A long time ago, there lived an old couple. One day, the old lady asked her husband to figure out a way for their children to get a good, constant supply of food after they pass away. The old man traveled for eight days to meet Kuber, the god of wealth, and got the seedlings of pulses, gourds, mustard, and paddy before returning home.
He first went to a fertile land and marked its four boundaries. The following day, he burned and cleared a part of the land in the nearby jungle. With his hoe, he marked the four directions on each side of the field. The old man then planted the seedlings in those fields. He went home and waited for them to grow.
One day, the old woman wanted to visit the fields and take a look at their crops. The old man refused to take her there, for there was no water in case she felt thirsty. The old woman, however, insisted on coming along. Ultimately, her husband had to give in.
Both of them got to the fields. As the old woman began feeling thirsty, she asked her husband to get her some water to drink. When the old man told her that they might not get any water to drink, she forced him to go look for it, anyway.
After searching for a long time, he finally came across a water tank. The old man went back, blindfolded his wife with a piece of cloth, and took her to the edge of the tank.
He asked her to drink as much water as she could. However, she was not to look at the water in the tank! Waterfowl were enjoying their time quacking. The old woman heard the waterfowl playing blithely in the water and wished to have an insouciant life like them.
Days passed by. The couple had a very big family to feed. The old man traveled to the Himalayas and dug a very large tank, in which he reared all kinds of fish.
One day, Sri, the god of good luck, happened to be hunting in the area. He was accompanied by his white dog. He felt thirsty as He neared the huge tank in the Himalayas. When He tried to fetch a handful of water to drink, the fish in the tank sought a boon from Him in return for water. Lord Sri agreed to this and asked them what they wanted. The fish asked Lord Sri to take them to river Brahmaputra.
Lord Sri tied them to His staff and carried them with Him. With His staff, He made potholes along the way. These potholes were brimming with water, from which rivers were born.
The fish in the water tank gifted Lord Sri a pumpkin and a gourd. On the way, Lord Sri visited two of His friends. He gifted the pumpkin filled with water to His first friend. To His other friend, Lord Sri gifted the gourd filled with gold.
When Lord Sri got home, He found that His little daughter was sick. She had fallen ill because her father had given away the gifts He received from the fish. Feeling sorry for Him, the fish came over disguised as doctors. After treating her, the fish asked Lord Sri to pray and offer sacrifices along the banks of the holy rivers. He did so, helping His daughter recover. From that day onward, the Kacharis began worshiping the rivers.
Kalai is passionate about reading and reinterpreting folk tales from all over the country. Write to her at kalai.muse@gmail.com to know more about her.
Folk tale adopted and abridged from The Project Gutenberg.