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Tukaram
Tukaram was a great saint of Maharashtra. He was always singing
bhajans. Once when it was Hutashini, some kids came to Tukaram.
They, being mischievous said, ''Sing some faag.'' Tukaram refused.
So the children grabbed hold of Tukaram and shaved off all the
hair from his head. They then painted his head white with lime.
As if this was not enough they sat him backwards on a donkey
and gave him the donkey's tail to hold! They garlanded him with
a garland made of carrots and brinjals. The kids then took him
all around the village, shouting and making fun of poor Tukaram
all the way.
When Tukaram's wife Jaanbai saw this, she burst into tears.
But Tukaram said to her, ''Why are you crying? What wrong has
been done? My hair was long and I didn't have the money to cut
it, so the kids cut it free of charge! And I also have dandruff
but now the lime will cure it. And when we got married did we
have a procession? No, so we had it today! Plus the vegetable
garland will do as food for a few days.'' Tukaram was very humble.
Another person would have been greatly insulted. He tolerated
everything, and now the whole of Maharashtra sings the praises
of Tukaram and Jaanbai.
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