Bengali Folk Tale – Gopal and the Cowherd – {Ep.172} – Stories From India Podcast

In this episode, we’re going to do a folk tale from Bengal about devotion and faith. The faith of a schoolboy and his mother, in someone who appears to be an ordinary cowherd at first but soon it becomes apparent that he’s much more than that.

A frightful tragedy

The story begins with a family living in a village. It included a farmer and his wife, and their baby boy Gopal.

The farmer was a hard working man, but often in poor health. His wife, Mamta was hardworking as well, but not on the farm. Her talents lay in the kitchen and in work in the house, of which there was a substantial amount. Mamta was also a devotee of Vishnu, and Krishna in particular which made her my favorite kind of person. In case you don’t know I’m a pretty big fan of Vishnu myself.

But even though I am president-for-life of Vishnu’s fan club, I wasn’t going to try to enroll her in a monthly membership in the fan club. Mamta and her family were extremely poor. So we sent them the monthly goodies box for free. It included magazine, stickers, flags and a cap, and a little flute that Gopal loved the sound of.

It’s almost a fact of these stories that usually when there’s a poor-in-money but rich-in-happiness family there’s a tragedy waiting to happen. This case was no different. Gopal’s father passed away.

It takes a village…

Mamta was devastated, understandably so. Not just because her husband had passed away, but because she was worried for her son. As things stood, Mamta could manage basic things in the house, but she could not work on the farm, and without that there was little hope of earning enough to feed herself and Gopal. It’s not that she didn’t want to learn farmwork. if forced into it, she certainly would have. But who would take care of her baby boy during this time?

That’s when the other villagers stepped in, proving again that it really did take a village to raise a child.

Many villagers offered to manage an extra portion of what was now Mamta’s farm. It would be no extra work for them, they said. They had the plows, the seeders, they usually had extra fertilizer, they had harvesters, thrashers and extra space in their bullock carts for when it was time to sell the crop. The only thing they did not have was extra space in their banks to keep the money the crop would earn. 

Mamta was overcome with emotion at their generosity. She accepted their kindness because it would help Gopal. For her part she did little things to help the villagers. She would cook food and offer packed lunches for the farmers. She would sew clothes for them. It was hardly enough, and consumed some of her own limited groceries. But the villagers found a way to turn this in her favor by insisting on paying her for the lunches.

Gopal is school age

Things went on like this for a while. He grew up to be a fine boy. Well mannered and polite. Always willing to lend a helping hand. He wasn’t yet tall enough to rescue cats stuck in trees. But he did other things including helping the elderly cross the street. Which wasn’t such a big deal because there wasn’t much traffic in medieval Indian village roads, but the elderly liked to indulge the boy. And then tipped him well even though he tried to refuse. 

When he was 5 or 6, Gopal’s mom realized that he was of school going age. And it was important to have an education to be successful in this day and age. So, she made up her mind – Gopal would be going to school that year. First she had to prepare, because even in medieval India, there was a fair bit of school prep that  was needed. The notebooks and pencils and slate weren’t a problem. Those were derived from nature. So just a few leaves, some ink. And the sand on the ground would substitute for a slate. What Mamta needed to work on, was the school uniform.

She also needed to make two outfits at least so Gopal wouldn’t have to repeat the same clothes everyday. Mamta could wash one outfit while he was at school wearing the other.

She managed to get some cotton from here and there and then began sewing Gopal’s clothes. By now, she was an expert and Gopal’s uniform came out perfectly!

First day of school

Gopal was a bit hesitant to go to school, all by himself. You see the school was in a neighboring village and the path there went through a dark forest.

There were no Kindergarten aged kids in Gopal’s own village, that meant he had to go alone. Mamta had a lot of work to do to pay back the loan she had taken out to buy the cotton. She couldn’t afford to spend any time going the very long way to the school and back. And again in the evening to pick him up. That was not sustainable and sooner or later Gopal would have to walk to school alone. The way she explained it, it was better to rip off the band aid now than to slowly get him accustomed to the idea of going alone through the forest.

So the 6 year old boy walked all by himself through a dark forest on his way to school. 

