went to the other world?" The beggar knew that the woman was foolish too. "Of course, now I do remember your daughter, Kalu Hami. What a pretty young woman she is. She always talks about you and your husband".

Gama Mahage was very happy. At last, she has met someone who knows her daughter. She kept on talking about her daughter, what she loved and what she did as a young woman. The beggar said, "How nice to have met you madam. To tell you the truth, I am in love with your daughter and we are about to get married. But…". The beggar was hesitant to say something.

"Why did you say 'but'?" asked the woman. "Because she is a bit sad". "Sad? Why is she sad?" asked the woman. The beggar said, "She is sad because she had forgotten to take any jewellery there. So she has no jewellery to wear at our wedding. That makes her sad".

The woman felt sorry for her daughter. "How wonderful if I could send all my jewellery there", she said. "When are you going back to the other world?" she asked the beggar. "In fact, I am just on my way to the other world. Could I take any jewellery and give it to her?" The mother was very happy. She collected all her jewellery and gave it to the beggar saying, "My dear son-in-law, tell her that these gifts are from her mother".

The beggar took the jewellery and left hurriedly saying, "I am already late. I must get to the other world before it is too dark". The beggar disappeared in no time. He did not want to be there when the Gamarala returned home. After a while Gamarala came home. He noticed that his wife was unusually happy. 'You look very happy today. What happened?" he asked in curiosity.

She told him about the beggar who had come from the other world and who is about to get married to her daughter. "He is such a nice son-in-law. He was so nice that he agreed to take all my jewellery to Kalu Hami". Gamarala could not believe how foolish his wife was.

Without speaking a word, he jumped on to the back of his horse and kept chasing the beggar. The beggar saw the Gamarala following him and in order to save his life, he climbed a near-by tree. The Gamarala saw the beggar climbing the tree. He kept his horse under the tree and began to climb the tree himself. The beggar was smart. He jumped on to the back of the horse and began to ride away as fast as he could.

Poor Gamarala did not know what to do. He lost his horse. "My dear son-in-law", he shouted. "Please tell Kalu Hami that the jewellery is from her mother and that the horse is from her father. The beggar said, "Yes my dear father-in-law", and disappeared into the dark.

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