The Ghost-Brahman by Lal Behari Dey ( Summary, Explanation, Questions Answer, Class 11 Semester 2)

 

Folk – Tales
Definition, Types, Features and Functions

I. What are folk-tales?

Folk-tales are stories handed down from generation to generation usually by oral retelling. They are shared by members of a bio-region. These stories often undergo changes as they pass from one storyteller to the next. Folk-tales often explain some things that happen in nature or society. They may convey certain truths or beliefs that exist in a society. Generally, folk-tales are told to amuse and instruct the listeners.

II. Who wrote folk-tales?

Most of the folk-tales are composed by anonymous writers. They are part of the oral tradition. Some famous writers, such as the brothers Grimm, wrote folk-tales while others collected folk-tales of a particular region. In India, A. K. Ramanujan is famous for collecting oral tales. In Bengal, Lal Behari Dey is perhaps the first scholar to collect oral tales of Bengal.

III. What are the different types of folk-tales?

  Fable: A fable is a brief tale, either in prose or verse, with a moral. Usually, but not always, the characters are animals. The subject matter is drawn from folklore. Aesop's Fables are best-known examples.

 Fairy tale: A fairy tale is a story concerned with the mysterious adventures of supernatural spirits who manifest themselves in the form of human beings. Almost every nation has its own literature of this genre. Oscar Wilde's fairy tales are very popular.

  Legend: A legend is a narrative or tradition handed down from the past. It involves a character who may have been a real person. It is partly historical and partly a product of imagination. King Arthur, for example, is a legendary figure.

  Myth: A myth is an anonymous story, rooted in folk beliefs, presenting supernatural episodes to explain natural events and phenomena. Every culture explains everyday phenomena with tales of mythological figures. Myths attempt to interpret creation, divinity and religion; to explain the meaning of existence and death; to account for natural phenomena; and to chronicle the adventures of racial heroes. Myths have less historical background and more supernatural elements than legends. Every country and literature has its own mythology.

  Allegory: An allegory is a narrative that has two levels of meaning—one is the surface level story and the other is the deeper meaning that the story conveys. It may be written in prose or verse. It is the presentation of an abstract idea through more concrete means. John Bunyan's ‘The Pilgrim's Progress’ is an example of allegory in English literature.

  Trickster Tale: A trickster's tale is a story about a clever character that tricks another character and causes problems.

IV. What are the characteristic features of folk-tales?

It has been found that folk-tales follow a pattern and basic features. 

  Author: In most cases, it is written by anonymous authors.

 Setting: Most folk-tales are set in a time and place that is quite real. The action generally takes place in a far-off time and place. Some space is left for the imagination of the readers to fill the gaps in picturing the setting of a folk-tale. Time is often fantasy. Folk-tales usually begin with expressions like “Once upon a time...” or “Long ago in a far-off place”.

  Characters: Characters in folk-tales can be human, animal or imaginary. Human characters are generally very simple and uncomplicated. They might be good or bad, beautiful or ugly, strong or weak, rich or poor, wise or silly. Animal characters often talk and act like people. Imaginary characters often interfere and change the situation.

  Dialogue: Dialogue, words spoken by the characters is important in lending pace to the action. The dialogues reveal how the characters think, act and feel.

  Narrative: Folk-tales are narratives having a beginning, middle and an end. The language is very simple. The story is not complicated but simple. The first part introduces the characters, the setting, the situation and the problem. The middle tells the linear succession of events and the reactions of the characters involved. The last part is the happy ending.

  Magic and Supernatural: Some tasks are performed by magical figures to overcome human limitation or to put the main character in trouble. In Indian folk-tales, ghosts and supernatural creatures play a significant role in shaping the events.

V. What are functions or purposes served by folk-tales?

Folk-tales are the cultural construct of a bio-region. They uphold cultural tradition and rich heritage. They remind people of traditions and beliefs shared for ages. They are instruments of transmission of culture. The main purpose of telling folk-tales is to entertain and amaze. They are means of folk education. They impart important lessons about human nature. Folk-tales infuse moral values through presentation of conflict between good and evil. They highlight shared values and moral lessons.

