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The Boy and the Magic Brush

By Madhu Gurung; Illustrations by Anup Singh

A folktale from Myanmar, it will acquaint readers with a new word called 'Nat'. Nats are spirits, good or bad, and they are believed to have supernatural powers. The Buddhists believe that everybody goes through the cycle of life, death and rebirth - all determined by the person's 'karma' or deeds. Being a Nat is just one of the cycle of lives.

Nats need salvation as much as humans and so they help humans by being their guardian spirits. They guard the rivers, mountains, towns, villages, forests, lakes, seas and homes. In Myanmar, the Buddhists believe that the Buddha himself went through several lifetimes as a Nat before he finally became the Buddha.

It is a common sight in Myanmar: people throng the gold-domed pagodas and light candles and incense and offer fresh flowers at the wooden altars of the Nats under huge trees. Their forms are similar to those in India. They are shown mounted on the 'hintha' bird that is called Thurathati. It is believed to be a Burmese transformation of the Hindu Goddess Saraswati).

Once upon a time there was a poor orphan boy called Soe Than who lived in a small village in the Chin hills. He earned his living by working as a labourer.

In his spare time he would sit under the shade of a huge teak tree and using twigs, would draw pictures of the mountains, rivers and people that looked very life-like.

Soe Than did not have any money to buy a paintbrush but people who saw his paintings were filled with wonder and appreciation. Soon his fame as a painter grew.

One day while working at a farm, he felt very tired and though it was only afternoon, fell asleep. In his dream he saw Zozhi, a Nat spirit.

The Nat spoke to him and said, "Soe Than, people appreciate your painting talent and so I wish to give you a paintbrush. Use it anyway you want." Saying this the Nat put a brush next to the boy and vanished.

When Soe Than got up from his sleep, he found a golden brush lying next to him.

To test the magic of his dream, Soe Than painted a plate and filled it with fish, prawns, rice and fruits - everything he wanted to eat. To his surprise, the plate and food turned real as if by magic. Soe Than was delighted and ate the food with great relish.

He then painted a set of new clothes - a loungyi (the unstitched garment men drape waist down) and shirt. Lo and behold, these, too, became real. Soe Than took off his old torn clothes and wore his new ones.

The next day Soe Than went to the village and gathered all the poor people. With his golden brush he painted food - hot steaming rice, fish curry and all kinds of fruits, which he fed them. The people blessed him and wished him happiness.