Noori Jam Tamachi

Backstory

Jam Tamachi was a prince from the Samma Dynasty, who used to rule Thatta, Sindh. There are three lakes lying between Jherruk and Thatta, called the Keenjhar, the Chholmari and Sonahri. On the banks of Keenjhar, broken walls are still visible that mark the site of an old fishing village. This village was inhabited by Mohana fishermen.^[3] Most of the time of its residents was spent on their boats. The men would use nets to catch fish, which were then sold by the women on the roads. While most women from this village were lean and dark, Noori was an exception. Noori was beautiful and well mannered. Her beauty reminded people of the beautiful Full moon, which earned her the name Noori i.e light.

Jam enjoyed hunting and travelling. While on a royal trip to the lake, his eyes caught a glimpse of Noori. He fell in love at first sight. He asked for Noori's hand in marriage through his minister, which was accepted by the fishermen folks. On the occasion of their marriage, Jam Tamachi gifted the Keenjhar Lake to the fishermen, and exempted them from taxes.

Noori and Jam lived in Jam's palace, and regularly went on excursions to the Keenjhar Lake in a royal boat. In spite of her humble nature, she was now bestowed with all the worldly treasures. She regularly told Jam how she remembers her humble origins and was grateful to him for bringing him from the tiny village to this grand palace. This goes on to show how much they both loved each other.

The Plan of Jam's wives

Jam Tamachi had six other wives from his Samma clan. They were quite jealous of the king's closeness to Noori. Together, they devised a plan to defame Noori. They told Jam that Noori's brother visited the Palace every night and she was giving him the royal jewels and treasures. One day while Noori's brother was returning from the palace, Jam saw a box in his hand. Expecting his wives' story to be true, he inspected the box. He quietly returned after finding scraps of bread and fish bones in the box. When the king inquired his beloved Noori about this, she told him that she was not used to the royal food. She was afraid that if she developed the taste of royal food, she may never be able to enjoy her traditional food. Therefore, every day, her mother sent her a piece of fish and bread made from coarse grain.

This event led to Jam Tamachi love her even more, due to her simplicity and contentment.

Jam's other wives continued to harass Noori. They would often complain about her misbehavior to the king.

The Test

One day Jam Tamachi decided test all of his wives. He told them to get ready by evening as he would take one of them for sightseeing. All queens, except Noori, spent the entire day applying makeup and wearing costly clothes and ornaments. When Jam returned to his palace, the wives competed to entice him. Jam, however, could see through their artificial makeup and fake behavior. When he came to Noori's apartment, he found her waiting impatiently. She was wearing a simple dress that her parents gave her. Her natural beauty was enough and did not need any makeup. Jam took her hand and led her to the Royal carriage.

The other queens got even more jealous and were fuming at Noori. When Jam returned, he declared the Noori the reigning queen. Her humility had gotten her to this place, and instead of getting intoxicated by this newly found power, she became even more humble and courteous.^[4]