 

 The Ghost-Brahman by Lal Behari Dey

 

Summary of the Story: The Ghost-Brahman

The tale is about a poor Brahman. The poor Brahman finds it difficult to marry as he is not a ‘Kulin’. At that time, a large sum of money was needed as dowry for the parents of the bride. So he decides to go to rich people to beg for money for his marriage. He eventually earns enough money to get married. But after his marriage, he finds it difficult to maintain the family. So he tells his mother that he will go to distant countries for a long period to earn some money. Receiving his mother's blessings, he leaves home. In the evening, a ghost, assuming the Brahman's appearance, enters the house. The ghost-Brahman explains that he has changed his mind because the day is not a lucky day. They do not suspect the ghost-Brahman. After some years, the real Brahman returns home and discovers another Brahman who looks exactly like him. Unfortunately, the ghost-Brahman drives him away from his house. Overcoming the initial shock, the Brahman goes to the king for justice. To the king, the ghost-Brahman and the real Brahman are identical. So the king fails to decide the quarrel and advises the Brahman to come to the king the next day. Days pass but the dispute remains unsolved. Every day on his way back from the king's court, the Brahman passes a spot where cowboys play. The cowboys notice the Brahman pass by weeping daily. One day, the cowboy king orders one of his constables to bring the Brahman to him. The neat-herd king listens to his problem and decides to resolve it. The Brahman is then sent to the king to seek his permission. Permission being granted, the trial starts. Both Brahmans appear before the neat-herd king the next morning. The neat-herd king shows them a phial and says that whoever of them will enter into the phial will be declared the rightful person. While the Brahman questions the intellectual ability of the neat-herd king, the ghost-Brahman enters into the phial. The neat-herd king then corks up the phial. Finally, the Brahman takes possession of his house, wife and mother and begins to live happily.

 

Descriptive Type Questions

1. What problem did the poor Brahman consider to be ‘the hardest thing in the world’? Why did he think so? How did he overcome the problem?

Ans. In ‘The Ghost-Brahman’, the poor Brahman found it ‘the hardest thing in the world’ to get married.

  The poor Brahman held his social position and financial condition responsible for the problem. He found it difficult to marry because he had neither the social prestige of a ‘kulin’ (i.e. the status of belonging to the highest social hierarchy) nor enough money.

  To overcome the problem, he went to the rich people and begged them to give him money to get married. At that time, a large sum of money was needed to give dowry to the parents of the bride and to meet the expenses of the wedding. He begged from door to door, flattered rich people and thereby managed to get enough money to get married.

 

2. What problem did the poor Brahman face immediately after his marriage? How did he want to solve the problem?

Ans. Immediately after his marriage, the poor Brahman found it extremely difficult to maintain his family as he had no means to support his mother and wife.

  He thought of a plan to solve his problem. He told his mother that he must go to far-off countries to earn money by any means. Only after accumulating a good sum would he return home. He wanted to hand over whatever money he had to his mother to maintain the family. On receiving his mother's blessings, he left home.

 

3. Why did the poor Brahman leave home for a long time? What did the ghost-Brahman do while he left home for a long time? How did the Brahman's wife and mother react to the arrival of the ghost-Brahman?

Ans. The poor Brahman left home for a long time to earn a good sum to maintain his family.

  In the evening of the same day of the Brahman’s departure, a ghost, assuming the appearance of the Brahman, entered the house and took charge. As the ghost was exactly like the Brahman, no one doubted his identity. Even neighbours thought that the Brahman had returned from his travels.

  The Brahman's newly married wife took the ghost-Brahman to be her real husband. Taken aback by his return, she only asked the ghost why he had changed his mind and returned so soon. The ghost replied that that day was not a lucky one and that he had already got hold of some money. The mother too did not doubt the identity of the ghost-Brahman.

 

4. What problem did the Brahman face on returning from his travels? What was his initial reaction? What did he decide to do for justice?

Ans. Upon returning from his travels, the Brahman was surprised to find a lookalike of himself in the house. It was actually a ghost who had taken on the form of that Brahman. Both got involved in an altercation. The ghost claimed the rights over everything—the house, his wife and his mother. Saying that the Brahman's head had been turned, the ghost drove the real Brahman away from his own house.

  Initially, the Brahman was surprised to see the ghost-Brahman, who was exactly like him. After being driven away, he became mute with wonder.

  Overcoming his shock, the Brahman decided to go to the court of the king and appeal for justice.

 

5. Why did the Brahman go to the court of the king? What did the king do? Who ultimately solved the problem?

Ans. After some years of travel in distant countries, the Brahman returned home and was utterly surprised to find another like him in his place. He was driven out of his own house. He went to the court of the king to regain his rights.

