17 - Sounds a little Fishy to me
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of 'Stories from India,' host Narad Muni explores a Kashmiri folk tale about a laughing fish and a woman turned to stone. The story involves a queen, a fisherman, a minister, and a misunderstood traveler named Rupak. The tale unravels with humor, irony, and metaphors, leading to a surprising revelation about a spy in the queen's service and a happy ending.
Takeaways
- π΅ The podcast 'Stories from India' explores myths, legends, and folk tales from India, hosted by a character named Narad Muni, who is a traveling musician and storyteller with the gift of eternal life and knowledge of the past, present, and future.
- π The episode features a folk tale from Kashmir involving a laughing fish and a metaphor about a lady turned to stone, who can only be turned back by a specific person kicking her stone form with his barefoot.
- π The story involves a king and queen, with the queen's curiosity about a laughing fish leading to a quest for an answer, which is delegated by the king to his minister under a threat of execution if he fails to find the answer within six months.
- π The minister's search for the answer includes consulting libraries, fish psychologists, research papers, and even living underwater, but to no avail.
- π§ The minister's son, Rupak, leaves home due to the impending execution of his father, and his journey leads him to meet an old farmer and engage in a series of metaphorical conversations.
- π€ Rupak's interactions with the farmer and later with the farmer's daughter reveal his use of metaphors and the daughter's understanding of them, which ultimately leads to the solution of the laughing fish mystery.
- π΅οΈββοΈ The daughter deduces that the fish laughed due to the presence of a spy among the queen's servants, who is a man disguised as a woman, which is ironic given the strict no man policy of the queen's quarters.
- π° The daughter and Rupak manage to reach the palace in time to stop the minister's execution and reveal the truth to the king, thus saving him and uncovering the spy.
- π The story concludes with the marriage of Rupak and the farmer's daughter, who continue to speak in metaphors, showcasing their unique connection and understanding of each other.
- π The podcast also mentions other stories and characters, such as Aalia and Goth, and the tale of a giant crane, hinting at the richness of Indian mythology and folklore.
- πΆ The podcast is supported by music from Purple Planet, and the host encourages feedback and interaction from listeners through various social media platforms.
Q & A
What is the theme of the podcast 'Stories from India'?
-The podcast 'Stories from India' focuses on discussing myths, legends, and folk tales from India.
Who is the host of 'Stories from India' and what are some of his characteristics?
-The host is Narad Muni, a mythological character with the gift of eternal life and knowledge of the past, present, and future. He is also a traveling musician and a storyteller.
What is the main plot of the folk tale from Kashmir discussed in the podcast?
-The main plot involves a lady who has turned to stone and can only be turned back by a very specific person kicking her stone form with his barefoot.
Why did the queen in the story get involved in haggling with the fisherwoman?
-The queen got involved in haggling because she heard the fisherwoman announcing fresh fish outside her window and, like regular queens, she started negotiating the price.
What unusual event occurred during the queen's interaction with the fisherwoman?
-An unusual event was that a fish in the fisherwoman's basket laughed out loud when the queen asked if it was a boy or a girlfish.
What task did the king delegate to his Minister and what was the consequence if he failed?
-The king delegated the task of finding out why the fish laughed to his Minister, with the consequence of execution if he failed to provide an answer within 6 months.
Why did the Minister's son, Rupak, leave home and wander the country?
-Rupak left home to wander the country because his father was facing execution if he couldn't solve the king's riddle, and he wanted to avoid any potential harm from the king's anger.
What metaphorical language does the farmer's daughter use to explain Rupak's actions?
-The farmer's daughter uses metaphorical language to explain that Rupak's actions were not foolish but misunderstood, suggesting that his words had deeper meanings, such as suggesting to share stories, using bamboo sticks as walking support, and commenting on the inhospitable nature of a city.
How does the fish's laughter lead to the discovery of a spy in the Queen's quarters?
