PukhtunWomen

There lived a baghban (gardner) who had grown some melons that were particularly sweet one summer. He would pick the ripe melons to sell them in the village and at night would sleep in a small make shift hut to make sure the village teenagers did not steal from him.

One day the newly engaged Khan bragged to his father in law about the sweetness of the baghban's crop. The father in law expressed a desire to taste the melons. Thus the Khan ended up at the baghban's hut at dusk. Not wanting to disappoint the Khan the baghban who had only a few unripe melons left that day hurriedly sold them.

That evening when the father in law sliced a melon he found it very bland and made fun of his son in law. This embarrassed the Khan who swore to take revenge. Hearing of the Khan's rage the baghban thought it prudent to go into hiding till the Khan's anger cooled down a bit. Worried that his garden would be looted he went to the mosque to ask the preacher to keep an eye on his crop. The preacher was out, but a traveler walked in at that moment asking if there was any place he could spend the night. The baghban gladly offered him his make shift hut for the night.

While the traveler settled down for the night the baghban walked two villages down to and spent the night in the mosque there. He decided that he would wait two weeks and then make his way home by which time the Khan would have forgotten his wrath.

During the night the Khan ordered the baghban's field to be set afire in retaliation. In the morning when the villagers found the charred remains of the traveler they assumed it was the baghban and a funeral was held for him. The baghban's wife went into mourning unaware that her husband was well and alive.

On the forteenth day the baghban reached his village and seeing that a lot of people were coming and leaving his house he thought it best to wait till dusk to go home. Unaware that he was supposed to be dead he walked in and in a low voice called out to his wife, the wife who at that exact moment had struck a match to light a lamp saw his face and screamed “Halai! Marey jamdey sho! (the dead has come to life)” and fainted.

The neighbors hearing her scream came to see what happened and they all swore that they saw the ghost of the baghban stream past them when they entered his house. They helped his wife up and decided that she should no longer stay in the house alone.

Mean while the baghban went to his makeshift hut to spend the night and was shocked to find everything burnt to the ground. Realizing what had happened, not having anywhere else to go he went to the mosque and thought long and hard about what to do next. Some time near dawn he fell asleep and woke up just as the mullah came in. The baghban tapped the mullah on he shoulder just as he was about to start the call for morning prayers. The mullah screamed out at the top of his lungs “Halai! Ya khalkoo marey jamdey sho (oh people the dead man has come to life)!”

People who were getting ready for their morning prayers came rushing with sticks to help the mullah. Later that day people swore that the dead man had clawed them, bit them and pushed them when they beat him with their sticks. They said he kept on saying “I am not dead.”

Many swore that they saw the dead man walking in the fields and near the river and that on seeing them he would rush at them, shouting he was alive. It was unanimously decided that they now had a dead man on the loose who was out to get revenge and no one should leave their house unnecessarily and if they did go out there was safety in numbers but why risk it at all.

The baghban having tried to talk to any one he saw only to have them scream and run home did not know what to do and so out of desperation started to live in the woods near the river.

In this village there lived a dhobi (a washer man) who washed the clothes of the Khan and other affluent people of the village. He had stayed at home as long as he could but the threat of facing hunger pushed him to go and wash clothes so he could buy food for his children. His wife begged him not to go out but he assured her that he would borrow a horse from his neighbor and tether it close by, if the dead man appeared to him he would jump on the horse and get home quickly.

The dhobi unloaded the dirty clothes and tied the reigns of the horse to a branch close by. He was nearly done with his wash when he heard the baghban call out to him. The scared man jumped on to his horse and in his haste forgot to untie the horse. This caused the horse to stall a few seconds before the branch broke. The broken branch kept hitting the horse and the dhobi, making the horse run faster and the dhobi scream.

People heard the dhobi scream and they came running to save him. By the time he reached the village the branch had dropped off the reigns, but people swore they saw a figure vanish back into the woods. The dhobi told his story of horror and everyone shivered and trembled. He told of the strength of the dead man who could hold a horse still and of his unnatural speed and energy that let him not only keep up with the horse but also whip them with a stick at the same time. The people seeing the bruises and welts on his back and the out of breath horse were terrified.

Eventually the baghban accepted his fate and moved on but to this day people in the village are weary about going out after dark and even in day only venture out in groups.