The legend of Behula-Lakhindar at the heart of Ma Lo Ma, the viral Coke Studio Bangla song

As a millennial kid maturing in North Bengal, a great deal of my life was invested outdoors. In our rain-infested town, you come across snakes, little and big, poisonous and safe in every walk of every day life. One visited my mum in the cooking area. One crawled out of papa’s helmet on a slimy July day. Nobody was enabled to harm or eliminate a snake. If it crawled beside you, you waited on it to leave. Nobody wished to run the risk of menstruation of Ma Manasa. The goddess of snakes in the Hindu pantheon.

Manasa was an irascible goddess. Such was the respect and worry of her that we were not permitted to utter the word’shaap (snake)’ after sundown. You needed to consider safe options like’lata (climber)’,’dori (rope)’, and what not. The factor was simpleyou do not piss off Manasa. You would not desire the fate of Chand Sadagar.

A viral Bangla struck

Before we get to the story, we’re talking about this story today since of a specific Bangla tune that has actually taken over Instagram Reels and YouTube this week. It’s called Ma Lo Maa Coke Studio Bangla tune by Pritom Hasan, Sagor Dewan, Arif Dewan and Aly Hasan.

While the tune is a ballad about life and the years in basic, it begins with a chorus that mentions the legend of Behula, Lakhindar, and Manasa.

“Kaalir nayanjale buk bheshe jaay// ki saanpe kamrailo amar durlabh Lak-ar gaaye
Kothay Ma Manasa// tomay pranam janai”
(My heart sinks in the deluge of Kaali’s streaming tears// what wicked snake has actually bitten my valuable Lakhindar
Where are you, Ma Manasa// I acquiesce you in respect)”

Okay, now back to the story.

The Goddess vs The Trader

Chand Sadagar and Manasa could not agree. Chand worshipped Shiva. Manasa desired the very same status as the goddesses worshipped by the upper castesLakshmi, Saraswati. Manasa was the god of snakes; not rather on the exact same level as the goddess of wealth or the goddess of understanding.

Manasa desired Chand to praise her. Chand did not wish to, and in a fit of rage, informed Manasa that nobody would ever praise her in the world if he did not.

Manasa was not the one to succumb to such hazards. In return, she cursed Chand without any family tree. She likewise informed him that his empire would be damaged.