The Lazy Wife | A Folk Tale from Uttar Pradesh

Long, long ago, there lived a Jat, or a farmer, in the town of Shamli in Muzaffarnagar district. His wife idled the day away, hardly ever taking food to her husband, who slaved away in the fields from dawn till dusk. The poor farmer would draw water, cook food, and look after his cattle, all on his own. If he asked for anything, his lazy wife would start crying at the top of her voice. Everyone felt sorry for the poor farmer.

Whenever she had to do some work, she would pretend to have a stomachache that, according to her, kept her from eating anything. She would also cook up excuses to avoid the household chores.

One day, the poor farmer decided to put an end to her charade. He woke up early in the morning and asked her to make some chapatis for him. As expected, she started acting ill and asked him to make the chapatis himself.

He then prepared four chapatis himself and packed them up with some jaggery. He also made four chapatis for her and kept them by the bed for her to eat. The lazy wife told him feebly that she couldn’t eat them as she was sick.

The farmer then left, telling her that he would be back after four or five days. She asked him to get back at the earliest as she didn’t want to be alone.

When Jat left the house, she closed the door and had a good bath. She then started cooking some rice curry for herself. She kneaded the flour with salt and butter to make tasty, soft chapatis. Thereafter, she took a pot filled with buttermilk and started having her meal with a big lump of butter.

Meanwhile, Jat, who had been observing her all this while from behind a window, walked in and startled her. Upset with his sudden return, she asked how he was back so early.

Jat made up a story for his early return. He told her that he had spotted a black cobra on the way. Thinking it to be a bad omen, he didn’t proceed further and came back home. When she asked him how fat the cobra was, Jat replied that it was as thick as the chapati she had made. When she asked him how fast the snake was, Jat replied it was as fast as she could pour ghee into the rice curry.

The wife realized that she could no longer hide anything from Jat, who had seen everything. And just like that, it dawned on her that she could not shirk her responsibilities anymore.