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Rajhastani
Puppets- The Dhola Maru Story
In
the Indian desert kingdom of Pingul lived a young woman
named Maru. Nightly in her dreams she saw the same young
man. When she questioned her mother, she was told that as
an infant she had been married to a boy named Dhola. But
a demon had put a curse on the marriage, saying that if
Dhola came to collect her, the gate of her father’s
court would fall on him. Her mother told her to ignore her
dreams. Meanwhile, none of the girls in Pingul could consummate
their marriage, for none was allowed to have her ceremony
of leaving her father’s house until Maru’s was
held! The kingdom was filled with crying young women desperate
to be united with their husbands.
Back in the kingdom of Narwar, Dhola was
kept ignorant of his first marriage. His parents were afraid
that if knew of it, he might try to leave for Pingul. Instead
they arranged a second marriage with Rewa, a magician’s
daughter. Rewa too was determined to prevent Dhola from
learning of Maru.
Maru,
meanwhile, was determined to communicate with Dhola. She
tied a letter to the neck of a parrot and sent it off to
Narwar. Landing in the garden, the parrot was found by Rewa.
She read the letter, hit it in her box and put the parrot
in a cage. Eventually escaping, the parrot returned to Pingul
where Maru tied a second letter on its neck. This time Dhola
found the parrot in the garden of Narwar.
Dhola was amazed to learn that he had a
bride in Pingul and was determined to reach her. But Rewa
was equally determined to keep him imprisoned. She drugged
his food so that his brain was addled and every night, she
made him sleep with his finger in her mouth, so she would
know if he left her side!
Now in the Narwar stable was a camel that
had come from Pingul. It was a flying camel! Everyday it
would fly to Pingul a hundred miles away to graze. At night
it would return to the Narwar stable. Dhola knew that if
he could reach the stable, he could escape on the camel.
For several days he managed to avoid eating
any food given him by Rewa, and without the drugs, his senses
sharpened. Taking a stick, he carved a wooden finger that
he placed in Rewa’s mouth that night. Once she slept,
he rose quietly and fled to the stable where he mounted
the wonderful flying camel. As Dhola and the camel flew
in the sky, Rewa awoke. Racing to the courtyard, she caught
the tail of the camel, forcing Dhola to slice it off with
his sword – hence camels have short tails!
By morning, Dhola had reached the garden
of Pingul. Seeing the flower grower there, he asked for
Maru. She arrived with a group of other girls, and Dhola
wasn’t sure which was his wife! So he said that the
real Maru must give him a drink of water from the well in
the garden, but in a cup made of string! Only a devoted
wife who regularly worshipped the powerful gods, would be
able to do this task. Maru took a cup made of strings, filled
it with water, and gave it to Dhola.
Before
they could leave Pingul, Dhola had to go to the fort to
greet her parents, risking death at the gate. Riding on
his camel with Maru, praying to the gods and goddesses,
he charged at the gate, which collapsed behind him. He had
beaten the demon’s curse. Then Dhola and Maru returned
to his kingdom of Narwar, riding back on the wonderful flying
camel!
