The Evil Eavesdropper (Yenakha Paodabi)

Long time ago, there lived a man named Chaoba and his wife named Thoinu in a far village in the land of Manipur. The couple lived a very happy life though they had not child. Thoinu was issueless. Chaoba worked hard from the morning till evening in the fields. Thoinu had always given a warm welcome to her husband whenever he returned home in the evening. Of course, there were a good variety of foods in the family. Everyday, the couple after taking night meals and discussing various issues for their prosperities, went to bed and took their happy lives. On a wintry night, before taking rest to the bed, Chaoba and his wife Thoinu weresitting side by side on a fireplace and discussing the day today events. All of a sudden, Chaoba approached his wife, “Today let us make riddles with each other. One, who is unable to solve the riddles, would go the market and would purchase a good fish – sareng, an indigenous  fresh water shark in the morning tomorrow.” “yes, yes I agreed with your proposal, ” Thoinu said. She also offered her husband to make the riddles first on his side. Chaoba said, “There is a man. He has four arms with a bag on his shoulder and danced twist and turn in slow down. In front of the slowed dancing man there is a happy man lying on the ground twist and turn.” Then, Chaoba asked his wife to solve the riddle. Thoinu was in deep thought to solve the riddle. At last she was unable to solve it. So she accepted her defeat in making the riddles. But the wife told the husband to solve his riddle number one.

Chaoba said, “As per our mutual understanding, you have to purchase the fish the next day.” He started solving the riddle, “As you see in every house in our village, women worked in the four spoke equipment for weaving so as to produce yarn in their work sheds. Of course, the man having four armed means the weaving equipment with four spokes and the happy man lying on the ground means the round yarn on the ground at the time of weaving handloom goods.” Thoinu smiled and she had agreed to the solution of her husband.

In her turn, Thoinu warned her husband, “If the riddle i have to make is unable to bring its solution, you have to produce the money and you too should go to the market for buying the sareng.”
“Yes go on your riddle, I will try my level best to solve it” said Chaoba. The wife said, “There is a child. Whenever feeding to him, he makes cries. When stop feeding, he remains silent.”

“Oh, I know it. It is Kaptreng – equipment being used in collection of cotton,” Chaoba said.

“That is right” Thoinu said, adding that she would go to the market the next day and would purchase sareng. Thus the couple had taken a good talk with each other. Later, they went to the bed where they took a good rest. While the couple was at the fireplace, an eavesdropper having evil possessed had heard the secrets and happy talks from the other side of the wall in the backyard of the house. The walls of the house are of reed plastered with a mixture of earth and cow dung, and the roofs of the house are all thatched with grass. After minutely heard the discussion, the evil possessed eavesdropper had chalked out a plan to make turmoil in the house of the happy family couple. Of course, she has magical power to transform her body into any human form. Next morning, as per understanding, Thoinu went out to purchase sareng in the nearby market. Before going out to the market, she had completed her household chores. While Thoinu was out of the house, the evil designed eavesdropper turned her body into a human form. She assumed her body to that of the woman who had gone out for buying the sareng.  In a hasty manner, the eavesdropper-turned housewife came back home  with a big sareng in her hand. On seeing the woman, Chaoba got his surprise with exclaimation, “Hey you have gone out a few moments ago to the market! Why are you coming back soon? What happen to you?”

The eaverdropper-turned housewife made a ready made reply, “Upon my going to the market, I met a fishmonger at the gate of our home. I purchased the sareng from her.”

The replies made by the eavesdropper-turned Thoinu didn’t make any hesitation to Chaoba. “Let me make an arrangement for a good sauce of sareng,” Chaoba who was holding a medium sized kitchen knife said. While the eavesdropper-turned Thoinu was trying to cook in the kitchen, Chaoba had handed over the arranged and butchered sareng to the woman. Before going out of the kitchen he said, “Make a good dish.” Later, he went out towards his gate. Halfway to the gate, Chaoba was dumbstruck  when he saw Thoinu coming back with a big sareng in her hand.