-The fish's laughter leads to the discovery of a spy because it laughed at the question of its gender, which the farmer's daughter interprets as irony, revealing the presence of a male spy in a place where men are not allowed.
What is the significance of the character Aalia in the script?
-Aalia is a character in a separate story mentioned in the script. She was won as a prize by a Rishi named Goam, who circled a cow in a contest, and she later lived with him in a hut by the river.
What is the role of the giant crane in the upcoming episode of the podcast?
-In the upcoming episode, the giant crane is a character that tried to eat a little boy but ended up biting off more than it could chew, implying a story where the crane learns a lesson.
Outlines
π The Laughing Fish of Kashmir
This paragraph introduces a folk tale from Kashmir about a laughing fish. The story begins with a queen who haggles with a fisherwoman over the price of a fish. A large fish in the fisherwoman's basket laughs when the queen asks about its gender, leading to a quest to find out why. The king delegates this task to his minister, who has six months to find an answer or face execution. The minister's son, Rupak, sets out on a journey, encountering various situations and misunderstandings, but ultimately plays a crucial role in solving the mystery.
π³ Rupak's Journey and Misunderstandings
Rupak, the minister's son, embarks on a journey where he meets an old farmer. They share a series of misunderstandings and humorous exchanges, such as Rupak suggesting they carry each other to pass the time and asking the farmer to cut bamboo sticks to use as walking aids. Rupak's literal interpretation of metaphors leads to further confusion, but the farmer's daughter later interprets his actions correctly, demonstrating her understanding of metaphors. This sets the stage for Rupak's eventual role in solving the mystery of the laughing fish.
π Unraveling the Mystery of the Laughing Fish
The minister's daughter deduces the reason behind the fish's laughter, revealing that it was due to the presence of a male spy in the queen's all-female quarters. She and Rupak rush to the palace just in time to prevent the minister's execution and reveal the spy. The fish's laughter was an ironic response to the queen's question about its gender, highlighting the absurdity of the situation. The paragraph concludes with the king's acceptance of the explanation and the spy's exposure.
π Aalia's Story and Upcoming Tales
The final paragraph shifts focus to another character, Aalia, who wins a contest and is granted the opportunity to marry. However, she is tricked by Indra, the god of heaven, who disguises himself as her husband. As a result, she is cursed by her husband and turned into stone, with the condition that she will return to human form if touched by a specific person's feet. This condition is fulfilled by Ram, who recognizes her and restores her humanity. The paragraph ends with a teaser for the next episode, which will feature stories about monkeys and a giant crane.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Narad Muni
π‘Folk Tale
π‘Metaphor
π‘Kingdom
π‘Irony
π‘Minister
π‘Rupak
π‘Espionage
π‘Rishi
π‘Indra
π‘Ramayana
Highlights
Introduction to the podcast 'Stories from India' which explores myths, legends, and folk tales.
Host Narad Muni, a mythological character with eternal life and omniscience, presents the podcast.
The folk tale from Kashmir involves a lady turned to stone, with a unique condition for her return to human form.
A kingdom's unusual proximity to city life leads to an interaction between the Queen and a fisherwoman.
The Queen's haggling over a fish leads to an unexpected encounter with a laughing fish, challenging her authority.
The King's attempt to rationalize the fish's laughter with a possible non-binary gender perspective.
The Minister's desperate quest to find the reason behind the fish's laughter to avoid execution.
The Minister's son, Rupak, leaves home to wander the country, encountering various metaphors and misunderstandings.
Rupak's interactions with an old farmer, revealing his unique way of speaking in metaphors.
The farmer's daughter's interpretation of Rupak's metaphors, showcasing her intelligence and insight.
The revelation of the fish's laughter as an act of irony, linked to a spy within the Queen's servants.
The race against time to save the Minister from execution by revealing the truth to the King.
The happy ending where the hero and heroine marry and continue to speak in metaphors.
A brief note on the violent and misogynistic nature of the original story's method of detecting the spy.