  The Brahman and the ghost's identical appearance confused the king and he could not decide the quarrel. Every day, he would ask the Brahman to come to the court the next day. But all was in vain. The Brahman returned from the palace weeping and striking his forehead with the palm of his hand daily.

  The neat-herd king ultimately solved the problem.

 

6. How did the neat-herd king solve the case of the Brahman?

Ans. When the Brahman returned home from his travels, he found that another like him had become the owner of the house. He was driven away from his own house. This misfortune made him mute with wonder. He went to the king's court but the king failed to give him justice. One day, while he was returning from the court in tears, he was stopped by a constable and brought to the neat-herd king. The neat-herd king enquired of his misfortune, listened to his problem and assured to give him back his rights. He advised the Brahman to go to the king to seek his permission in favour of the neat-herd king deciding the case. As the case had greatly puzzled the king, he granted permission. The next morning was fixed for the trial. The neat-herd king showed them a phial and told them whichever of them would enter the phial would be declared the rightful owner of the house. The Brahman did not like the process. So, he raised questions regarding the intellectual ability of the neat-herd king. But the ghost made himself into a small creature and entered into the phial. The neat-herd king immediately corked up the phial so that the ghost could not get out. This is how the neat-herd king played the most significant role in establishing the identity of the Brahman and thereby helping him regain his rights. He then advised the Brahman to throw the phial into the bottom of the sea and to take possession of his house, wife and mother. Complying with the advice, the Brahman lived the rest of his life happily.

 

7. What is irony? What role does it play in the development of the story, ‘The Ghost-Brahman’?

Ans. Irony is a contradiction (or incongruity) between appearance (or expectation) and reality. In irony, the actual intent expressed in words carry the opposite meaning. This disparity may be manifested in different ways.

  Irony plays a significant role in moulding every turn and twist of the story. At the beginning of the story, the main character is introduced as a poor Brahman who is not a ‘Kulin’ (i.e. of high rank). This status – poverty and lower social position – made him realize that the most difficult thing in the world is to get married. It is ironic that he manages to collect the money required for getting married by begging. When he reaches his goal and brings his wife home to his mother, he finds it difficult to support the family. It is ironic that the fulfillment of one expectation leads him to the other and he has to go through trials and tribulations as a consequence of his expectations. At a critical juncture of life, the Brahman loses everything in his attempt to gain worldly happiness. In utter helplessness, the Brahman goes to the court of the king for justice but gets no result. It is ironic that solving the identity problem is like a puzzle to the king but an easy deal for the neat-herd king. While the neat-herd king tells both the Brahman and his identical rival that whichever of them would enter into the phial would be declared the rightful owner of the house, the Brahman criticizes the neat-herd king and questions his intellectual power. However, such is the irony of the situation that the Brahman only regains his rights to his house, wife, and mother because of the neat-herd king's intellectual ability. In fact, irony is the soul of this tale.

 

8. How far does the story maintain the basic principles of storytelling?

Ans. The folktale ‘The Ghost-Brahman’ follows the basic principles of storytelling and serves its purpose. It has a simple narrative, typical of storytelling. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. It begins in a fantasy time: “Once on a time there lived...”. The place of the setting is left to the imaginative faculty of the listeners or the readers. In the first part, the tale introduces the setting, the main character and his problem. In the middle, the action of the story takes a new turn with the entry of the ghost-Brahman and becomes complicated with the return of the Brahman from his travels. The situation becomes so puzzling that even the king of the country fails to identify the rightful owner. The whole action rises and reaches its climax in the trial scene when the neat-herd king handles the situation very intelligently and tempts the ghost to enter the phial only to be captured by corking the phial. The story presents the conflict between good and evil and through the victory of good over evil, imparts a moral lesson. The ending of the story is also typical of any folktale: “The Brahman did so, and lived happily for many years and begat sons and daughters”. The end does not end there but incorporates the tradition of the ending of a Bengali folktale:

  Here my story endeth,

  The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.

   The straightforward narrative, typical setting, introduction of a ghost, arrangement of events in order of time-sequence, representation of the conflict between good and evil, simplicity in dramatic structure and language, typical beginning and happy ending, and lucidity in style and diction make ‘The Ghost-Brahman’ an excellent specimen of folktale.