The Tale of

Melon City

Group B
 About the Authors

Content
1

2 The Poem

3 Summary

4 Elements of the Poem

 Members
Arti Kumari
Ashish Ranjan Sinha
Ayush Kumar
Ayush Upadhyay
Ayushmaan Mishra
Bhanu Mishra
Gaurav Raj
Hari Gopal
Harshita Karn
Kanishk Kumar Ranjan
Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth is an Indian poet and novelist.
Born on 20 June,1952, he won many
awards such as Padma Shri, Sahitya
Academy Award, Pravasi Academy Award
and many more. Some of his notable works
are Mappings, Beastly Tales(Poetry), The
Golden Gate, An Equal Music(Novels).
Idries Shah
Idries Shah was an Afghan author, thinker,
teacher in the Sufi tradition. He is
considered one of the leading thinkers of the
20th century. Shah devoted his life to
collecting, translating and adapting key
works of Sufi classical literature for the
needs of the West.
 The Poem
In the city of which I sing Appeared upon his placid face.
There was a just and placid King. The King said, ‘This is a disgrace.

The King proclaimed an arch should be The chief of builders will be hanged.’
Constructed, that triumphally The rope and gallows were arranged.

Would span the major thoroughfare The chief of the builders was led out.
To edify spectators there. He passed the King. He gave a shout,

The workmen went and built the thing. ‘O King, it was the workmen’s fault’
They did so since he was the King. ‘Oh!’ said the King, and called a halt

The King rode down the thoroughfare To the proceedings. Being just
To edify spectators there. (And placidier now) he said, ‘I must

Under the arch he lost his crown. Have all the workmen hanged instead.’
The arch was built too low. A frown The workmen looked suprised, and said,
 The Poem
‘O King, you do not realise The King heard this. The King saw red.
The bricks were made of the wrong size.’ In fact he nearly lost his head;

‘Summon the masons!’ said the King. But being a just and placid King
The masons stood there quivering. He said, ‘This is a tricky thing.

‘It was the architect...’, they said, I need some counsel. Bring to me
The arcitect was summoned. The wisest man in this country.’

‘Well, architect,’ said His Majesty. The wisest man was found and brought,
‘I do ordain that you shall be Nay, carried, to the Royal Court.

Hanged.’ Said the architect, ‘O King, He could not walk and could not see,
You have forgotten one small thing. So old (and therefore wise) was he—

You made certain ammendments to But in a quavering voice he said,

The plans when I showed them to you.’ ‘The culprit must be punished.
 The Poem
Truly, the arch it was that banged Wants a hanging. Hanged must be
The crown off, and it must be hanged’. Someone, and that immediately.’

To the scaffold, the arch was led The noose was set up somewhat high.
When suddenly a Councillor said — Each man was measured by and by.

‘How can we hang so shamefully But only one man was so tall
What touched your head, Your Majesty?’ He fitted. One man. That was all.

‘True,’ mused the King. By now the crowd, He was the King. His Majesty
Restless, was muttering aloud. Was therefore hanged by Royal Decree.

The King perceived their mood and trembled Thank Goodness we found someone,’ said
And said to all who were assembled — The Ministers, ‘for if instead

‘Let us postpone consideration We had not, the unruly town

Of finer points like guilt. The nation Might well have turned against the Crown.’
 The Poem
‘Long live the King!’ the Ministers said. Who is to be the King? Decide!’
‘Long live the King! The King is dead.’ ‘A melon,’ the idiot replied.

They pondered the dilemma; then, This was his standard answer to
Being practical-minded men, All questions. (He liked melons.) ‘You

Sent out the heralds to proclaim Are now our King,’ the Ministers said,
(In His [former] Majesty’s name): Crowning a melon. Then they led

‘The next to pass the City Gate (Carried) the Melon to the throne
Will choose the ruler of our state, And reverently set it down.

As is our custom. This will

be Enforced with due ceremony.’

A man passed by the City Gate.

