Week 6 Story: The Ungrateful Mother

Once there was a Brahman who lived with his wife and mother.  It is traditional in the Indian culture that the son continues to take care of his mother into old age.  However, the Brahman's mother was a real witch and made life unpleasant for The Brahman and his wife. 

One day as the mother was out on a walk cursing to herself about daily inconveniences, Sarita a friendly nature dwelling ghost came to her.  Sarita asked why the mother was so unhappy and the mother just continued to complain.  Sarita saw that the mother was ungrateful for her son and daughter-in-law and took the mother in law and locked her up in her woodland house.  Sarita then dressed like the mother and made her way to the Brahman's house.

At the Brahman's house Sarita was a completely new version of the mother.  She helped around the house, thanked the Brahman and the daughter-in-law, and was pleasant to be around.  Both the Brahman and his wife were relived with the mothers new change of character.  However, after some time the wife started to notice strange things about the mother.  She was able to do things more quickly than a woman her age should be able to do, and she would stay up all hours of the night.

One day the Brahman saw his mother swimming and singing in the nearby pond and he knew he had to confront her, because all of her life she has never been able to swim.  The Brahman asked his mother who she was and Sarita confessed saying that she came across his real mother in the woods and was burdened with her negativity and wanted to make life better for both him and his wife.  The Brahman, thanked Sarita but said that as nice as its been to have her pleasant spirit around, that he must have his real mother back.  Sarita agreed to let his mother go if as long as she promised to change her attitude towards life and be thankful for her son and daughter-in-law. 

Back in the woods Sarita took The Brahman to his mother who was quite afraid.  The Brahman told his mother that Sarita has agreed to let her go as long as she changes her outlook on life.  The mother, willing to do anything to be free once again agreed and was let go by Sarita.

Back at their house the mother became much happier, helped with chores and made life pleasant for the Brahman and his wife just like Sarita had done.  They all lived happily together for quite some time. 

My character Sarita, the friendly woodland ghost. Web Source. 

Author's note: In the original tale entitled The Ghostly Wife, the wife of the Brahman is replaced by am evil ghost.  At first neither the Brahman or his mother know what has happened but eventually the mother notices the wife doing strange things such as sticking her limbs through walls and into fires.  The mother and Brahman call upon and exorcist who burns turmeric and expels the ghost from the wife's form.  The ghost takes them to where she has thrown the wife into a hole and they rescue her short from death.  After recovery, the Brahmam, his wife, and his mother live happily ever after.  I changed the story to have the mother be the one replaced and I also reversed the roles of the evil ghost and nice wife- to having the ghost actually be a friendly ghost and the mother being evil.  I used a name generator to come up with the name of Sarita. 

Bibliography: The Ghostly Wife from Folktales of Bengal written by Rev. Lal Behari Day.