Reading Notes: Folktales of Bengali, Part B

As I read through the rest of the Bengali unit, I discovered that the antagonist in most of the stories was a woman, and more often than not involves ghosts.


In The Ghostly Wife by Rev. Lal Behari Day, a ghost hides the Brahman's wife in a tree and steals her clothes and pretends to be the Brahman's wife. Eventually he notices and brings someone to get ride of her and find his wife. I liked that this story, unlike many of the others, did not have any deaths and it ended happy.

In The Story of the Brahmadaitya by Rev. Lal Behari, a ghost is indeed a main character. A "Brahmadaitya" is a ghost of a Brahman who dies unmarried. A poor Brahman befriends a Brahmadaitya who helps the Brahman become prosperous and in the end the Brahmadaitya's duties are accomplished and everyone lives happily ever after. This story ends the same way The Ghostly Wife does, with the phrase "The Brahman lived happily for man years, begetting sons and grandsons". I think this story would be fun to rewrite for it is uplifting and a story without sadness.

The Brahmadaitya Source: ScoopWhoop

The Bald Wife also written by Rev. Lal Behari,
was the first story I have ready that had a clear lesson. The moral of the story was if you take time to care for others and show grace, you will live a prosperous life, but if you are not kind to others, and think only of yourself, you will not live a prosperous life.