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73-2-3 - Three
Qalandar and Five Women of Bagadaad
The
Story of the Third Qalandar-2:
The Statue That was Shot into the Sea
I made
out for it and when I came near that fire, I saw a palace with gate of
copper whose shine looked to me like fire.
I
hardly sat down near the gate, that 10 young men came there. They all were
blind with the same side eye. There was one Shekh also with them. When
they saw me, they saluted me, "Salaam" and asked me my name and
my history. I told them all that happened with me. They took me in the
mansion. There were 10 couches with blue covering, and there was one more,
a smaller one, that was also blue. All the 10 men sat on the 10 couches
and the Old man sat on the smaller one.
The
old man asked me to sit down on the floor and not to ask any question
about their story or blindness. He gave everybody food and drink,
including me and asked me several questions abut my adventure. Then the 10
young men said to him - 'Will you not set our ordinary before us? The Time
has come." He rose, went to a closet, and came out with 10 trays
covered blue cloth. He kept one tray in front of each young man and
lighted 10 candles. He stuck one candle on each tray and uncovered the
covers. There were ashes, powdered charcoal and kettle soot on them.
Seeing them all started weeping and wailing. They smeared their faces and
clothes with that stuff, saying - "We were sitting at ease, but our
obstinacy brought unease to us." They
did this till morning, when the old man heated water for them, they washed
themselves and wore clean clothes.
When I
saw this, O Lady, I forgot all instruction given by the old man, I could
not keep silence, I asked them - "How come you do this? You all look
sane, but your these actions look like a possessed one by evil spirit. I
request you to tell me about why don't you want to tell me your story and
the cause of losing your eye?" They turned to me and said -
"Don't ask us any question." Then we all slept. When we woke up,
we ate food, and they talked till nightfall. Then we all again ate, the
old man lighted candles and they again talked till midnight. Then they
asked again the old man about their ordinary.
I
stayed there with them in this way, for one month. During this period, my
curiosity increased so much that I had to forgo my food, I lost command of
myself and asked them - "Will you not tell me the reason of this you
do, and the words you speak every night?" They said - "It is
better to keep these things secret." But I was not going to be silent
on that day, so insisted them to tell me about it. They replied - "We
have kept our secret only for your good, if we reply your question, we
will bring down evil upon you, and you will become like us - with one eye
only." I said - "If you will not tell me, then let me leave you
and return to my own place, and be at rest, instead of seeing you like
this everyday."
They
warned me - "Remember O Youth, After that, we will not be able to
keep you here, thus you will not suffer with us." They brought a ram
and killed it and cleaned it. Then they gave me a knife and said -
"Take this skin and lie down on it, we will sew it around you. Then a
bird, hight Rukh, will come to you. It will catch you in its paw, fly and
will set you on a high mountain peak. When you feel that the bird is not
flying, you rip out this skin with this blade. The bird will be scared and
fly away. After this you walk for half a day, this will bring you to a
palace of teak wood and sandalwood plated with gold, studded with emeralds
and costly gems. Enter that palace and your wish is fulfilled, because we
have all entered that palace, and that is the cause of our losing one eye.
If we will tell you our own story, it will take a long time, because
everybody has lost his eye through his own adventure."
I got
happy to hear that. They did as they said. I entered the door of the
palace. I found myself in a great size hall like a horse course. Around it
were about 100 chambers with the doors of sandalwood plated with red gold
and silver rings fr knocking. At the upper corner, there stood 40 girls -
all lovely and beautiful. When they saw me they welcomed me. They said -
"We have been waiting for you for the whole month. We are worthy of
you and you are worthy of us." Then they made me sit on a Deevaan and
said - "We are your slave today, order us whatever you want."
Then
they brought food and we all ate together. Some of them warmed water for
me, gave me a bath and changed my clothes. Then they talked to me till the
night fell. Then five of them rose, and laid the trays full of flowers,
herbs, dry and fresh fruits and confections, and wine to drink. We enjoyed
till the time came for rest. Then one of the said to me - "You choose
one of us who will sleep with you today and will not be with you again for
40 days." So I chose a girl. I was with her all the night. In the
morning, I took bath and dressed in fairest apparel. They served me food
and drink, and we drank till nightfall. I again chose a girl and spent
night with her. Thus I lived with them for all the days.