Introduction of the next episode's theme, featuring monkey stories from the Jataka tales.
A teaser for the next episode's character, a giant crane with a story involving a little boy.
Invitation for listeners to provide feedback and interact with the podcast on various social media platforms.
Acknowledgment of the support from family, friends, and listeners, along with a note on the music source.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
hello and welcome to stories from India
a podcast where we talk about myths
Legends and folk tales from India I'm
your host narad money and I'm a
mythological character
myself I have the gift of eternal life
and knowledge of the past the present
and the future by profession I am a
traveling musician and a Storyteller so
naturally I'm
podcasting this week we'll talk about a
folk tale from Kashmir about laughing
fish and metaphors gone
wild the character this week is a lady
who's turned to
stone and the only way she can be turned
back is if a very very specific person
kicks her stone form with his
Barefoot How likely is it that that will
happen by
accident now on to the
show there was once a kingdom and just
like a regular Kingdom it had a king and
a queen who lived in a
palace but unlike a regular Kingdom this
Palace wasn't far from the hustle and
bustle of city
life so much so that the Queen Once
heard a fisher woman loudly announcing
fresh fish right outside her
window as I'm sure you know what regular
Queens like to do the queen started
haggling with the fisherwoman over the
price it's not like the queen had
hundreds of servants and Cooks who could
worry about the price of fish or what to
cook for
dinner wait a minute she did in fact her
servants probably had Servants of their
own the fisher woman still had to sell
the rest of her fish and this queen was
taking up too much time arguing about
one tiny
fish just as she was about to give out
of sheer
desperation a big fish jumped up in her
basket the queen hadn't noticed it
before it looked
Splendid and the queen had to change
gears
I want that one she
said name your price said the exhausted
fisherwoman not wanting to get into
another long
argument Name Your Price It's usually
the buyer who says that well first I
need to know if it's a boy fish or a
girlfish before the fisher woman could
respond there was the sound of
laughter did that fish just laugh out
loud it did said the fishing woman just
take it I'll pack it for
you how dare it laugh is it making fun
of
me I don't know I don't care look do you
want the fish or
no if you put it that way I don't and
don't come selling your fish here ever
again said the
queen believe me it'll be a real
pleasure not to said the fisher woman as
she bounded
off the queen continued to think about
the incident though she told the king
about it and asked what he thought about
the fish
laughing the fish laughed when you asked
if it was a boy fish or a
girlfish maybe the fish doesn't believe
that gender is
binary you're speculating said the queen
I want a real definite answer
so the king set about finding an
answer and like a true leader he
delegated this job to his Minister upon
pain of death yeah if the minister
couldn't explain within the very
arbitrary time frame of 6 months the
king would have him killed if the
minister did find the
answer well what was he expecting a pat
on the back it was part of his job
didn't he read the job description when
he
applied oh and there was also no
resignation Clause so there was no way
the minister could get out of
it at this point I think an ordinary
person would simply have made up a story
about why the fish
laughed but the minister wouldn't lie
his way out of
this he tried to find the answer he
combed through every library book spoke
to every fishy psychologist he could
find read a lot of research papers and
even tried to live underwater and
communicate with other
fish nothing worked nobody had a
convincing
reply the one that came closest was that
probably there was a clown fish in the
same basket who had just told this fish
a
joke but there wasn't the fisher woman
was positive no clown fish in her basket
she had a strict policy of releasing any
clownish she caught she had watched
Finding Nemo after
all at the end of 5 months the minister
had run out of
options he knew the king would carry out
his promise and execute him so he
prepared his will sold all his property
and amongst other things asked his son
to go on a long holiday in in case the
king's anger extended to The Minister's
son the son let's call him rupak left
down and began wandering the country he
ran into an old farmer and since they
were going the same way they decided to
walk
together they were walking together when
