Parrot Chandrasakhi :: Tenwa Chandrasakhi
Fungawari Singbul by B. Jayantakumar Sharma

Translation by Bidyarani Thingujam *

An illustration of Folk tale 'Tenwa Chandrasakhi' by Sibananda Thokchom

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived an old couple who had no children of their own. So they have a pet parrot which is very dear to them. The old couple took great care of the parrot and they loved the parrot very much.

Being together with the old couple from the beginning, the parrot has not only learnt to speak human language but also understands human feelings and emotions. The parrot has learnt to think like human.

As much as the old couple loves the parrot very much, the parrot also loves them and respects them. Lovingly the old couple named the parrot as Chandrasakhi.

One day, Chandrasakhi said to the old couple, "Grandpa-Grandma! I have a request. Today, I would like to go out with my friends and visit the forest. Do I have the permission?

The old man said, "Yes you can go Chanderasakhi, but don't spend the night there. Come back before dusk otherwise we'll be worried".

Chandrasakhi said, "I'll Grandpa" and she happily flies away spreading her wings with her friends. Chandrasakhi and her friends came to a vast forest and there, they ate many wild fruits to their heart's content.

While eating the wild fruits, they discover a magical fruit which have the power of turning old age into youth. If anyone ate the fruit, the person will change into a youngster. Knowing its power, Chandrasakhi thought of her old Grandfather and grandmother and she intend to change them using the power of the fruit. Thinking this, Chandrasakhi brought the magical fruit.

On the way Chandrasakhi and her friends take bath in a river and she kept the fruit on the river bank. While Chandrasakhi and her friends were busy, a large snake came to the river bank and there he saw the magical fruit.

The snake mistook it for a magical diamond and he tried to take it away but in the process the snake came to know that it was not a magical diamond. Furious over the thing, the snake smeared his venom on the half side of the fruit.

After that, Chandrasakhi came home happily and called out to his grandfather and grandmother, "Grandpa-Grandma, Look at what i've brought for you. This is a magical fruit and whoever eat this fruit will turn into a youngster. This time the old man became a little suspicious and thought, "We can't trust a parrot".

So he called a dog and made the dog eat the fruit. Suddenly the dog lay dead because he ate the part that contains the snake's venom. Seeing this, Chandrasakhi was quite shocked and scared. She stood still in a corner.

The old man was furious and said, "This parrot is trying to kill us, if we eat the fruit unknowingly, we'll be dead by now". "I'll kill this bird". The old man took hold of Chandrasakhi and tried to break his neck, but Chandrasakhi pleaded innocence with heavy tears in her eyes, "Grandpa, please do forgive me. I had no idea how did this happen. Please forgive me".

The old man gives blind eye to her pleading and killed the parrot. And the remaining part of the fruit was thrown out on the backyard of the house.

After some years, by an act of God, the remaining part of the fruit that was thrown out, sprung into a big tree with numerous fruits on it. One day, the old couple entered into an argument and it became a big fight.

The old woman said crying, "After all these years, you have the guts to say those words to me. How can you say bad words to me when I've dedicated my whole life for you".

It is better to die than to have live with you anymore". Saying this, the old woman went out to the backyard and plucked one of the poisoned fruit and ate the whole thing.

Suddenly a miracle happened. The old woman turn into a beautiful, young lady. She was quite surprised and came running to her husband.

She called, "Husband, husband, Just look at me, I've become young again. This is the result of the fruit that Chandrasakhi brought. I had intended to die by eating the fruit but a different thing happened. You just try one. Let's see if you could also be young again.

The old man was quite shocked. But then he thought of trying the fruit. Plucking one, he also ate the whole thing. Same thing happened to him. He was handsome and young again. After that they thought of Chandrasakhi and realised that the parrot was innocent and she was saying the truth. The old man repented having killed the parrot.

Anger is something that erases the bond between people. The old man's anger brought the loyal Chandrasakhi to her end.


** From Manipur folk tale Book called "Fungawari Singbul" by B. Jayantakumar Sharma