SINNI AND THE MONSTER

Sinni, the beautiful princess of Pratapgarh stood by the window of her small room in the castle where Babbar, the ferocious monster had kept her in detention. The good old days had gone and with them had gone the smile on her face. What had remained was the setting sun, the river, and the chattering monkeys. “If only, I could chatter with those monkeys too!” She thought, as it was several weeks, since she had talked with anyone.
Pleased with the monster’s devotion Lord Shiva had once appeared before him to grant a wish. “If you’re really pleased with me O’ Lord, then give me what you have”, Babbar had said meaning Shiva’s powers. But to his dismay, Shiva gave him his serpent as it was all he had. “Oh! What will I do with your serpent, My Lord? I meant, I want to be invincible and immortal like you”, Babbar had tried to explain. “But what will you do with these powers?” Lord Shiva had asked. “I’ll marry King Aditya Pratap’s daughter, become king of Pratapgarh, and acquire the royal treasure hidden in the cave which opens only at the king’s command” Babbar had replied.

“I cannot take back what I have given, but if invincibility and immortality is what you desire, then so shall it be! So long as you wear my serpent around your neck you’ll remain invincible and every time it bites you, you’ll become immortal for a day”, Lord Shiva had said rectifying his mistake. “But remember, if you marry any girl against her will, my serpent will disappear”, Lord Shiva had cautioned before disappearing.

And then, Babbar had captured the king after defeating all his soldiers and declared himself the new king. All faithful servants, officials and courtiers of Aditya Pratap were replaced with new ones, except Bala, the royal cook who was kept in service, as the monster liked his food. Babbar then went to the treasure cave and said-

“Open you the miraculous cavern,
Commands thy king, the bravest one!

But the cave did not open, and all he heard was a mysterious voice call out from inside-

Listen You!, the worthless thing-
Until you marry the princess, you are not the king!
And since then, Babbar had been trying hard to win Sinni’s heart, but in vain. One day, looking out of the window Sinni noticed an old woman begging for meal. She beckoned the woman and offered her own meal to her. Before leaving, the woman smiled a grandmotherly smile and gave a strange fruit to Sinni. The fruit tasted sweet and she fell asleep after eating it.
When she woke up she heard somebody singing outside. When she looked out, she couldn’t believe what she saw. A monkey was singing with his eyes fixed on another monkey- “wise men say...only fools rush in...but I can’t help...!” It was only when Sinni called out to the monkey and he came running towards her that she realized she had begun to understand the language of animals. “Yes princess, did you call me?” the monkey said. “What’s your name and what were you doing?”, Sinni asked. “Me, Oh! I’m Chimpu and I was... only trying to win that female monkey’s heart, you know...”, the monkey said blushingly. A wide smile appeared on Sinni’s face. “You look so beautiful smiling! May I ask what keeps you sad all the time? And by the way, how come you understand our language?” Chimpu asked. Sinni then told him about Babbar, the old woman and the mysterious fruit she’d given her. “Oh, it must have been Bhairavi, the sorceress who lives in the jungles spread across the river. But she never goes anywhere without a purpose. Why would she come here? I think I should meet her, perhaps she could help!” Chimpu said and left after promising to come back soon.
Chimpu then, crossed the river by stowing away in a good’s boat and reached Bhairavi’s hut. Bhairavi told Chimpu that she was expecting him, and that Gabbar had sought her help to woo the princess. However, since she never cast her spell on any noble soul, she’d gone to the castle to test the princess, and found that she had a pure and compassionate soul. She had therefore decided to help the princess. Bhairavi, then narrated her plan to Chimpu. Then, giving him a casket containing a snake identical to Shiva’s, Bhairavi asked Chimpu to tell the plan to the princess and ask her to narrate it to Bala, the cook, when he came to deliver her meal. Chimpu then returned to the castle and told everything to Sinni.
This time when Babbar comes to entreat Sinni, as per the plan, she agrees to marry him. But when he ventures to hold her hand, she lets out a loud cry. “I hate that snake around your neck; you must leave it outside the room before we can talk”, she exclaims with a panic-stricken face. Having no other choice, Babbar goes out and puts the snake in the casket kept in his bedroom, and comes hurrying back to Sinni. While Sinni keeps the monster engaged in conversation, Bala quickly replaces the casket in the monster’s bedroom with the identical one given by the Sorceress. Sometime later, Sinni asks the monster, why he always wore that ugly snake around his neck and Babbar tells her that it was Shiva’s serpent. “Oh really, Shiva’s serpent?, I want to see it then!”, Sinni says showing feigned excitement.” Babbar readily goes out, and returns with the serpent. “It doesn’t bite?”, Sinni asks with surprise. “Oh it does, but its bite only makes me immortal for a day!”, the monster tells her laughing boastfully. “That’s impossible, I don’t believe it!”, Sinni exclaims incredulously. “Then see”, Babbar says, and receives several bites from the snake. As the venom starts spreading through his body, the monster starts falling unconscious and finally dies. The good old days return again, and so does Sinni’s smile!