rupok suddenly said wouldn't it be nice
if we carried each other for a
while huh said the farmer
on the whole not to put too fine a point
on it I think we better not he said this
was making him
uncomfortable they continued walking for
a
while then as they pass the bamboo
forest rupach handed the farmer a knife
and said here's a knife please cut and
bring us two horses with it and don't
lose
it no said the farmer and returned the
knife he had now decided that rupok was
just a simple
fool it would be amusing to see what
would happen
next they walked through a city where no
one paid them much
attention what a cemetery exclaimed
rupak daed he's staffed thought the
farmor then they passed through an
actual Cemetery where some people were
grieving for their dearly departed
ones they had food and wine of course
and they offered it to rupak and the
farmor because that's a
custom when they had had their fill and
moved on rupac commented what a great
city that
was the farmer felt
amused next rupach would be calling the
land the sky or the sky the
ocean they continued until they had to
cross a shallow
River the water wasn't very deep at
all the farmer took off his shoes folded
his trousers up a bit and crossed rupak
however crossed with his boots on so
they were quite
wet at this point the farmer began
feeling pity for this simpleton he
invited the boy home as they had just
reached the farmer's
Village rupac
replied I will come if the beam of your
home is strong
enough the farmer said nothing and
rupach walked off to the nearby Bed and
Breakfast the farmer went home and met
his wife and
daughter he said I've got the funniest
tale for
you he told them all that had happened
between him and
rupak the wife joined him in the
laughter but the daughter maintained a
serious face really father you're
calling him a fool but he's just a
misunderstood
genius oh can you explain all that he
said and did
then of course I can she said when he
talked about carrying each other he
meant you could tell each other a story
to pass the time when he talked about
cutting down two horses he meant for you
to cut two strong bamboo walking sticks
which would have been good support as
you walked and as good as having
horses oh said the farmer suddenly
realizing that this was
true the daughter continued a city that
ignores visitors is no better than if it
were full of dead
people zombies asked the
farmer no said the daughter I just meant
as inhospitable as if it were a
cemetery a cemetery that is full of
welcoming people people is like a city
with a good tourism
budget good points said the farmer but
what about the river
eh the daughter's reply was
quick different risk versus reward
calculation that's all people who take
off their shoes often Pierce their feet
on the sharp stones and end up falling
in the water and getting wet head to
foot oh and why do none of the villagers
realize this
we've been living next to the river all
our lives yet everyone still takes off
their
shoes well sometimes change comes from
without said the daughter the last one
was the most obvious by the strength of
the beam he was merely asking if you
could afford to host
him and we certainly can afford to host
him for dinner but first i'm going to
send him a packed lunch she packed bread
a jar of milk and a bowl of porridge and
had it sent to rupak along with a
message our beams are strong the moon is
full there are 12 months in a year and
the ocean is
full the messenger walked to the Inn but
on the way he was tempted to open the
package naturally seeing all the yummy
food he helped himself to some of it
rupach wouldn't even know he
thought when rupac received the message
and the package of food he ate it all
and sent a message back to the farmer's
daughter it's a chent moon there are
only 11 months in a year and the ocean
is nowhere near
full and when the messenger delivered
the message he got
punished because if you didn't already
guess by now the the farmer's daughter
was speaking in metaphor with
rupok the message was telling rupach
that the jar of milk was full because as
everyone knows the moon is made of
cheese and cheese is an approximation of
milk if you approximate
enough the ocean full of milk was
obviously talking about the bowl of
porridge I guess because it sloshes
around there should have been 12 pieces
of bread because bread and
mons well never mind I'm not even going
to try to justify this
one so that night as rupok explained his
backstory to the farmer's family the
daughter spoke up I know exactly why the
fish
laughed you do said
rupak yes said the
daughter rupak you may use metaphors all
all the time but now watch a real master
at
work note that the fish laughed when the
queen asked its gender it did so out of
irony irony said rupak is that like
