We have heard many witty stories, from the legendary Birbal of Mughal Emperor Akbar's court to his Southern counterpart Tenali Raman from the court of Raja Krishna Dev Ray. In Odisha we have our own Kabi Jadumani, a poet with ready wit and humor. Born on this day January 8 in the year 1781, he was the court poet patronized by King (more like a Chiftain or Vassal) Binayak Singh Mandhata of the Princely state of Nayagarh, Odisha. A contemporary of Odia KABISURJYA (the Sun Poet) Baladeba Rath, he was also the Dewan of the King, his employer. In spite of being in a powerful position, Kabi Jadumani remained poor all his life.
There are several funny anecdotes ascribed to him. Once Kabi Jadumani was busy replacing the thatched roof of his house when the King's son came to summon him to the courtyard. An irritated Jadumani uttered - "SALA BAPA JEMITI, PUA SEMITI" (Like father, like son).
The prince overheard this and told this to his father. In the court the King queried Jadumani if what he heard was true. To everyone's surprise the Dewan said yes. The Raja was furious but gave Jadumani a chance to explain - "CHHAMU (My Lord). As I was putting the straw pallets on my roof the father (Wind) was busy blowing the pallets away. At the same time a gang of monkeys (monkey God Hanuman is regarded as son of the Wind God Vayu) troubled him by jumping on the roof and scattering the rest of the straws away. So I said - "SALA BAPA JEMITI, PUA SEMITI" (Like father, like son. Sala means wife's sister, but alludes to the recipient as a taunt denoting seducer of your sister). The King and his Courtiers burst into laughing, saving Jadumani's ass.
Once Jadumani described a barren land useless for cultivation given as a gift to him by the King in his Odia Sonnet.
Andha Desa re gali
Darpana Biki,
Kandha Hata re Deli
Godhana Teki,
Kamuda Ghoda buke
Deli Chumbana.
Emanta Bhuin !
Chakunda Buni le Uthai nahi.
(I went to sell mirrors
In the country of blind,
To the tribal I offered
The wealth of bovine,
Kissed the cheeks of
A biting horse,
O What a land !
A Chakunda tree doesn't grow a strand.)
Chakunda is a wild but useless tree seen in coastal Odisha which grows almost everywhere. Jadumani described the ineffectualness of the land gifted to him in his colloquial witty way.
Last but the least, most Odias from our generation must have heard about our legendary GOPALA BHANDA (Gopal, the mischievous prankster). Not sure if such a person really existed or whether he was a fictional character to whom a lot of rustic wit and a plethora of local jokes are ascribed to.
One famous anecdote involves Gopal Bhanda and his employer King. Once the royalty was blessed with a child. The elated King asked his favorite court jester Gopala, how the later felt about the King having a newborn baby ?
The later responded, "CHHAMU (My Lord), my feeling is similar to the relief one gets subsequent to taking a huge dump, especially after a complete clearance of the bowel as clean as a whistle".
The King was furious and sentenced his court jester to death. The witty Gopal asked the King for his last wish. It was to serve the king a big meal (rumored to be laced by with JAMALA, a high fibre laxatives given to horses to relieve constipation) and then followed by a joint boat ride inside a lake. The king felt flabbergasted by this wierd request, but nevertheless obliged to the last wish of his favorite jester.
After a few hours in the middle of the lake all of a sudden the King was overwhelmed by nature's call as the high fiber dish churned his stomach as he felt a sudden urge to relieve himself. He pleaded Gopal Bhanda to oar the boat towards the shore. Gopal delayed it long enough for the King to beg him to row faster.
No sooner he got close to the shore, than the King jumped off the boat and started steeplechasing through the shallow water, aiming to go behind the bushes. But unable to hold himself any longer, the King to his embarassment was forced to shit on the white river sand.
Moments later, a much relieved and relaxed King, ensuring no one was watching him, came with a big smile and forgave his jester. Now in a pleasant mood after relieving himself, the King admitted that he completely misunderstood Gopal Bhanda and rewarded the later with several gold coins.
I do remember reading a CHATI (thin) Odia book GOPALA BHANDA RAHAHASYA (The mythical Gopal Bhanda), available near Old Bus Stands of Bhubaneswar during my growing up days. It must contain many more such acecdotes. It is perhaps lying in our house in Bhubaneswar. I will grab it when I get a chance.
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