Bopoluchi

The Bopoluchi Story is an Indian folktale. The story revolves around a pretty maiden who is an orphan and yearns for a relative who could get her married and give her wedding gifts. However, she is tricked by a robber into marrying him. The story unfolds and reaches a climax when she kills the robber and his men all by herself and sets herself free. This story shows a woman’s courage in the face of adversity. Though Bopoluchi lived alone, she showed no fear and came out stronger.

The Robber Returning Home and Sees his Dead Mother

The Story of Bopoluchi 

Seldom shall you come across stories of brave, righteous women in folktales of India. Bopoluchi is one such story from the Punjabi folktales. The story opens with Bopoluchi listening to her friends talk about how their respective uncles would arrange a lavish wedding gift to get them married. Bopoluchi, being an orphan, had no one who could prepare a wedding gift or marry her. Disheartened but proud, she covered up for herself by telling the girls that her uncle would make her the best wedding gift.

A robber overheard her say that. Infatuated by Bopoluchi and determined to marry her, he disguised himself as a wealthy farmer and visited her the next day with a lavish wedding present. To win her over, he told a story about her dead father’s brother, who lived away but was back to get her to marry his son. Bopoluchi bought it, even though it felt like a dream to her. She packed her little belongings, ready to leave.

She followed him wherever he walked. A crow, peacock, and a jackal warned her of the intentions of her uncle. They also disclosed his real identity. However, Bopoluchi refused to understand the animals (which can be interpreted as her instinct) and instead chose to listen to what her uncle had to say about the animals speaking to Bopoluchi.

The robber took Bopoluchi to his place and revealed his real intentions to her. Terrified of being forcefully wedded to the robber, she burst into tears. Meanwhile, the robber handed over the bridal dress to his old mother. The old woman was too curious about Bopoluchi’s long, dark hair. Using her wit to her favour, Bopoluchi made up a story of putting her head into a mortar and her mother smashing her head in the mortar. With every smash, her hair would grow longer.

The old woman, being excited, put her head into the mortar, after which Bopoluchi hit her dead. Later, she dressed the old lady into the bridal dress and eloped from the robber’s place to her village. After taking turns and spending her night at the houses of each of her friends for a month, she decided to sleep at her own place. Aware that the robber would attack her, she kept a pruning knife with her.

Just as Bopoluchi had predicted, the robber, accompanied by three men, carried Bopoluchi to her bed, assuming she was asleep. Pretending to be asleep, Bopoluchi waited for the perfect time when she caught two of the four men off guard and chopped their heads down with a single swing of the deadly tool. Before the robber and the other man could grasp anything, she got the third head. Terrified, the robber climbed the tallest tree. Bopoluchi gathered wood sticks around the tree and set it on fire with the robber. To save himself, the robber jumped off and killed himself.

Bopoluchi returned to the robber’s place, took all his possessions, and married a man of her choice.

Moral of the Story

The moral of the story is: “Use your intelligence in the face of adversity.”

Summary

A pretty maiden, Bopoluchi feels miserable about being an orphan and ends up bragging about a non-existent uncle. Surprise enters the story when the next day, a man similar to what she had described, appears, claiming that he is Bopoluchi’s uncle. The naive girl is thrilled and decides to get married. But when she finds out, she escapes. Not only that, she manages to protect herself by killing her attacker. This Bopoluchi story shows that courage is one of the most essential things to have. Bopoluchi showed her courage in the scariest time and overcame the situation by being stronger.