12 - Annabelle and the 40 Thieves

Summary

In this episode of 'Stories from India', Narad Monea narrates a Tamil Nadu folk tale about a farmer's wife who consults a clay statue of her late mother-in-law for daily decisions. The tale takes a dark turn when the statue seemingly consumes rice, leading to a series of events involving thieves, gold, and a moral lesson on independence and greed.

Takeaways

• 🎵 The podcast 'Stories from India' explores myths, legends, and folk tales from India, hosted by Narad Monei, a mythological character with eternal life and knowledge.
• 👵 The story begins with a family in Tamil Nadu, where the mother-in-law's daily decision on the amount of rice for dinner was crucial, communicated non-verbally with two or three fingers.
• 🏡 After the mother-in-law's death, the daughter-in-law, unable to make decisions, bought a clay statue of her mother-in-law to continue the rice decision ritual.
• 🍚 The farmer discovered increased rice consumption despite the mother-in-law's absence, leading to a confrontation with his wife about the statue's supposed consumption.
• 👩‍👦 The wife revealed that she believed the statue was eating and interacting with her, leading to the farmer kicking her out of the house.
• 🌳 The wife, carrying the statue, ended up in a forest where she accidentally scared off a group of thieves by dropping the statue, revealing a hoard of gold.
• 💰 The wife returned to her husband with the gold, but he wanted to measure it using a neighbor's scale, unaware of the neighbor's jealousy.
• 🐍 The neighbor, envious of the wealth, replicated the wife's plan but was killed by the thieves, who believed she had tricked them.
• 🌏 The wife, realizing her independence, left her husband and embarked on a world trip, symbolizing her newfound freedom and wealth.
• 🏔️ The podcast also introduces Mount Meru, a mythical mountain considered the center of the universe with extraordinary size and composition, including faces made of crystal, ruby, gold, and lapis lazuli.

Q & A

Who is the host of the podcast 'Stories from India'?

The host of the podcast 'Stories from India' is Narad Monei, a mythological character with the gift of eternal life and knowledge of the past, present, and future.

What is the main theme of the episode titled 'A Doll Comes to Life and Alibaba and the 40 Thieves'?

The main theme of the episode is a folk tale from Tamil Nadu, Southern India, which combines elements of a creepy story of a doll coming to life with the tale of Alibaba and the 40 thieves.

What was the daily decision that the farmer's mother made in the story?

The daily decision that the farmer's mother made was whether the daughter-in-law should make two cups of rice or three for dinner.

How did the farmer's wife cope with the decision-making after her mother-in-law passed away?

The farmer's wife coped with the decision-making by buying a lifelike clay statue of her mother-in-law, which had one hand in a two-finger gesture and the other in a three-finger gesture, to help her decide on the amount of rice to make.

Why did the farmer's food expenses increase instead of decrease after his mother's death?

The food expenses increased because the farmer's wife continued to make the same amount of rice as before, even though his mother was no longer around to consume it.

What was the farmer's reaction when he discovered that his food expenses were higher than expected?

The farmer confronted his wife with the facts and was annoyed by the situation, eventually kicking his wife out of the house.

How did the farmer's wife end up with a statue of her mother-in-law in the forest?

The farmer's wife ended up in the forest after being kicked out of the house by her husband, and she took the statue of her mother-in-law with her.

What happened when the statue fell from the tree where the farmer's wife was hiding?

When the statue fell from the tree, it scared away a group of thieves who were dividing their loot nearby, thinking the statue was a demon.

What did the farmer's wife do with the gold she found after the thieves ran away?

The farmer's wife used the gold she found to hire a luxurious bullet cart and set off on a world trip, instead of returning to her husband.

What is the significance of Mount Meru in the podcast?

Mount Meru is mentioned as a mythological mountain that is the center of the universe in a physical, metaphysical, and spiritual sense, with extraordinary size and composition.