The dark forest

The forest was dark amd Gopal was a little scared but there was light here and there. It was mid morning and the Sun was out so it wasn’t all that dark. Besides Gopal knew from a chance glance through a used copy of the India Geographic magazine, that wild animals typically hunted in the night. Not during the day. But apparently the wild animals in the forest hadn’t read that same magazine. Because as he went deeper along the path through the forest, Gopal heard a growl. The tone was very menacing. But Gopal did not scream. He ran, and when he heard some motion behind him, he ran faster. Luckily for him, he was very close to the edge of the forest at that point and burst into a clearing. And right at the entrance to his new school.

Now you might expect that someone who had just escaped the jaws of death might have raised it to any of the staff at their school. Maybe the staff would then contact the parents or find a way to arrange safe passage back home in the afternoon. But this was medieval India, you know. What do you expect? The teaching staff consisted of one person. The teacher or Guru. And the Guru had no idea where the children were from. He was happy to teach any child who showed up, without even bothering to know which village they were from.

All day they spent working on basic math, basic sanskrit and some science lessons.

Gopal loved it! He enjoyed all the lessons and he enjoyed making new friends. This was the best day of his life! Except it wasn’t. The morning walk through the forest had been scary enough. But now it was getting dark. He couldn’t not go back home. This village was full of strangers. Not all strangers, but most of them. Anyway it would be too impolite to try to stay the night with his new friends.

So he plucked up the courage and set foot into the forest that at this time of evening was definitely much darker. 

Gopal heard the crickets, but he couldn’t see anything. Nearby something slithered and then rubbed against his foot. He dashed forward through the path that he remembered. Every minute or two, there was a little break in the canopy. Thankfully. Because then Gopal knew he was on the right track. He made it home somehow. Even though he hears lots more growling and howling. So the India Geographic magazine was correct after all.

Gopal’s brother

When he got home, Gopal rushed in and hugged his mother tight. Mamta was delighted to see her child, but she thought he was overcome with emotion because he had missed her all day. He slept soundly that night.

The next morning when she woke him up, Gopal said that he didn’t want to go to school. That was puzzling, because it seemed to her he had enjoyed his lessons.

Gopal admitted sheepishly that he was afraid. Very very afraid of the dark forest.

Mamta was a quick thinker. That’s not a problem though she said. All you have to do is to call out to your brother. His name is Gopal too. He lives in the forest and he’ll escort you.

Gopal wondered why his mom hadn’t bothered mentioning this yesterday. But the answer was that she didn’t know he would be afraid. The forest was something they adults just took for granted. This flippant attitude towards real dangers might help explain the high rate of child mortality in medieval India. 

School is fun again

Trusting his mom, Gopal stepped into the forest. At the very first suspicious sound, Gopal called out to his brother. Now if you thought Mamta had just provided a placebo that would soon be revealed as a bad trick to play on a 6 year old, you were wrong. Out of the bushes stepped a boy. Not much older than Gopal. He was dark in complexion, had a peacock feather in his hair, and carried a flute. He was a boy who looked divine! That was the right word for him. Gopal couldn’t quite place him, but there was something very familiar about this boy, who was also named Gopal. To eliminate some confusion I will refer to the Gopal from the forest as the cowherd. Because that’s what the cowherd said he was herding. Cows. Gopal didn’t actually see the cows, but there were some vague background noises that convinced him that they were there somewhere.

That gave Gopal new confidence. If those cows could graze peacefully in this forest, it meant there wasn’t as much of a threat from wild animals after all. Or if there was, those wild animals were likely going to attack the cows first. Why chase a tiny little boy when the beasts could hunt cows?

The cowherd walked with Gopal to the edge of the forest. And Gopal thanked his brother. A whole day of fun learning later, Gopal again called out to the cowherd, who accompanied him across the forest again. This went on for several days. And Gopal’s fear of the forest was practically gone. He still called on the cowherd though, because he loved his brother’s company. And the cowherd responded just as enthusiastically.

Gopal needs a gift

The school year progressed well, and Gopal was doing really well, excelling in all his studies.

But when things were going well again, there arose a problem. You see, Teacher’s day was coming up. Now it’s important to know that the Guru who was teaching them at school wasn’t getting paid. There was no concept of tuition fees. There was Gurudakshina but that was a slightly different thing. Mostly the entire village would chip in and help the teacher by giving them grains from their fields. Or they would fetch water from the well. It was a barter system, and teachers were usually content with it.

Teacher’s day was a day to honor and celebrate the Guru. And it was part of tradition for every child to bring a gift.

