The Tale of Patala the Dancer
…e midst of the people, I shall earn my living.’ And saying, “My lord, you are sinking in the water: give me just one song, and I will earn my living by it,” she spoke this stanza:
Once upon a time in a village near Benares, a dancer named Patala, after a day of performances, drunkenly wades into a river with his lute. As he sinks, his wife considers his fate. Desperate for surv