Indian Fairy Tales · Chapter
The Magic Fiddle explained
A sister is drowned due to the ill-will of her brothers' wives, who conspire with a Bonga.
What happens
A sister is drowned due to the ill-will of her brothers' wives, who conspire with a Bonga. She is transformed into a bamboo, which a Jogi makes into a fiddle. The fiddle's music moves her brothers to tears. The Jogi is tricked out of the fiddle by a village chief, whose son discovers the Bonga girl emerging from it. She cooks for him, and he catches her; they marry. Later, her impoverished brothers visit, and she reveals her identity, upbraiding them for their neglect.
Themes in this chapter
Transformation and Metamorphosis
The sister is transformed into a bamboo and later into a Bonga, and the bamboo becomes a magic fiddle.
Justice and Karma
The sister's revenge is limited to verbal upbraiding, yet her brothers suffer poverty, suggesting a karmic consequence.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my ankles, Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip.”
She cries out that the water is at her ankles but the pitcher won't submerge.
Repeated refrain as the water rises, emphasizing her helplessness.
“Do not cut at the root, cut higher up.”
The bamboo tells the Jogi to cut higher on the stem.
The bamboo's contradictory instructions confuse the Jogi.
“Fie! Fie! you may be a Dom, or you may be a Hadi of some other caste with whom I cannot marry.”
She protests that he might be of a low caste unsuitable for marriage.
Reflects caste concerns in traditional Indian society.