“Hey, you were in the kitchen for cook and good dish,” Chaoba told the woman coming from his opposite direction. “What are you talking about?” I am just coming back from the market. Is there any play behind me? Don’t play your trick and mocking at me,” said Thoinu who was also getting surprise at the replies of her husband. Then Thoinu hurried towards the kitchen. To her utmost surprise, Thoinu had found out that a woman having similarity in the structures of physical, facial and appearance of her was found sitting inside the kitchen. The woman in question was also arranging for the meal. On seeing the strange woman, Thoinu thundered with yelling, “How dare you to trespass into my kitchen. Who are you and why are you coming and meddling in my family affairs?”

“Instead, who  are you? You shameless woman! Are you coming capture my lovely husband? I am the legal house wife of this head of the family. In fact, I have been in love with Chaoba from very tender age,” said eavesdropper-turned housewife. In no time, Thoinu last her cool. She rushed and began dragging hair of her opponent. Apart from it, Thoinu used hands and fists in her unprecedented hot temper. In the ensuring fighting between the two women, all the household goods scattered here and there in the kitchen. There was no winner in the fights. But Chaoba was surprised as he didn’t know who was his wife and to whom he had to take his side. While Chaoba was in a fix, the neighbours who heard the hand to hand fights between Thoinu and the eavesdropper-turned Thoinu had rushed in and tried to settle the issue. They were also got surpise on seeing two females having similar faces, statues and physical appearances.

Chaoba and his neighbours have failed to find out the real Thoinu. And old man among the people gathering there said that since the matter was the first time in the village, it will be a good idea to pass the information to the king who would settle the issue with his wits. The proposal made by the old man had stood a stead in that critical hour. Both the house wives were brought in the royal court where the king with his wisdom announced for finding a solution with a divine trial. In presence of the king, his courtiers, noblemen, women, children and ordinary people coming from different villages, the divine trial was carried out. For performing the divine trial, the king had earlier, consulted his royal astrologers and pundits so as to make free and fair trial. Under the directive of the king, one of his royal attendants had brought out a hollow bamboo pipe. The attendant placed the hollow bamboo pipe in the centre of the royal court. Two good physic royal bodyguards were also taking good vigils near the pipe. Then the king told the two warring women that they should pass through the hollow bamboo. The winner will be the natural wife of Chaoba. Of course, the wise king was looking out who was the genuine wife of Chaoba. Thoinu started trembling on her body. She had not art of passing into the hollow bamboo. She feared that she would miss for good of her lovely husband in this trial. She face became pale and her eyes were seen rolling down of tears. Everybody in the court had seen her plight in this very moment. But the eavesdropper-turned Thoinu was seen happy on her face. The king had asked the two women who will pass through the hollow pipe first. Hardly had the king announced for passing the pipe, the eavesdropper started her magic and tired to enter the hollow pipe. In her magic spell, she started her body smaller and smaller in a few movements. Then she entered the hollow bamboo. When she was in the halfway through the bamboo, the king ordered the two bodyguards to cover the two ends of the hollow bamboo. The bodyguards had tightened the covers.

The eavesdropper-turned Thoinu tried her best for come out of the hollow bamboo but failed. From inside the hollow bamboo, she heard the order of the king to destroy the bamboo along with the evil incarnate female in the bonfire. When the death knocked at her door, she was helpless. She cries loudly inside the hollow bamboo. Her big cries were heard in the royal court. Amidst ceaseless crying, she begged the king to pardon her life. She disclosed,”I am evil incarnate eavesdropper. In my thirst of liking Chaoba, I assume the body of Thoinu and tried to make love with him. I will never do such evil deeds in future. I beg you to pardon my life.” The king after consulting with courtiers, noblemen and various people including Chaoba & Thoinu has set free the eavesdropper for good.