Long ago, in a small village on the banks of Kaveri river lived an old woman called Ajjamma. As the sun rose in the morning, Ajjamma’s rooster, Hunja, would clear his throat and crow loud and clear, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
Hearing the call, the villagers would open their eyes and look out at the glow of the breaking dawn. They would join their hands in salutation to the Lord and get up. Their day had begun.
Ajjamma was the only one who had a rooster in the village. She also had an oven where she kept charcoal burning day and night. As soon as they woke up, the women of the village would go to Ajjamma’s hut to get burning coal so that they too could light the oven in their homes.
One day, for some reason Ajjamma got angry. She felt that the villagers were not showing her respect. “After all, the sun comes up in the village on hearing my rooster crow,” thought Ajjamma. “Also, without the burning charcoal from my oven, how can the villagers light their own ovens to cook food? “
So to teach the villagers a lesson and to make them realize her importance, Ajjamma left the village in dead of night, taking with her, Hunja and the oven.
She went far away from the village and climbed a tall tree and sat there, hiding from the villagers.
“Let me see, how the villagers manage without my rooster and oven,” said Ajjamma to herself.
Next morning, Hunja, as usual, cleared his throat and crowed loudly, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” Ajjamma could see the dawn breaking. The old lady was convinced that the rooster’s crowing would not be heard in the village, and therefore, the sun would not rise there.
After spending a couple of hours on the tree, Ajjamma came down with Hunja and the oven. She was missing her village. “Poor chaps, what would they do if the sun didn’t rise? Men would be missing their morning coffee and children would be crying for breakfast; how can they cook without fire from my oven? I must get back to the village quickly,” said Ajjamma to herself.
As she started walking towards her village, she saw a bullock cart. Riding the cart was a man from Ajjamma’s village. “Oh, Ajjamma, are you alright?” shouted the villager. Concerned about the old woman, the man had set out in his cart looking for her. Tears welled up in Ajjamma’s eyes. She had misjudged the people of her village. They loved her.
Ajjamma got on to the cart with Hunja and the oven. As the man drove the cart Ajjamma asked him. “You must have found it difficult in the morning.” The villager agreed. “Without fire from your oven morning coffee was delayed a bit. Then, the school master rubbed two stones to start fire. It was great fun. Kids started rubbing stones to produce fire.”
“But how did you manage to do all this? Was it not dark?” asked Ajjamma.
“Dark? No, it was not dark. We lit the fire in broad daylight,” said the man.
“But how could the sun rise there? My Hunja was far away from the village?” Ajjamma muttered to herself.
The man was worried. Ajjamma was looking ill. “I hope she is alright” he thought.
Then he saw the old woman breaking into a smile. It was the most radiant smile, the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. The man was all attention as Ajjamma whispered. “I’ve made a great discovery.”
The villager held his breath. He did not want to miss out what Ajjamma was going to say about her great discovery.
“Yes, a great discovery I’ve made,” said Ajjamma. “The sun rises even if my rooster does not crow.”
The man thought over this statement. Then he nodded in agreement.
Ajjamma returned to her village to a rousing welcome from the villagers who all loved her.
From that day onward, every child in the village knew: “The sun will rise even if the rooster does not crow.”
