Durkhany, whom God awarded with rare beauty, was the daughter of a Pashtun Taus Khan, who lived in Swat, in Upper Buzdara, and the bride of a Pashtun youth named Payav Khan.
[Pashtun is Afghan.
Swat is a region in northeastern Afghanistan.]
Once, at the wedding of her cousin, Durkhany saw young Adam Khan from Nizhnyaya Bazdara. She really liked him, and after meeting Durhany, the young man was engulfed in the fire of mad love.
When the wedding ended and the guests began to leave, Adam Khan and Durhany, having accidentally met on the path near the house, glanced furtively at each other.
Late in the evening Adam Khan was sitting by the window. Lightly touching the strings of the rabab with his finger, he sighed heavily and told his faithful friends Miro and Bilo about his heartache.
[Rabab is a stringed musical instrument.]
Friends advised him to go on a date with his beloved that same night, but Adam Khan found it difficult to decide on this. Finally, Miro and Bilo persuaded the young man. They all immediately rushed to Upper Bazdara.
Bilo remained on guard, while Adam Khan and Miro carefully made their way to Durhanyi’s chambers. Miro showed Adam Khan the door, and he instantly found himself at his beloved’s bed.
Darkho, (Darkho is a diminutive name for Durhany.) scattered about, slept on the palang.
[Palyang – bed, bed.]
Her pale face was as beautiful as the moon, and her slightly closed eyes looked like stars.
For a whole hour, Adam Khan, without stopping, looked at the girl and waited for her to raise her beautiful eyelashes. But at the same time he didn’t even touch her with a finger.
Waking up, Darkho saw in front of her the same young man whom she had just seen in her dream. Isn't this a dream? The girl rubbed her eyes and made sure that all this was happening in reality. Then Durhanyi rose from the bed, affectionately greeted the young man and confessed her love to him.
A long night passed in their embrace, but it seemed like an instant to them. But Miro made it known that morning had already come and the voices of the muezzins should be heard calling the faithful to prayer.
Adam Khan and Durkhany parted with tears.
Since that night, Adam Khan remained indifferent to everything in the world, so that he even had to be treated with all sorts of drugs.
Meanwhile, Payav Khan brought the bride price for Durkhaniy and quickly celebrated the wedding.
Once Indian fakirs passed by the windows of Adam Khan. Noticing the deplorable appearance of the young man, they began to ask what had happened, and Miro told them the sad story of Adam Khan and Durhany. The fakirs promised to arrange a meeting of lovers.
And so Adam Khan and Miro put on the clothes of wanderers, tousled their hair, and put wooden sandals on their feet. The fakirs disguised themselves as their servants.
So they came to Upper Bazdara, stopped in the courtyard of Payav Khan and began to show the snakes. The sounds of the snake charmers' pipes gathered a lot of people. Payav Khan also appeared with Durhany. Durkhany opened the covers a little, and her eyes met the eyes of her beloved.
After demonstrating their skills, the snake charmers pitched a tent in Payav Khan's garden. Anyone who walked through the garden came to look at the fakirs. And sometimes Darkho would appear on this side of the garden.
Several days passed, and Payav Khan became suspicious. He got angry and drove the fakirs out of the garden.
Now for Adam Khan all hope of seeing his beloved has disappeared. A severe fever began to torment him again. No matter how much they treated him, no matter how much medicine they gave him, nothing helped, and soon he left this world forever.
Having learned that Adam Khan was no longer alive, Durkhanyi fell to the ground dead. People came running and began to rub her hands and feet and fumigate her with rue, but they could not save her. Neither prayers, nor spells, nor talismans helped: Durkhany remained motionless, her soul left her body.
They say that Adam Khan and Durkhany met in the next world. Maybe people made it up to ease their hearts? They also say that anyone who makes himself a pick from a bush that grew on the grave of Adam Khan will quickly learn to play the rabab.
[A mediator is a special plate for playing string instruments.]
Is this true - Allah knows...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru