Thakur Ari Singh was lying on deathbed. Relatives and friends surrounded him. He had
only one daughter, named Lhalarde, who was standing motionless near her father. The atmosphere was tense. There was no hope
of survival for Ari Singh.
As is customary, the last wish of a dying man is found out and members of his family try to fulfill it.
One of the relatives of Thakur asked him his last wish. Thakur’s lamp of life suddenly fluttered and a light twinkled in his
eyes. With a soft smile, he said, "I have seen ups and downs of life. Many of my wishes were fulfilled and I enjoyed and
lived life fully, but I still cherish two wishes which remain unfulfilled."
All those around Thakur spoke in one voice and assuring him of fulfilling his wishes, they requested him to spell them out.
Ari Singh said, "My first wish is that you go to Gujarat and fetch horses from there. My second wish is that I listen to the
famous folk-song of Rajasthan Todarmal."
Todarmal, a folk-song of Rajasthan, is sung when a bridegroom comes back to his house with his bride. It is a welcome song
sung for the bridegroom.
His relatives suggested that this wish of his could be fulfilled if he adopted a son. But to fetch the horses from Gujarat
was not possible.
There was silence all around for a while. His daughter Lhalarde broke this silence and assured him that both his wishes
would be fulfilled.
Thakur heaved a sigh of relief and the next moment he died in peace.
Lhalarde performed all the last rites of her father. The only job left for her was to fulfill his father’s last two wishes.
She disguised herself as a young man and left for Gujarat riding on a horse.
On her way to Gujarat, she came across a Rajput warrior accompanied by a barber. The Rajput was also going to Gujarat with
the same purpose. He suggested that since they had a common aim, it would be better if they made a united effort. Lhalarde
liked the idea and accepted the proposal.
The King of Gujarat had a selected breed of horses and his horses were known far and wide. They were left free to graze in
green pastures of Gujarat near a big tank. A drum (nagada) was kept there. If anyone wanted to carry the horses, he
had to beat the drum. Hearing the drum beat, brave soldiers of the king would come and give a fight to the aspirant. If the
aspirant won, he would carry the horses of his choice.
Lhalarde, the Rajput warrior and the barber were now near the tank where the horses were grazing. Lhalarde suggested that
she would beat the drum and stop the advance of the soldiers. Meanwhile the warrior and the barber could carry the horses
with them. The warrior and the barber were happy at the suggestion.
The operation started. Lhalarde beat the drum. The Rajput warrior got busy, gathering the horses. When the soldiers arrived
on the spot with their commander, they found only one person there. The commander taunted, "You are alone, we never fight
with a single man."
"You can fight turn by turn, singly, and the result would decide your fate." Lhalarde, in the disguise of a young man,
laughed and again said, "Leave alone the question of having a duel. I would dart my lance into the earth, if your soldiers
could pull it out single handily, I would accept my defeat."
This challenge was accepted by the commander. The lance was hurled into the earth. The soldiers tried to pull it out but did
not succeed. Even the commander tried and failed. Lhalarde won and free to pick out the horses of her choice.
Now Lhalarde joined the Rajput warrior. They agreed to distribute the horses equally between them but the number was uneven
with the result that one horse was left out. The Rajput warrior wanted that the young man should have it, but Lhalarde
refused and cut the horse into two with her sword. As she gave the stroke, the barber could see that Lhalarde, was a pretty
young lady in disguise of a young man. He spoke to his master about it. The Rajput warrior spoke out straight to the young
man who readily disclosed the facts and said that she had to do all that for fulfilling the last wish of her father.
The Rajput warrior was happy to be in the company of a brave woman and put a proposal of marriage to her. Lharalde replied
that she could marry him only if he could accept her condition- he would have to wear the clothes of a bride and she would
go to his house as a bridegroom and carry him to her house after marrying so that Todarmal could be sung at her house. This
was also a wish of her father to be fulfilled.
The Rajput warrior heard her patiently and was in an embarrassing situation. The barber advised him to accept the condition,
as it was a fortune to marry such a brave woman.
The warrior accepted the proposal. Lhalarde married him and took him to her house. The women sang the Todarmal and the last
wish of her father was fulfilled.
Time passed on. Lhalarde had two sons who were so brave that one-day they brought a lion with them from jungle catching it
by its ear. The warrior, their father, felt convinced that it was no wrong having accepted the condition of Lhalarde.
There is a couplet in this context:
"Baite sain baiti bhali, je koyi hoye sapoot,
Arsi re Lhalar ni hooti, Arsik jato uoot."
Which means that Arsi Singh’s last wishes would have
not been fulfilled, if he did not have a daughter like Lhalarde. So it was better having a worthy daughter than a worthless
son. |
