Santbal A Saint with a Difference

Author(s): T U Mehta
Publisher: Navjivan Prakashan Mandir

Page 66

back. During the night time they had tethered their horses in an open space. One Talsi Jema set his eyes on one of those horses and taking the advantage of the darkess of the night he stole away that horse and concealed it. The guest Sadhus came to know in the next morning that one of their horses was stolen. The whole village was in search of the stolen horse, but the whole day passed of without any clue. The Sadhus approached Santbalji who was camping there and requested him to help. Talsi Jema was notorious for cattle theft but he claimed that he had no knowledge in the matter. So in the evening prayer meeting Santbalji declared that so long as the missing horse was not found, he would not take any food and would not leave that village. This declaration put the villagers in a fix. They thought that the whole round about area would know about the incident and that would affect the reputation of the whole village.
Santbalji went to sleep during that night, in an open verandah. During the mid-night one man awakened him from sleep. Santbalji asked him the reason for his visit during the odd hour of the night. The stranger introduced himself as Talsi Jema and requested him not to go on fast as the missing horse would be produced next morning. The horse was not only actually produced next morning, but the Sadhus whose horse was stolen were fed by Talsi with sweets and Talsi also took a vow and assured Santbal that in future he would not indulge in cattle lifting.
Roasting of Pigeons :
Santbal party was camping in one village during this tour when they found that some youth of the village were adopting a strange method of roasting pigeons alive and eating them. Some of them would enter a well, where pigeons were found, with bundles of grass. Some others would cover the whole well with a cloth. Those who entered the well would thereafter burn the grass. The pigeons would try to fly away but could not do so, as the well
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