The Dove and the Pigeon | A Folk Tale from Meghalaya

The Khasis are the ethnic folks of Meghalaya. They believe that doves once used to sing as well as the other birds in the jungle. There is an interesting tale that relates how doves stopped singing and began expressing themselves with the sorrowful “Coo-woo” across the world.

Once upon a time, there lived a family of doves in a dense forest. The family adored their youngest, most beautiful, female bird named Ka Paro. They wouldn’t allow her to fly to the nearby grain fields until it was absolutely safe to do so. Ka Paro would stay home until the family came back and told her that the coast was clear.

One day, while waiting for her parents, Ka Paro flew to a nearby tree laden with red berries. Preening herself, she sat watching the other birds that came to pick the luscious berries.

While she waited there, Jylleit, an orange-breasted green pigeon, flew to the tree to collect the red berries. He sat on the branch where Ka Paro was perched. Delighted to see Jylleit, Ka Paro sang one of her sweetest songs to please him. The pigeon was impressed. As days went by, the two became very close. Every day, Ka Paro would fly to the tree to preen her feathers and sing Jylleit a melodious song.

A few months later, Jylleit visited Ka Paro’s parents to ask for her hand. Ka Paro’s parents wanted to make sure that he was worth being her husband. To test Jylleit’s loyalty, they asked him to wait until winter. The red berries weren’t going to be available after winter, so they wanted to see if he would be willing to share the food available with the doves or if he would fly away to another jungle where the red berries were still available.

Ka Paro sincerely believed that Jylleit would stay back for her, even after the red berry season was over. Unfortunately, he was quick to leave, so much so that he didn’t as much as bid adieu to his beloved. In fact, Ka Paro never saw him again. The heartbroken Ka Paro stopped singing. She only uttered sorrowful notes. Since that day, all the doves started cooing sadly, even in their happiest moments.