'The Tale of Melon City'

-Vikram Seth

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TERMS TO KNOW

 Monarchy - a political system led by a king or a queen

 Democracy - a political system which believes in the freedom, equality and power of
choice of its people who elect representatives from among themselves to lead the
nation
 Satire - a piece of writing which criticises people or ideas in a humorous way
 Irony - a situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result
but has the opposite or a completely different result. Irony can be a powerful tool
when writing a satire.
 Couplet - two consecutive lines in a poem, which rhyme and have the same
length/rhythm

THE CONTEXT:

The poet dedicates the poem to Idries Shah, an author in the Sufist tradition who maintained that
spiritual teachings should  be present in forms and terms familiar in the community where they take
root. He used humour and irony extensively influencing many intellectuals and authors, apparently
including Vikram Seth.

One extraordinary aspect of Shah’s work is the wide spectrum of readers his books attract: they are
read and studied by psychologists and novelists, physicists and by social workers, by actors, lawyers
and housewives.

Idries Shah wrote 'The Tale of Melon City' as a short story in his book, The Caravan of Dreams. That
story was converted into a poem by Vikram Seth.

The poem is similar in style to a folklore but written with a satirical quill and ironical twists using
couplets which do not break with the end of a line.

The King is described throughout as 'just' and 'placid'. However, the irony lies in the execution of this
'justice' and 'calmness' which is carried too far by both the king and his ministers.

Finding the new king

 The poet tells a very interesting story through this poem. The story is about a nation,
its people and its peace-loving king. The king had the habit of edifying or meeting his
subjects from the thoroughfare/entrance. Imagine India’s Red Fort and its chief entry
gate as its thoroughfare.
 One day the king ordered his workforce to construct an arch over the thoroughfare.
Good idea, it is very hot at times!
 Soon the arch was built. The next time when the king rode on horseback or on a
chariot, his crown banged the side of the arch and fell from his head. Sheer shame!
 The ‘peace-loving’ king lost his peace in an instant and ordered to hang the chief of
the builders.
 When the rope and gallows were arranged and the culprit was led to the gallows, the
innocent chief of the builders cried out that he was not guilty and placed the blame
upon the workmen.
 The king was very wise, too, so he asked to halt the hanging and ordered to hang the
workmen – how many, may be ten or twenty - instead. See, the king was a peace-
lover!
 The workmen were brought to the gallows to be hanged. The crowd watched the
proceedings. When they were under the gallows, the workmen cried out that the fault
was not theirs! They blamed the masons who made the wrong bricks.
 Again the king had to halt and decide. When the mason was brought to the gallows,
he put the blame on the architect who made the plans. Well, the mason escaped and
the architect was called to the gallows.
 The architect was smarter than the rest of him. He was so bold that he blamed the king
for having made a little changes in the plan that he drew for the arch. Everyone turned
to the king!!!
 The king saw that he had brought him into chaos. Being wise, he ordered his men to
bring the wisest man to advise him. Quite strangely, the people of this country
believed that very old people are old – no matter he is sensible or mad!
 The wise man opinioned that the king was not guilty, but the arch. Having knocked
the king’s crown, the arch was to be hanged now.
 Well, a wise man is to be respected. The king, having made a narrow escape, ordered
the arch be hanged.
 While being carried to the gallows, the arch didn’t cry out for help, but someone else
remarked it was unjust. How can you hang an arch that touched the king’s crown! The
crowd listened.
 The king saw all eyes turning to him once again for it was his turn again and this time
it would fix him forever.
 An idea struck the king’s brain and it was soon decided that anyone whose height
matches that of the noose – noose is the rope that hangs the culprit. Everyone was
brought to the gallows, his height was checked with the noose but none so accurately
fitted as the one whose turn was the final one and the unfortunate one was, again, the
king! The king was hanged. Long live the king!
 The ministers heaved a sigh of relief after hanging the king but a new crisis was
encountered – who will be the next king?
 Ministers and counsellors came to this decision – the next man who passed the city
gate will choose the king and there came that man, an idiot. The guards stopped him
and asked whom he chose the next king and his reply was – a melon!
 We don’t know why he replied so yet this changed the history of the country. A
melon was soon brought to the throne and was declared king.

The order of orders

 Chief of builders
 Workmen
 Mason
 Architect
 The king blamed for the amendments in the plan
  The Arch
 Any man who fits the height of the noose
 The king was finally killed.

QUESTION BANK:

Q.1. “The Tale of the Melon City” consists of a series of humorous incidents. Describe the
events that led to the hanging of the King by his own order.
Q.2. Why did the King order the construction of the arch? Does it tell you something about
the tone of the poem/poem?
Q.3. Why did the King order that chief of the builders be hanged?
Q.4. What was the criteria for choosing a man to be hanged? Who was found fit?
Q.5. What do you think of the ‘just and placid' king?
Q.6. Pick out the irony of the poem. Why do you think it is so?
Q.7. What is the principle of ‘Laissez Faire’? How is it established in this poem?
Q.8. Many people are mentioned in this poem.Whom do you find the most humorous other
than the king?
Q.9. Comment upon the verse form used for narration in the poem “The Tale of Melon City”
Q.10.Justify the title of the poem “the Tale of Melon City”.