| The Love-potion that Works One Way Only
|
| Digestion upset
|
| That Monday morning. I
read my own piece on glutinous rice(believe me, it was the first thing I read),
and I became so moved by the description of the flavour and taste of steamed
glutinous rice that I treated myself to a sumptuous breakfast featuring the
delicacy.
|
| Now with the date line
for my column close at hand I have hardly recovered from an acute attack of
indigestion. At least, I can say that I am one of the rare species who practise
what they preach. I hope my readers were not be so carried away by the account
of delicious snacks as I have been, lest it should upset their digestion.
|
| Of course, it is every
scribbler's dream to touch the heart of the reader; with the rattle of the
typewriter in my ears punctuated by belches (excuse me). I feel happy to know
that I have moved someone's heart, even if it was my own.
|
| Faint hearts and love-potions
|
| It reminds me of the
story of a young man who tried to win the object of his affections by using a
love-potion. The Myanmar youths of olden days believed that love-potion,
talismans and charms helped them in their wooing. A faint-heart could be a
gallant and win the heart of a coy maiden with such aids.
|
| There were witch doctors
and local wise men who were only too willing to help for a fee. The recipes
were varied; there were those which must be sprayed on the face and hair of the
swain, so that he would look charming to the girl. But it was believed that the
most effective was something that could be taken orally by the girl favour th
young man desired.
|
| Double potion needed
|
| Once a young man went to
a wise man and begged for something that might help him in his courtship. Since
the girl was fond of chewing betel, the wise man gave the young man a betel
quid in which the love-potion was put. He was to go to the girl and offer it to
have another betel quid, in case one was not enough. So the wise man gave him
another.
|
| The young man went to the
girl at the usual courting time in the afternoon when the girl sat on the
veranda, spinning. After some pleasantries, he offered her the betel quid,
which she accepted with thanks. The young man watched her chew it, fascinated
by the dainty way she lined the contour of her tips with the tips of her little
finger, so that the betel juice would not spill out.
|
| In praise of betel quid
|
| She commented on the
flavour of the betel quid, how sweet it was, so on and so forth. The young man
was pleased; the potion must be working beautifully. He recited a song
extolling the ingredients of the betel quid:
"Form Ta-dar-Oo, come the soft tender leaves
Flavoured with tabacco from Nga-myar,
Betel nuts from Toungoo,
Lime from Sagaing and cutch from Pyay,
Made up of all these -- this betel quid,
Oh chew softly -- softly chew".
Ta-da-Oo, Nga-myar, Toungoo, Sagaing and Pyay are towns still well known for
the said products, betel leaves, tobacco, betel nuts, lime, and cutch; the
ingredients for making a betel quid.
|
| The swain's finest hour
|
| The girl smiled and said
that the quid was all the sweeter because of poetic wit. The young man was
excited; he thought this was his finest hour. So he pressed his suit. To his
surprise, the girl would not say yes. He thought it was impossible, because the
wise man had said that this love-potion had never failed, supporting the
statement with stories of evidence.
|
| The young man felt for
sure that the postion must work. He would try it again. But instead of giving
the second betel quid to the girl he chewed it himself because he wanted to
find out for himself just how it worked. He chewed it and he found that he
loved the girl all the more. So he said that it was impossible that she should
not love him at all because he found himself in love with her a thousand fold
after chewing the betel quid. It the potion worked on him, it should work on
the girl too!
|
| The girl shook her head
tolerantly, and tactfully led the conversation to other things and the young
man had to come home disappointed, still not understanding why the love-potion
had not worked the other way.
|
| Now, the eloquence of my
writing worked on me wonderfully and I do not see why it should not work on
others as well!
|