Goldie and
bronzy no said the
daughter dude for a guy who spews
metaphors you sure are taking things way
too
literally the fish laughed because among
the Queen's servants is an undercover
spy
huh and you deduce that from just
knowing that the fish
laugh yep that's where the irony comes
in the Spy is a guy even though he's in
the Queen's CS which has a strict no man
allowed
policy that should not be a
surprise because the profession of
Espionage like most professions in
medieval Indian Society is barred to
women did you say your dad had 6 months
and that right now it's exactly one day
to the deadline and the kingdom is
exactly a day
away let's jump into the saddle shall
we the daughter replied this doesn't
feel like the kind of story that needs a
cliffhanger but okay that means there's
almost certainly going to be a happy
ending they did jump into the saddle on
real horses not bamboo
shoots they made it to the Palace just
in time to stop the execution and to
reveal Everything To The
King The King said okay and had the
servants checked discreetly until the
Spy was
revealed no one thought to ask how a
fish that had spent its entire life
under sea knew what was going on inside
the Queen's Quarters on
land it wouldn't be a folktale if the
hero and the heroine stayed single so
they got married they spoke in metaphors
forever when his wife announced that a
store could be visiting them rupak
bought diapers rather than bird
food that's it for now some notes on the
show the name I chose for The Minister's
son is not one I picked at random
a Rupa alankar is the Hindi equivalent
of a
metaphor the manner of detecting the Spy
is very violent and misogynistic and
also idiotic in the original story they
made all of the servants jump over a pit
the only one who didn't fall in the pit
and break a few bones was the Spy
because he was obviously
trained the theme of passing a coded
message along Ong with food does occur
in a few other unrelated stories as well
in both Indian and European folk
tales the character this week is
aalia The Story Goes that once there was
a Rishi who won a contest this was very
similar to the circle the world contest
from episode
6.5 in the sense that the contestants
had to circle the
world the winner was goam a a Rishi who
won when he circled a
cow because cows are sacred in much of
Indian mythology it was a bit of a
stretch to declare him the winner but
Ganesh had already done something
similar so there was a precedent for the
judges to
follow the prize was an opportunity to
marry
aalia I would like to think aalia had a
say in all this but that wouldn't be
true aalia and Goth lived in a little
Hut by the
river one day Indra the god of Heaven
who's also my brother tricked aalia he
was a bit like Zeus from Greek
mythology he disguised himself as Gotham
and entered aalia's Hut at a moment when
Gotham was away Gotham returned soon and
was angry when he saw his wife being
friendly to someone else who was
obviously not her husband
even though he looked and sounded
exactly like
him he couldn't curse Indra who was a
God so he cursed his wife instead
turning her into
stone even though this wasn't her fault
at
all he did add an escape Clause
though if Rah were to touch her with his
feet she would be human
again and that's precisely what happened
at the the end of the last episode when
rahen lakshman and vishwamitra were
heading to Sia's Kingdom they stumbled
on
her not literally otherwise that would
have been quite
painful Ram with his Vishnu knowledge
knew exactly what the stone was and he
touched it gently with his feet
instantly turning her
back she was
happy she had been a rock in a hard
place for too
long that's it for this week next week
we'll cover some monkey stories from the
jtic
tales you'll meet a monkey that can turn
cardiologist every day and another that
invented
straws the character next week is a
giant crane the bird kind not the
mechanical Contraption
kind we have already encountered this
Bird's namesake
before this giant crane tried to eat a
little boy and found he had bitten off a
little more than he could chew I'm
several thousands of years old and my
memory may be imperfect at times if you
see any errors in my podcast I'd
appreciate it if you could Point them
out to me you can leave a comment or a
review on the site SFI podcast.com or
tweet at SFI podcast I'm also available
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Facebook once again I'd like to thank
all my family and friends for all of
their support and especially to all of
you listeners for all the feedback that
you have
provided the music is from purp
planet.com that's
purple-planet.com see you next
[Music]
week
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