Birbal at the Court of Emperor Akbar
Birbal was a historical figure at the the court of Emperor Akbar. He was reputed for his wit and wisdom, and over the centuries he has been dubbed Chief Minister, Judge, Entertainer, but he probably was only a courtier in whose company the emperor delighted, because of his cheerfulness and humour and his story-telling capability. There are hundreds if not thousands of examples of his quick-wittedness. Legends have it that people came to him to resolve their disputes. The most famous one that I have come across is this one:
A rich merchant had a well, and sold it for a good price to a peasant farmer. Next day the rich man came with a cart and a number of drums, and started drawing huge quantities of water to fill his drums, whereupon the poor farmer rushed to the scene and a fight developed between the two men. You can’t just come and serve yourself from my well, the new owner said, whereupon, the rich merchant said, You’re wrong there. The well is yours, but not its contents. The water is mine.
They decide to go to Akbar’s court and consult Birbal.
_“you sold the well to this man?” asked Birbal.
_“Yes, but nowhere in the contract was the water in the well mentioned.”
_“Was the water mentioned?” Birbal asked the farmer, and he shook his head sadly.
In that case the rich merchant is right, said Birbal, the well is yours, but the water is his.
_”Does that mean he can come and empty my well any time he chooses?”
_ “ ‘Fraid so, said Birbal.
The merchant was delighted, and the peasant devastated.
However, just as the two men were proceeding to leave, Birbal stopped them.
_“There’s a small matter though,” he said, “you are keeping your property, to wit your water, in this man’s well, so by law, you owe him rent.”
_”One crore per month,” the peasant farmer said cheekily.
_ “But… but …”
_” As the poor peasant is the owner,” said Birbal, “he has the right to decide how much.”
_”But … but.”
_”My advice is let him have the water as well.”
Now, I often challenge myself to write in the style of stories that I have admired, and I have aspired to create something in the style of the above, and I came up with this one:
The wife of one of Emperor Akbar’s ministers lost one of a pair of jhumkas or
earrings one day. Suspecting that one of her maids had stolen it, she accused her. The latter hotly denied this, and Akbar decided to put the matter in Birbal’s hands. The sage questioned the maid at length, but arrived at no conclusion. Then he questioned the victim, and said that he had not yet reached a conclusion, but it would come to him in the night.
He asked the court lady to bring the one remaining jhumka early tomorrow to his little court-room. When she arrived, Birbal gave her some instructions. He had also asked the accused maid to come along. In the morning a few courtiers and their wives joined them. They were surprised when they saw the lady walk towards her maid, and offer her the remaining jhumka, saying:
“Since I’ve only one left, I have no use for it, so you may as well have it too.” The maid was stunned.
“Your ladyship, I too have two ears. One earring is of no use to me.”
At this Birbal smiled.
“The maid is clearly guiltless,” he said, “Madam has probably mislaid the earring. I am pretty sure that in a few days you will find it, under the bed or some such place.” True enough in under a week she found the missing jhumka in a flower vase on her mantelpiece.