Gopal heard all that his classmates were planning to bring. One of them was bringing him a new writing device, called a pen whatever that was. It was all the rage in other parts of the world. Another child was getting the Guru first class seats to the next village gilli-danda match, complete with lie-flat seats and in-game meal service.

Gopal was a little overwhelmed hearing all this, and Mamta was too, when he told her that evening. They couldn’t afford anything. What gift could they give Gopal’s teacher?

The cowherd helps… again

Mamta wondered why Gopal hadn’t asked his brother. He came back home with him after school, didn’t he? At this point you might have realized that Mamta didn’t jus think the cowherd was Gopal’s imaginary friend. 

Gopal said he wasn’t sure if he should. He didn’t want to ask for a handout. But Mamta convinced her boy that it was okay because the cowherd was his brother after all.

The modest present

Gopal called on the cowherd as usual the next morning on the way to school. Gopal then explained that it was Teacher’s day and asked for the cowherd’s help to get his Guru a present.

The cowherd looked skeptical. How can I help? I’m just a poor cowherd. 

Gopal looked crestfallen, so the cowherd asked him to wait. He went into the forest and came back with a little pot. The cowherd said that this was a little Dahi he had. Dahi is curd, kind of like Yogurt but not exactly.

Gopal was happy and took it to his school.

Amongst all the other elaborate gifts though this little single serve pot of Dahi looked modest. To Gopal’s eyes, and those of his Teacher’s and everyone else. But they didn’t say anything.

During lunch time that day, the Guru decided to try to Dahi. It was just a bite but let’s see how it tastes he thought. As he served himself the Dahi, he noticed something odd. He could not empty the container. He kept scooping out Dahi but the container was always full. There was enough Dahi to feed the whole class, and even the whole village.

Disbelief

The Guru could not understand it. He had just taught the boys basic physics and this was an important element of that. It might appear that it was possible to pack too much into objects like auto rickshaws as a recent news article showed, or into the Tardis from the Doctor Who TV seties. But the Guru was a man of science. He knew that the Tardis is fictional. And that even auto rickshaws have a limit on how many people you can squeeze in. The pot was bigger on the inside and he couldn’t figure it out.

He summoned Gopal and asked about the pot of Dahi. Gopal told him the whole story truthfully. But the Guru did not believe him. A dark complexioned boy with a peacock feather and with a flute in his hand? Did Gopal have any mental health issues he asked in a not very sensitive way.

Finally Gopal volunteered to introduce the Guru to the cowherd.

A voice speaks

The two set of into the forest. Which made the rest of the class very happy because that meant afternoon classes were dismissed!

Gopal called out to the cowherd who did not appear. The Guru was snarling triumphantly and Gopal on the verge of tears when a voice was heard from the forest. It wasn’t coming from any particular direction. It was all around, which made the Guru wonder how come the forest had surround sound. Maybe he could stage movie night here for his class.

The voice was that of the cowherd. It said that it only appeared to those who were pure of heart and couldn’t. In short, Gopal was and the Guru was not. At this point the Guru realized finally that he was hearing the voice of Krishna himself. The evidence was right there for him to see. 

The original story ends there, but it’s easy to extrapolate from this point. Gopal obviously won his Guru’s respect and got a pretty solid scholarship to go study further and become a great scholar. Gopal and Mamta finally managed to climb above the poverty line. And as Gopal became older he realized how lucky he had been to have had the watchful presence of Lord Krishna himself, to protect him. 

The Guru didn’t get a Darshan of Lord Krishna, but he did get that container that was always full of dahi,, so his family never needed to put Dahi on the grocery list ever again. 

The Guru had also been largely rational before this, now started mixing spirituality into his lectures. With some mixed results for everyone he taught.

That’s all for now

Some notes on the show

Mamta is a word that means motherly love. Gopal is actually one of Krishna’s many names. It literally means the one who minds cows, and that was what Krishna did as he was growing up.

This story is a folk-tale from Bengal. It was popularized by inclusion in a collection of stories by Sister Nivedita. Sister Nivedita was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda. Despite being an Irishwoman, she ended up being a champion of India. We’ll probably cover her story at some point in a future episode, and probably cover Swami Vivekananda’s story as well.

We have done several other folktales from Bengal before, check them out on the site sfipodcast.com.

That’s all for now. 

Next Time

In the next episode, we’ll do a story about a little boy challenging the God of Death, Yama. It starts with the little boy challenging tradition and ends with him unlocking some pretty secret knowledge that no one else could have known, other than Death himself.