KURAGRAPHYकुराग्राफी

 Folklore: A Tale of The Cowshed of Grandpa

Compilation: Kishore Subba (Limbu)

A Ramdom Pic of the Nepalese traditional ghee processing Photo Source : Social Media

There used to be a cowshed in the village.Grandpa and his grandson used to live in the cowshed. They work all day as shepherds, and in the evenings, the grandfather milks and the grandson lights fires and fetches water.The grandson used to sit next to Grandpa while he boiled milk, staring at the milk in the pot.When the milk boiled, the grandson would exclaim, "Look, Grandpa, how much milk do we have?"And after boiling the milk and stirring it in a clean place, they cook their rice and eat it. Then, after eating the rice, Grandpa warmed himself by the fire and worked on some knitting (preparing bamboo fibre and twisting the rope to tie the cattle). The grandson asked Grandpa for the oral stories, and while listening to the story, the grandson would fall asleep, and Grandpa lifted him up and put him to sleep easily.

Grandpa was a well-known shaman. If people got sick in the village, they called Grandpa for Shamanism practise and would return to the cowshed only at night. The grandson would be sitting in the cowshed, burning a big fire to save himself from his fear. When Grandson became alone in the cowshed at night, he thought that he should not let go of his Grandpa anywhere at night. He then remembered that his grandfather had brought him sweets and meat from the village."Aren't you scared?" Grandpa used to ask his grandson when he had to leave the cowshed at night.Grandson answered, "No, no, I'm not afraid of..." When Grandpa left the cowshed, Grandson carried a khukuri (a typical Nepal knife) and lit a big fire. And He is portraying the stories' great heroes.He felt like a prince with the magical sword and destroyed all the monsters. But where there was even a small sound around the cowshed, the boy would pee on clothes. Then he lit the big fire and checked on the calf, buffalo, and oxen in the cowshed to make sure everything was in order and nothing was wrong.And the boy used to sleep next to the fire.

In the morning and evening, Grandpa poured a measure of milk on his grandson's rice and said, "Enjoy the milk until my labor; after my generation, you may milk only mice." Grandpa never discontinues the milk in the cowshed. When the buffalo is going to discontinue giving milk, either exchange it or sell it. Grandpa enjoys bringing the poor and neglected buffalo because he believes that making them stronger and better cared for than the previous herd will benefit the animals.There was a proverb about Grandpa: "He used to buy a new buffalo by adding the money he had saved by selling ghee."

A Random pic of the Shepherd processing ghee Photo Source: Social Media

A little later, one day, Grandpa said to his grandson, "Look, boy, I'm going to die today." After my death, you would not take care of this cowshed. "Do well in your studies and be a good man."The grandson was very young. He didn't understand what his grandfather had advised him. The boy forgot that just after playing. He died around lunchtime, as Grandpa predicted in the morning.After that, no one lived in the cowshed, and sometimes the cowshed collapsed.

At that time, there was no cowshed anywhere else. Travelers, shepherds, field workers, etc., have to reach the cowshed for water and yoghurt. Grandpa was very careful to serve visitors, and he used to prepare for it.

Even today, old people remember Grandpa while they are passing through the trail near Grandpa's cowshed.