So I have this friend that I hang out with often. His name is Sani. I chill with him because he is the god of bad luck. Bad luck and curses pretty much go hand in hand. He is sometimes a little annoying and gets bent out of shape too often, but we all have our issues.
Sani and Lakshmi (the goddess of good luck and prosperity) were in a fight because they wanted to figure out which one of them was better and higher in rank. Watching this fight was dreadful. They were so busy saying each of them was better, but let’s be honest, I am always the best.
The dispute needed to be settled by a third party. Sribatsa was their man. He seems to be a very lucky guy, but I had this feeling that this would quickly change. Sribatsa, Sani, Lakshmi, and me of course, gathered to settle it once and for all. Sribatsa insisted that Sani sit on this plastic chair while Lakshmi got to sit on a Lazyboy. I knew what was coming because I could tell I was about to haunt this man. Sani got furious that he had to sit on a plastic chair and told Sribatsa that his curse of bad luck would be with him for three years. That means I had a lot to do in these three years.
I soon got to work. I also got to meet Sribatsa’s wife, Chintamani. She was a total babe. They started packing up all of their stuff including their gold and jewels. Silly people think that they can survive a three-year curse with their special possessions by their side. I knew the jewels and gold had to go first. Side note, they decided to keep their possessions stuffed inside a mattress as if that is not obvious. When Sribatsa and Chintamani found a boatman, I knew this guy would be the one to start off the curse. He stole the mattress with their belongings and left. Bummer, man.
I watched as Sribatsa had to find a job as a woodcutter. That’s a curse within itself. He was surprisingly good at it, so it was my job to make sure that he lost his job. Yeah, it’s really harsh but I am a pain in the butt, so I have to make him suffer. Sribatsa would soon find out that he was out of a job because his coworkers decided to move the business without telling him.
Chintamani soon got her share of bad luck. She got a job as a weaver and she was very good at it. This made the others fill with rage and jealousy. I could tell that they really wanted to get rid of her and this is where I came in. One day, Chintamani was working and these men took her in their boat. She screamed with rage and fought to escape and looked to her fellow workers for help only to see their backs facing her. This abduction meant that Chintamani and Sribasta were separated and I would do everything to keep them apart. Is there anything more painful than to be apart from the one you love?
I could tell that my three-year job contract was coming up. But I was going to fight until the very end. Sribatsa and Chintamani continued to be separated. Chintamani was on the boat while Sribatsa was with this cow that pooped out gold. Yeah, that is totally random but true. What is even grosser is that he would engrave his name in this poop so that everyone would know that the gold was his. A boat approached him and robbed him of all his gold and took him captive. He soon saw Chintamani in the boat as well. The guys that abducted the both of them soon threw Sribatsa off the boat. It was pretty funny watching him struggling to swim.
My last curse I could give to Sribatsa would be that he would be sick from the cold water. He pretty much had hypothermia and I thought there was no way he could get back from it. Unfortunately, he did. Ugh, a woman helped him get better and even gave him a job! He told her about all of his troubles and how he was robbed of his gold. Eventually the same guys that took Chintamina captive arrived and were immediately sentenced to leave and never come back. Sribatsa and his lady were back together. Chintamina and Sribasta would not stop hugging and kissing and it made me want to throw up. Get a room next time!
Better luck next time.
Author's note:
In the story The Evil Eye of Sani, there is a curse that lasts throughout most of the story. Understanding the original story will be important before continuing with the first story post in the Storybook. The story follows Sribatsa, Sani, and Lakshmi. Sani and Lakshmi are in a disagreement because they both think that they are higher in rank than the other person. This is where Sribatsa comes in. They confront Sribatsa to make the decision for who is higher in rank. When Sani and Lakshmi are present, Sani misinterprets an action done by Sribatsa and curses him with the evil eye for three years. My story will follow the curses that are put upon Sribatsa and his wife, Chintamani. Lakshmi helps both the husband and wife throughout the journey that they will be put on. Telling the story from the curses point of view adds a lot of different reactions to the plot of the original story. The curse will have a lot of opinions on the actions done by all of the characters in the story, especially Sribatsa. The curse is very judgmental and we will be able to see this in the story. I changed some details of the story to make it more relatable to modern day. In the original story the chairs were made of silver and gold, but in my story I changed it to a plastic chair and a Lazyboy.
Bibliography: "The Evil Eye of Sani" by Lal Behari Day. Website: Folk-tales of Bengal
Image Information: Chair picture, This is the chair that started it all
Header information: Evil Eye