Folktales from India: A Very Short Very Tall Story

In every corner of India, there is a wealth of folktales. Their subjects are diverse

-how the world was made, how the kings should rule, tales of wise and foolish, men, women and, animal fables.

Looking for folktales, I found those compiled by Eunice de Souza, whose brief biography shows at the end of this post.

A Very Short Very Tall Story

“Once upon a time lived in Dehli a Rajput called Randhisingh and a Mohammedan called Fakkad Khan. They were very good friends and spent a lot f time with each other. But at the same time, they both like to show off a little, and compete with each other about their families, their ancestors, their houses, and their wealth.

One day, sighting a little Fakkad Khan said, ‘I can believe how things have changed. Compared with what we used to have, we have nothing these days.’

‘Tell me more’, said Randhisingh.

‘For a start,’ said Fakkad Khan, ‘my father was a commanding officer in the calvary. He owed so many fine horses, we couldn´t keep count of them. Arab mares! And the stables! They stretched from Dehli to the southernmost tip of the country.’

Randhisingh smiled at his friend´s exaggeration. He said, ‘Your father loved horses. Mine loved swords and lances. He had hundreds of very fine designs. One of these lances was so long that ‘the tip of it touched the sky’.

Fakkad Khan smiled at his friend´s exaggeration. ‘So where did he keep this lance which reached from the earth to the sky?’ he asked.

‘In your father´s stable’, Randhisingh replied.”

Eunice de Souza

Eunice de Souza was born and grew up in Pune, in a Goan Catholic family. She studied English literature with an MA from the Marquette University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. from the University of Mumbai. She taught English at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and was Head of the Department until her retirement. She was involved in the well-known literary festival Ithaka organized at the college.

She has also been involved in theater, both as an actress and director. Her published works include four books of poems, four edited anthologies, two novels; and several books for children.