Narrate 'The Tale of Melon City' in your own words.
Show solutionHide solution
Ans: For the benefit of the students, a model answer has been provided. It is extremely advised that pupils prepare their answers.
Vikram Seth's The Story of Melon City is a couplet-based narrative poem. The poem recounts an event in which the king and inhabitants met in a long-ago city. The topic is well emphasised in the narrative, which is humorous. The poem is broken into three portions, the first of which discusses the ambition of a monarch to build an arch. The second portion discusses his concerns about the arch's poor construction, and the third discusses how his edict eventually falls on him, ending in his hanging and death. The poem depicts the transfer of power from the king to a melon, which became the state's symbolic head. The poet begins by describing how long ago it was.
The king went to view the newly erected arch after it was finished. It had a pretty low arch. His crown shattered when it collided with the arch. The king, feeling dishonored, planned to hang the chief of construction. The hanging had been planned in detail. The Chief of Builders defended himself by transferring blame to the laborers. The king was persuaded by the reasoning and ordered that all of the laborers be hanged.
The workmen took over the task of determining the size of the bricks. As a result, the king had the masons executed. For their side, the masons defended themselves and accused the architect. The king also ordered the architect's execution. When the architect showed the king the blueprint, he informed him that the king had made some adjustments to it. In a roundabout way, the architect blames the monarch. The king was perplexed after hearing the architect's explanation. The king sought the advice of his kingdom's wisest man. As a result, the smartest man was apprehended and brought before the court. He couldn't walk or see since he was so old. He came to the conclusion that the arch was the true criminal.
As a result, the arch was guided to the scaffolding. Meanwhile, a councilor pointed out that hanging the arch that touched the king's crown would be a very dishonorable deed. The audience that had assembled to watch the criminal be hanged was becoming agitated. The king, sensing their mood, declared that someone must be executed since the nation demanded it. The noose had been hung. It was a little high. Turn by turn, each individual was assessed. Only one man was tall enough to fit inside the nose, and that man was the King. The king was, interestingly, hanged. The third section of the poem is then narrated by the poet. The ministers exhaled a breath of relief when they realized they were able to select someone for hanging; otherwise, the riotous multitude would have risen in protest. It was necessary to appoint a new king following the death of the previous one. The ministers sent out the herald to announce that the next person to walk through the City Gate would choose a king. The City Gate was passed by an idiot. The guards inquired as to who would be the King. The idiot said that the next monarch should be picked from a melon. Because he enjoyed melons, that was his go-to response to any question. The ministers crowned a melon and reverently installed their Melon King on the throne.
According to the poet, the citizens were unconcerned with their symbolic heads. They were drawn to the concept of allowing things to happen. They treated their new ruler with great reverence because he did not meddle with their daily life.