There lived on a hill a man named Kochang. She was very industrious and honest. He had an unfailing faith on Puluga. He would say the Puluga was the creator of the Sun, the Moon, the Stars the Earth and the Ocean. They were all dancing to his tune.
Kochang cherished a desire in the heart of hearts to build himself a beautiful house in the hill (its present name is Strait Island) on which he lived. He believed that if Puluga willed, his dream would be fulfilled.
Many days had a elapsed. Kochang had busied himself with his work. He had gone out every morning and brought home a good many stones from the seashore and sometimes woods from the forest. When he had gathered in sufficient quantities of wood and stones, he selected a suitable piece of land to build his house on. By labouring hard he built himself a beautiful house and decorated it with conches of the sea and cowries. He also built a small garden beside his house and planted in it coconut trees, areca-nut trees, jackfruit yes and many other fruit trees. When the yes had grown big, swarms of bees came and established their new colonies on the trees. Now he did not have to go into the first. If his mind so desired he would catch fishes and tortoises from the sea. In this way Kochang became a happy and wealthy man.
It is said that God tests in different ways how far the man who loves Him is true to his love. One night when he was deep asleep, a storm started raging violently and rain fell in torrents. Kochang was roused from his sleep by the storm and the rain, and he could not see anything around and there was no sign of the storm and the rain stopping. The house he had built with the stones and the wood with hard labour and love almost tumbler down before his eyes. Kochang found himself thinking that he might have committed some mistake that made Puluga so angry. He was praying to Puluga to forgive him. In spite of his prayer the storm and the rain did not abate.
Suddenly there appeared into his house a rope. His house had in the meantime been half filled with water. Kochang clutched the rope tightly and the rope pulled him upwards to the sky. There he feared his eyes on a series of enchanting sceneries around him. He saw orchards abounding with fruit trees and small gardens of flower plants and flowers of green and pearls bloomed in them and fairies sauntered around them. Kochang was delighted and thought it was not the place of the Earth and he had been pulled up to heaven. Puluga was living somewhere in heaven. As soon as he had thought of Puluga, the rope pulled him to the beautiful palatial house where Puluga lived. Kochang saw there was light playing around the palatial house. Angels game over to him and welcome him in finely tuned sensibility and took him into the house. There Kochang heard a heavenly voice asking him, “How are you, Son of the Earth?”
Kochang got unnerved, hearing the heavenly voice. “Who are you speaking to me?” Kochang asked in a trembling voice. “I am the creator of the Earth, your Puluga”, the heavenly voice replied.
Kochang’s head bowed in deep respect. “The storm and the train have destroyed my house and all my property”, he murmured.
Pulunga understood what Kochang had murmured. He said, “I can only save one, either you or your house. Tell me which you want for me to do?”
Kochang said, “Lord, I had built the house with hard labour and love. How can I bear to see my house being destroyed? You had rather destroyed me. I won’t repent of being destroyed”.
Puluga understood that Kochang was very honest. Instead of saving his life he wanted the house he has built with hard labour and love to be saved. So he decided to save Kochang.
Kochang again heard the heavenly voice saying. “There won’t be any harm done to you. I had just tested you and you did come out successfully. Return to the Earth!”
When Kochang returned to the Earth, the storm and the rain had already stopped. He saw that the house was intact, as it had been. He thanked Puluga with deep respect.
Translated by Bhaskar Roy Barman
