# Our Folk Tales : Gonu Jha #

By vermavkv on October 29, 2023 • ( 11 )

Our Folk Tales

In the days of our youth, when there were no televisions or the internet. Our grandparents enchanted us with ancient folk tales to guide our dreams. These stories had a magical quality that could transport us to different worlds, where life’s greatest lessons were hidden beneath their beguiling narratives.

Fast forward to today, a world defined by technological marvels and digital playgrounds, and yet, the ageless importance of folk tales remains unchanged.

These tales are so old that no one can trace their origins. These are like nomads that wander from one ear to the next, from one land to another. As they journey, their forms and colors shift and evolve, but their essence endures.

Today, I would like to share one of these timeless folk tales, an exemplar of simplicity and wisdom, featuring a man named Gonu Jha.

Gonu Jha and the Labour of Thieves

Once upon a time, in a realm of palaces and peasants, there lived a wise and humble man named Gonu Jha. It was a time when kings ruled with grandeur, and debates in royal courts were adorned with grand prizes.

The kingdom’s monarch declared a grand debate, offering a reward that would turn the heads of many — a vast expanse of one hundred acres of fertile land.

People from far and wide, from every village and town, flocked to the royal court to participate.

Gonu Jha’s fellow villagers, inspired by his intelligence and wisdom, beseeched him to enter the competition. But he, a man of simple tastes, likened the king’s debate to a contest between sparrows and hawks. It was a fight beyond his measure, or so he thought.

Yet, the villagers felt that their honor was at stake, so they persuaded Gonu Jha until he reluctantly agreed to partake in the grand debate.

Gonu Jha emerged victorious

To the astonishment of all, Gonu Jha emerged victorious. His wisdom had bested even the most learned scholars of the kingdom.

True to his word, the king granted him the promised land, which amounted to a hundred sprawling acres of fertility.

However, amid the jubilation of his success, some envious courtiers hatched a scheme against Gonu Jha. They plotted to undermine his claim to the land, but the king, a man of integrity, stood by his word and delivered the rich bounty to the victorious sage.

With the reward secured, Gonu Jha returned to his humble abode. His wife, curious and eager to know of his exploits, inquired, “Where have you been wandering for the past four days?”

But Gonu Jha, wearied from his journey, first asked for a drink of water. “What about food?” she questioned. “We’ve run out of oil and spices.” Gonu Jha requested a simple meal of flattened rice and yogurt for that night but assured her of a grand feast from the next day.

His wife’s curiosity peaked as she questioned further, “Has some hidden treasure found its way into your hands?” Gonu Jha explained the hidden legacy of the king’s ancestors.

For thousands of years, they had concealed their treasures within a secure, royal land, and now this treasure had been bestowed upon him.

Thieves Greed kindled

News of the treasure quickly spread through the village, reaching the ears of cunning thieves. Their greed kindled, and they decided to claim the treasure for themselves. Under the cloak of darkness, they toiled all night, tirelessly digging into the barren land. Their shovels struck stone and soil, but they found no glimmer of riches.

As the first rays of dawn illuminated the land, the thieves halted their frantic excavation, realizing that they had fallen for Gonu Jha’s ruse. The promised treasure had been nothing more than a clever ploy, a deception woven with the threads of wit and intellect. They looked around to find Gonu Jha standing in his field, his face adorned with a knowing smile.

Gonu Jha’s clever ruse

When dawn broke, he had sown the entire field with seeds, transforming the barren earth into a bountiful farm. The thieves, confounded by Gonu Jha’s clever ruse and their own folly, were left empty-handed.

Year after year, the harvest from Gonu Jha’s land was so abundant that it banished poverty from his village. The villagers, once more, stood in awe of Gonu Jha’s profound wisdom.

Folk tales, like this one, hold a timeless truth—a truth that intelligence can overcome greed and deceit, sowing prosperity where there was once barrenness.

These tales inspire generations, reminding us that beneath the facades of simplicity, profound wisdom thrives, eternally relevant, and evergreen in its power to shape the world around us.