An idiot. The guards cried, ‘Wait!
 The Poem
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

Seems to be well-established there.
Summary
Theme
‘The Tale of Melon City’ is a satire about a king, his ministers, and the
kingdom. The king has been ironically called lawful. But in reality, he
stretches justice too far. Due to this quality of his character, one day, he
is hanged. 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 unhesitatingly crown it as their king. People also
did not bother who their king was as long as they enjoyed their freedom.
Summary
Long ago, the land was ruled by a righteous and gentle king. The king
had publicly declared that an arch should be built to cross a public
highway in a win-win situation for spiritual observers.

The workers went there and built an arch, as per the king’s orders. The
king rode down the highway, lighting up the audience. Because the arch
was so low, the king lost his crown beneath it. The gentle king’s brows
were intertwined. He referred to it as a disgrace and declared that the
builder would be hanged.
Summary
The master of the builders was thrown out, and a rope was hung around
his neck. “My lord, it was the workers’ fault,” he yelled as he passed the
king. The king ordered that the proceedings be halted and all workers
should be hanged. The workers were astounded, and the king claimed he
had not noticed that the bricks were the wrong size. The king directed
that stonemasons be summoned. The cutters were delivered there.
Stonemasons blamed the architect for the faulty design, and the king
ordered that he be hanged. When the architect showed the king the
plans, he told him he had made significant progress. When he heard
this, the king became enraged and could not act peacefully.
Summary
As a good and gentle king, he recognized that it was a difficult decision
and sought advice. He directed that the most intelligent man be brought
into the royal court. The wisest man had reached the age where he could
no longer walk or see. As a result, he had to be transported there. In a
trembling voice, the wise man said that the arch should be punished
because it was an arch that removed the crown, so it had to be hung.
The scales were then used to weigh the arch. The counselor then saw
how they could hang something that had come into contact with the
king’s head.
Summary
The king deliberated for a long time. The crowd, however, could have
been at ease this time. The king was acutely aware of their emotions. He
urged those gathered to postpone the discussion of good points as an
example. The people want someone to be hanged, and they want it now.

The noose was set to a certain height. Each man tried to fit the noose.
Only one man was tall enough to fit it. That man was the king. So he
was hanged by royal law. Ministers felt satisfied that they had found
someone hanged. Otherwise, the unruly city might rebel against the
king. They cried out: “Long live the king!”
Summary
Since the king was dead, ministers with enlightened minds sent
messengers to announce in the name of his (former) emperor that the
next one to pass through the City Gate would elect a ruler for their
country. It was their custom, and their rites were kept with due respect.
A fool passed by the gate of the city. The guards asked him to decide:
“Who will be the King?” The fool answered “melon” because it was his
usual answer to all the questions.
Summary
So the Melon was crowned king, and the city became known as 'Melon
City’ ever since. When asked how their master had turned into a melon,
the people said it was by customary choice. It was appropriate for them
if the king was pleased with himself for being a watermelon. They would
not ask him to take any business as long as he left them in peace and
freedom, allowing them to continue their private businesses without
government interference. This is the story that the people of this city tell
those who inquire about the meaning of their city’s name.
Humour and Irony
Construction of curved structure/ king’s riding under the low arch and losing
the crown. The way the accused appeals to the king/self-defense of the
architect / the holistic blame game/the selection criteria of the wisest
man ..aged, toothless, and intestine less / the process is quite ridiculous:
whimsical king/ his fickle-mindedness.

Literary Devices
 Alliteration – Examples – “The workmen went”; “Tricky Thing”
 Repetition – The words and phrases have been repeated throughout the poem. For
example, “The Chief Of Builders.”
 Inversion – Poets usually change the order of the words in sentences to make them
poetic. Here in The Tale of The Melon City, Seth also uses this poetic device.
Conclusion
From ‘The Tale of The Melon City,’ we can conclude that it is an
ironic representation of the symbolic folly of ignorance and
corrupted power. It is a lesson on the folly of ignorance and
irrationality. The king dies in his attempt at giving punishment to
the ignorant person who made the low arch of the city. After a
series of blame games, it was found that the king amended the
arch’s design and hanged himself. It teaches us that when people
are ignorant about moral standards, ethics, or rationality, they end
up crowning an idiot, an impertinent fellow to rule the kingdom.
THANKS