The Tale of Melon City
By Vikram
Seth
Analysis :
The poem 'The Tale of Melon City' is composed by
Vikram Seth, a well known Indian novelist and poet. This poem is compiled in
his book ‘Folk Tales from India’.
The poem is a satire on directionless and purposeless
leadership. The king ironically called himself lawful and just but he made a joke of justice.
The poem narrates an interesting and humorous story
about a kingdom run by a foolish king and his equally foolish ministers, and
the kingdom. The king takes pride in being called ‘a just and placid king’.
That’s why he stretches justice too far. Due to this quality of his character, he
got himself hanged at the end.
This is the story of a king who agrees to everyone like a 'yes man'. The ministers also are a group of fools who decide an odd way to choose the next king. An idiot announces that a melon should be the king and people crown melon as the king without giving it a second thought. People of the kingdom also do not even bother who their king is as long as they are in peace and enjoy their freedom.
The story highlights that if leaders are not wise,
they will only lead to destruction. The foolish king who made
a joke of justice was punished by the destiny.
Line by Line Explanation
Lines 1-10
In the city of which I sing
There was a just and placid King.
The King proclaimed an arch should be
Constructed, that triumphally
Would span the major thoroughfare
To edify spectators there.
The workmen went and built the thing.
They did so since he was the King.
The King rode down the thoroughfare
To edify spectators there.
Explanation:
The narrator told a story about a city and its king who was lawful
and gentle. He loved to call himself ‘a just and placid king’. The king ordered that an arch
(curved structure with pillars across the way) should be built at the city gate, which
would become a symbol of his triumphs and accomplishments. He wanted that the arch would be
constructed on the main road and it would inspire and please the people who
would pass, see it and admire the king. As per the orders of the king, the arch was built. The king rode on his horse down the main road to greet the people of
his kingdom.
Lines 11-20
Under the arch he lost his crown.
The arch was built too low. A frown
Appeared upon his placid face.
The King said, ‘This is a disgrace.
The chief of builders will be hanged.’
The rope and gallows were arranged.
The chief of builders was led out.
He passed the King. He gave a shout,
‘O King, it was the workmen’s fault’
‘Oh!’ said the King, and called a halt
Explanation:
When the king rode through the arch, his crown hit the top of the arch and it fell from his head. In fact, the arch was built too low. As it was a disgrace for the king, he lost his temper instantly. He felt insulted and became angry. He ordered the chief of builders must be called and be hanged for this mistake promptly. The arrangements were made for the hanging (execution). The chief of builders was called for hanging. As he was being taken to the spot, he shouted and pleaded that it was not his mistake; it was rather the workmen's fault. So, the king stopped the hanging of the chief builder then and there only.
Lines 21-30
To the proceedings. Being just
(And placider now) he said, ‘I must
Have all the workmen hanged instead.’
The workmen looked surprised, and said,
‘O King, you do not realise
The bricks were made of the wrong size.’
‘Summon the masons!’ said the King.
The masons stood there quivering.
‘It was the architect...’, they said,
The architect was summoned.
Explanation:
Then, the blame game began. But, being a just king, he thought that someone has to
be punished to do justice. He ordered that all the workmen must be hanged as it
was their fault and king got insulted due to very low arch that they built. The workmen were
surprised at the order. They claimed that the bricks used to build the arch were of smaller size
and thus, the arch was built low. So, it was found out to be the mistake of the
masons. They were called by the king. They were trembling due to fear. The
masons in order to save themselves blamed the architect for a wrong design. Finally,
the architect was called for punishment.
Lines 31-40
‘Well, architect,’ said His Majesty.
‘I do ordain that you shall be
Hanged.’ Said the architect, ‘O King,
You have forgotten one small thing.
You made certain amendments to
The plans when I showed them to you.’
The King heard this. The King saw red.
In fact he nearly lost his head;
But being a just and placid King
He said, ‘This is a tricky thing.
Explanation :
The king called the architect and ordered that he must be hanged. The architect was smart. He told that the king forgot that he himself had made some changes in original design of the arch when they were shown to him sometime back. When the king heard this, he became shocked and clueless. The king realised that he had brought all this crisis onto himself. He said that this is a tricky situation and he needed a wise man to help him come out of such a tricky situation.
Lines 41-50
I need some counsel. Bring to me
The wisest man in this country.’
The wisest man was found and brought,
Nay, carried, to the Royal Court.
He could not walk and could not see,
So old (and therefore wise) was he —
But in a quavering1 voice he said,
‘The culprit must be punished.
Truly, the arch it was that banged
The crown off, and it must be hanged’.
Explanation:
The king said that he needed some advice from the
wisest man in the country to solve this tricky situation. So, they brought a
very old man presuming him to be the wisest man. But, he was so old that he
could not walk nor he could see properly. He was carried with the help of people to the court. The wise man could not speak properly so in a shaky voice he said that
the culprit must be punished in any case. But, in his opinion, the king was not guilty. He considered the
arch to be guilty as the arch made the king’s crown fall and insulted him. So, the
arch should be hanged as per the advice of the wisest man.
Lines 51-62
To the scaffold the arch was led
When suddenly a Councillor said —
‘How can we hang so shamefully
What touched your head, Your Majesty?’
‘True,’ mused the King. By now the crowd,
Restless, was muttering aloud.
