"Poor
Raja Rasulu," thought Raja Sarkap, " he has no idea that I am about
to take everything he own, even his head! Little does he know that Chaupur,
this game of chance is no game of luck for me! My rat, Dhol Raja, along with my
enchanted dice will insure my victory."
Raja
Rasulu came in, and he sat himself down to play. "Well Raja Sarkap, what
will our stakes be?"
Feeling
extremely confident, Raja Sarkap replied, "On the first game, I bet my
kingdom. On the second game, I wage the wealth of the whole world. On the last
game, however, I offer my own head as a prize! What would you bet Raja, as a
counter to these?"
"We
play for high stakes indeed. On my side, I offer my armor for the first game,
my faithful steed for the second, and, of course, my own head for the third. Do
you agree to my terms?"
"Yes
of course! I'll even allow you to make the first move. You can even my own
dice."
Raja
Sarkap struggled to contain his smile, as Raja Rasulu took the dice from his
hand. He knew that there was no way for Rasulu to beat him, so long as his own
dice were used. "That arrogant, would be king is no match for me," he
thought savagely. As the first game was coming to a close, his faithful rat
scurried across the board, upsetting the pieces. So Raja Sarkap won the first
game, claiming Raja Rasulu's brilliant armor as his own.
"Would
you like to continue, my friend?"
"Do
not think that one loss will deter me, dear king. I am Raja Rasulu and I am not
so easily beaten! Come, give us the dice, the next game is upon us!"
Tragically,
the second game went just the same as the first. Raja Sarkap ordered his men to
take away Raja Rasulu's horse, Bhaunr Iraqi. As it was being escorted out, the
horse began to whinny at its master. "What in the world is going on,"
thought Raja Sarkap? "It appears that Raja Rasulu understands the groans
of his horse."
"Remove
that horse immediately! He interferes with our game!"
Looking
supremely confident, despite the loss of his faithful companion, Raja Rasulu
addressed Raja Sarkap. "Let us continue. Only this time, I request that we
use my own dice."
Not
wanting to look the fool, Raja Sarkap agreed. He was growing nervous. Why would
Raja Rasulu be so confident? So he ordered that the women of his court to come
in and attempt to distract his opponent. It was to no avail, with his own dice,
Raja Rasulu won that game handily.
"Where
is my rat?! My destruction seems imminent, and my greatest advantage is nowhere
to be seen," thought Raja Sarkap, his eyes revealing the terror in his
heart.
In
reality, Raja Rasulu had released a kitten to keep watch on the cheating rat.
With his new advantages, Raja Rasulu quickly won back his armor, his horse, and
then won all that Raja Sarkap had wagered.
Realizing
that he had lost his head in these games, Raja Sarkap begged for mercy,
"Please great Raja, have it in your heart to show me mercy. I vow to never
play for another man's head, so long as my head is still attached to its
body!"
"I
shall grant your request. However, you must pledge your daughter to me. In
twelve years, I shall return for her hand in marriage."
And
so, Raja Sarkap was defeated at his own game by Raja Rasulu. It was the
greatest game of Chaupur ever played!
(Ancient Game of Chaupur, Source: Wikipedia)
Author's Note-
This story is based of the legends of Raja Rasulu, specifically Raja Rasulu: How He Played Chaupur with King Sarkap. It recouts the story of how the hero, Rasulu, plays a game of chance with the evil king, Sarkap. Rasulu overcomes Sarkap's cheating, and wins the evil king's head. He show him mercy, however, in return for his daughter. I tried to tell this story from the viewpoint of Sarkap. What would be going through his head, as he started to lose for the first time?
Bibliography-
Flora Annie Steel, with illustrations by J. Lockwood Kipling
1894
Greg, I think your retelling added a lot to the story and helped to humanize the characters in this and make them relatable. I think you definitely kept the legendary, larger-than-life quality that I’m assuming was present in the original and the dialog you used helped to move the story along and build interest in the ending. I was kind of surprised that Rasulu was able to beat the evil king, but I liked the ending a lot!
ReplyDeleteGreg, I really liked your story! I had never read the original story. I loved that we got to get inside the head of another character. The use of detail and dialogue was also really great. I felt like I was in the story and it was very interesting the entire time. You did an awesome job and this was a great read!
ReplyDeleteThis was excellent writing. I throughly enjoyed it. I throughly enjoyed the details that you used and writing from the perspective of Sarkap was an excellent choice because it gave another dimension to the story. It was like being inside of his head a little bit! Great Job! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHey Greg! Your story was quite interesting! I did not read this unit but it seems like a good one from your storytelling. I like that you used a perspective that wasn't the original. Doing this can make a story seem to have a completely different meaning than the original and makes the story fresh and new. Good job!
ReplyDelete