Uttarakhand 61
wrap round their shoulders and hips a coloured cloth . They are
fond of jewellery and love to wear beeds, rings and other trin-
kets. Women do more work in Kumaon than the menfolk. Edu-
cation among the women was very low at one time but now it
is becoming popular. Like every other Indian lady, they are
fond of music and sing songs in sweet memory of their husbands
who are mostly in army. Down below the pine trees one can
hear the unmistakable voice of the love lorn lady—
Had I been a bird,
I would have flown to the border
Where my husband is
On the sentry post.
Malusaisi
In the folklore of Kumaon, the legend of Malusahi is as intri-
cately woven as Hir-Ranjha in Punjab. The story in brief, as it
runs round, narrates that Malu, a boy living in Dwarahat once
saw Rajula—a Bhotia girl, in dream. He was so charmed by her
beauty that he left his home in search of her and after walking
some two hundred miles on foot contacted the girl who had also
similar dream. Malu approached girl's father Sunapati Shauka for
the hand of his daughter but he did not agree. Malu had to
struggle a lot to win the hand of Rajula. Nevertheless, he succee-
ded. This story forms an integral part of Kumaon folklore.
Lore for art and music
Closely associated with the Kumaonese love for nature is the
love for music and art. Local folk dances and songs are supple-
mented by wind and percussion instruments like bansura, bina
and hurak. He who plays hurak is khown as hurkiyani, most pro-
bably his wife or daughter. They go from place to place, narra-
ting folklore, singing Riturena (change of seasons) or depicting
the sports of gods and goddesses. At the time of fairs and festivals
or at the harvest time, Kumaonese can be seen dancing jwara or
other forms of folkdance. Music is so much in the blood of
Kumaonese that the ringing voice of a Kumaonese belle can be
heard from a distatnt place—
Beru pake bar maso
O Narena