The King perceived their mood and trembled
And said to all who were assembled —
‘Let us postpone consideration
Of finer points like guilt. The nation
Wants a hanging. Hanged must be
Someone, and that immediately.’
Explanation :
The councillors and people of the kingdom were equally
foolish. While the arch was being taken to be hanged, the councillor remarked
that the arch touched the king's crown respectfully, so it should not be
hanged. He thought that it would be shameful to hang a thing which touched the
king’s crown. He meant to say that after touching king's head, it became a thing of royal importance. The king agreed to him. But, the nation wanted a hanging and that’s
why people became restless. They started talking and accusing that justice was not
being done and was delayed by the king. So, the king became anxious to see the
restlessness of the crowd. He said that they won’t think about the
sophisticated things like guilt and they would only think about hanging. He
ensured that someone has to be hanged and that will be done without any delay.
Lines 63 - 74
The noose was set up somewhat high.
Each man was measured by and by.
But only one man was so tall
He fitted. One man. That was all.
He was the King. His Majesty
Was therefore hanged by Royal Decree.
Thank Goodness we found someone,’ said
The Ministers, ‘for if instead
We had not, the unruly town
Might well have turned against the Crown.’
‘Long live the King!’ the Ministers said.
‘Long live the King! The King is dead.’
Explanation:
The king ordered that the loop of rope used for the
hanging should be set high and anyone whose head reached it would be hanged. One
by one all the people in the kingdom were measured but nobody reached its
height. Only one person was so tall and could reach the noose, he was the king
himself. So, as per the royal order, the king was hanged in order to do justice. Ironically,
the ministers were happy as they found someone to be hanged otherwise, the people would
have turned against the king. Ironically, the ministers wished long life to the
king who was dead.
Lines
75-92
They
pondered the dilemma; then,
Being
practical-minded men,
Sent
out the heralds to proclaim
(In
His [former] Majesty’s name):
‘The
next to pass the City Gate
Will
choose the ruler of our state,
As
is our custom. This will be
Enforced
with due ceremony.’
A
man passed by the City Gate.
An
idiot. The guards cried, ‘Wait!
Who
is to be the King? Decide!’
‘A
melon,’ the idiot replied.
This was his standard answer to
All questions. (He liked melons.) ‘You
Are now our King,’ the Ministers said,
Crowning a melon. Then they led
(Carried) the Melon to the throne
And reverently set it down.
Explanation:
Now, a new crisis arose - who would be the king. The
ministers thought about the question and being practical men they decided that
the next man who passed the city gate would choose the king. It was the custom
of their country. Then, they sent out the messengers to tell everyone about this.
They sent this order in the name of their dead king.
First of all, an idiot, who was very fond of melons, happened to pass the gate. The guards asked him about who should be the king and he answered, 'a melon'. It was his standard answer to all the questions as he liked melons. he didn't mean anything but his answer was taken as command. So, a melon was crowned as the next king by the ministers in a proper ceremony. They took the melon to the throne and set it there with lot of respect and crowned it as the king.
Lines 93-104
This happened years and years ago.
When now you ask the people, ‘So —
Your King appears to be a melon.
How did this happen?’, they say, ‘Well, on
Account of customary choice.
If His Majesty rejoice
In being a melon, that’s OK
With us, for who are we to say
What he should be as long as he
Leaves us in Peace and Liberty?’
The principles of laissez faire
Seem to be well-established there.
Explanation:
This is a very old story and it happened long ago. Whenever the people are asked about the reason behind choosing melon as their king, they always answered that as per the custom of their country melon was decided as their king. The people didn’t also mind to have a melon as their king as long as it let them live in peace and give them liberty. They were happy to have melon as their king as it didn’t restrict their freedom and there was peace in the kingdom.
Message
The poem satirically established that only wise and fitting people should rule or administer a kingdom or state. this message is vital in today's world and in all the times. The story teaches us not to be 'yes man' and use our prudence to decide a thing.
An ideal leader should not be like the king who agrees to everyone like 'a yes man' and claims to do justice without using his prudence and sense of judgement.
Vikram Seth seems to tell us that if the king can't use his wisdom and practical sense of judgement to pacify people, it is better to have a melon as the king; at least it will not make foolish decisions and people will use their wit and live in peace.
'Well, architect,' said his majesty.
'I do ordain
that you shall be
Hanged.' Said the architect, 'O King,
You have forgotten one small thing.
You made certain amendments to
The plans when I showed them to you.'
(i) Select the option that mentions the person whom the architect blamed for the mistake.
(a) The brick-maker
(b) The ministers
(c) The people
(d) The king
(ii) Why was the king blamed?
(a) Because he had asked them to build it
(b) Because he had hired inefficient people
(c) Because he had made adjustments to it
(d) Because he had asked it to be made low
(iii) Complete the sentence appropriately, with reference to the extract.
The word 'ordain' in the given extract means ................
(iv) Who put the blame on the architect?
(v) How did the architect smartly shifted the blame on the king himself?
Answers :
(i) (d) The king
(ii) (c) Because he made adjustments to it
(iii) order or command
(iv) The masons, when summoned, put the blame on the architect.
(v) The architect used his brain and memory and very smartly shifted the blame on the king. He recollected that the design of the arch was finally amended by the king himself so if there is a mistake in the design, the blame goes on the king.
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