divali. 95
young ones to get excited about, and also to decorate their homes with glitter.)
When the queen came out of the river and found, to her dismay, that her necklace
was missing, she was distressed beyond measure, and no one could console her.
She fretted so much that the king heard of it within a few minutes and came to find
out what had happened. He was also very, very upset and announced, there and
then, that whosoever found the necklace would be given anything he or she de-
sired. A man with a dholak (drum) went around making the announcement all over
the kingdom, and everyone came to know of the great loss suffered by the queen
and that the discovery of the necklace would make the person who found it rich
beyond his or her wildest dreams. So everyone did nothing but look for the beau-
tiful necklace and talk about it at their homes and in the marketplaces. The queen
could not be consoled. She gave up eating and drinking, and the king was also very
unhappy and kept inquiring of his servicemen as to the progress made in the mat-
ter.
Now, there used to be a very old and poor woman who lived right outside the
town, just where the forest began. She used to make her livelihood by selling wood
and sticks for lighting fires, which helped her meet her meager daily needs. She had
no one else to look after her, as her children were away, and she had to do her own
household chores and shopping. In any case, she could not buy much, as she was
very poor. As Divali was approaching, she was cleaning her hut, which was very
dark and dingy because it was near the forest. In a dark corner of her hut, she saw
a patragho (a large lizardlike animal found in the forest). She killed it and threw it
on her thatched roof. At this very moment, the kite with the necklace was flying
past, and its eyes fell on the dead animal. The kite thought that food was better than
the glittering object that it was carrying. So it dropped the necklace on the thatched
roof and made off with the dead patragho. The old woman heard the noise and on
seeing something shiny on the roof brought it down and found, to her amazement,
the most beautiful necklace that one could imagine. She knew at once that it must
belong to the queen. Soon she heard about the king’s announcement and the mis-
ery in the palace. So she went and asked for an audience with the king. The king
was surprised, but he was a good and kind person, and so the old woman was
brought before him. She asked him whether he would stand by what he had prom-
ised through his announcement. The king looked hopeful and solemnly declared
that he would do as he had promised.
“I have it here,” the old woman said and took the necklace out of her torn jute
bag, much to the amazement of all the courtiers, who looked startled and won-
dered what the old woman would ask for. They, as well as the king, expected her
to ask for half the kingdom, or any amount of wealth, but she did not. Do you
know what she asked for? “Sire, please order everyone that on Divali day no one
will light up their houses except me, and the palace shall also be dark.” The king