But at
the new year they came to me crying and clinging to me. I wondered at this
and asked them what was the matter? They said - "We had never known
you, although we have spent many nights with many others, but we have
never seen anyone more pleasant than you, and more courteous than
you." And they wept again. They said to me - "If you listen to
us we will never part, and if you will not, then we will be separated for
ever and we will weep that you never listened to us. We are the daughters
of Kings who have met here and have lived together for many years; and
once every year by force we are absent for 40 days, and afterwards we
return and live here for the rest of the 12 months eating, drinking and
enjoying. Now we are about to depart. Take our keys of this palace. It has
40 chambers, but you can open only 39 chambers. Please be warned, that you
don't open the 40th chamber. It has something which will separate us for
ever." I said - "I will never open it."
They
all departed flying like birds leaving me alone in that palace. When the
night fell, I opened the first chamber. Then in the morning the second
chamber's door. When I opened the door of the 4th chamber. There were 40
little rooms in it and all of them were filled with costly precious gems.
I thought that this kind of wealth was not even with Kings, and I had 40
girls also under me. Thus now I was the richest person of the world. I had
opened all the 39 chambers except the 40th which they forbade me to open,
but my mind was on the same one.
One
day Satan asked me to open it. After a moment's hesitation, I opened the
door of that forbidden chamber and entered it. I smelt a perfume I have
never smelt before. It was so sharp that it made my senses sunken and I
saw two pots from which this fragrance was coming out. I saw a black horse
before two mangers - one containing the husked sesame and other containing
the water. I thought that this horse should be a mysterious horse. Satan
again instigated me and I took him out of the palace and mounted him, but
he wouldn't move. I beat him with a whip. As I beat him, he cried in a
loud voice, opened his wings and flew in the sky.
After
an hour, he descended me on a terrace, and lashed me on my face with his
tail and made me blind by my left eye. The he flew away. I came down from
there and found myself among the 10 one-eyed youths sitting upon 10
couches with blue covers. They cried - "No welcome to you. We have
lived our lives happily, but we did not expect to see you again." I
said - "See, I have become like you, and now you have t bring me a
tray of black material to blacken my face and receive into your
society." They cried - "No, by Allaah, no, You will not join us,
you get out. You will go forward." and they drove me away.
I
remembered their words, "We were sitting at ease, but our obstinacy
brought unease to us." Then I shaved my head, mustache, and eyebrows,
renouncing the world, wandered in Qalandar guise. Allaah guarded me till I
came to Bagadaad, today night. Here I met these two Qalandars standing
bewildered. I greeted them - "I am a stranger." They said -
"We are also strangers." Thus we three Qalandars, three
monoculars blind with left eye, met here. O Lady, This is the cause of
shaving my beard, the manner of losing my left eye."
The
woman said - "Let him go." The third Qalandar said - "I
will not go until I will hear the stories of others." Then the woman
addressing the Caliph, Zaafar and Masaroor and said - "What stories
do you have to tell?" Zaafar stood up and told her what he had told
the portress; she gave them life each for each sake and said - "Now
you all may go."
They
all went out, and when they were in the street, Caliph, seeing that the
morning has not yet broke, said to the Qalandars - "Where do you go?
The morning has not yet broke?" They said - "By Allaah, We don't
know where we will go." So the Caliph said to Zaafar - "Take
them home with you, and bring them tomorrow to me, so that we may record
their adventures." Zaafar did as the Caliph said. The caliph also
went to his palace. He tried to sleep but could not sleep. He was still
impatient to know the history of the three women and two black bitches.
So as
soon as the morning broke, he asked Zaafar to call for those three women,
the two bitches and three Qalandars. Zaafar immediately went there and
brought all of them. Zaafar said - "We pardon you for the
ill-treatment of yesterday, but now you should know that you are standing
in front of the Fifth of the son of Abbaas, Haaroon al-Rasheed, brother of
the Caliph Moosaa al-Haadee, son of al-Mansoor. Speak, therefore, before
him the Truth and the only Truth." HeAring the words of Zaafar, the
eldest woman came forward and said - "My story is this....
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