Unit One: Education and Life

Lesson 1

The Parrot’s Tale

Rabindranath Tagore

(Translated by Kaiser Haq)

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1.

Once upon a time there lived a bird. It was unlettered. It sang but couldn’t recite a word of scripture. It hopped and it flew but lacked all sense of manners.
The King said, “Such a bird is of no use. Yet it devours fruit from the forest, bringing down the profits of fruiterers in the royal market.” He summoned the Minister and commanded, “Educate the bird!”

 

2.
The task of educating the bird fell on the King’s nephews, his sisters’ sons.
The learned men of the court deliberated long. They pondered the reasons behind the ignorance of the creature in question. The conclusion: the bird’s nest made of straw and twigs could not hold much knowledge. Therefore, the first thing needed was a proper cage.
The royal scholars received handsome fees and happily went home.

 

3.
A goldsmith set to work on a gilded cage. It turned out to be of such exquisite workmanship that people from far and near crowded round for a look. Some said, “This is education par excellence.” Others said, “Even if it learns nothing, it has got the cage. What a lucky bird.”

The goldsmith was delighted to get a bagful of money as reward and went home at once.
A teacher came to give lessons to the bird. He took a pinch of snuff and declared, “This isn’t a matter of just a few texts.”

One of the royal nephews sent for scribes. They made multiple copies of various texts until there was a veritable mountain. “Bravo!” exclaimed those who saw it, “There is no room for any more knowledge.”

The scribes loaded their wages onto bullocks and merrily headed home. They would never again want for anything.
The nephews were constantly busy looking after the expensive cage. Repairs were always under way. Anyone who saw the endless dusting, wiping and polishing had to agree that there was “marked improvement”.

A large maintenance crew was needed, and more personnel to supervise them. They all got handsome monthly salaries, which they saved in their wooden chests. Even their cousins came to live with them in cushioned comfort.

 

4.

The world is short of many things but not detractors. They said, “The cage looks better no doubt, but has anyone taken notice of the bird?”

This was reported to the King. He said to a nephew, “What’s this I hear?”

“Your Majesty,” replied the nephew, “If you wish to hear the truth, summon the goldsmiths, the scholars, the scribes, the maintenance crew and their supervisors. Those who haven’t got a share of the royal bounty are resorting to slander.”

Everything became clear to the King and he rewarded his nephew with a gold chain.

 

5.

The King wished to see for himself at what an awesome pace the bird’s schooling was going on. One day he turned up at the schoolroom with his friends, counselors and courtiers. At once the musicians at the gate struck up on their many wind and percussion instruments. The teachers shook their sacred tufts of hair as they loudly chanted mantras, and all the workmen, labourers, goldsmiths, scribes and their numerous cousins raised slogans in praise of the King.

A nephew commented, “Your Majesty can see how things are going on.”

“Astonishing!” replied the King, “the din isn’t negligible.”

“Not only the noise,” said the nephew. “The meaning behind it isn’t negligible either.”

The King was pleased and walked out of the gate to mount his elephant when one of the fault-finders, who had been lurking behind the bushes, shouted, “Have you seen the bird, Your Majesty?”

The King was startled. He said, “There! I’d forgotten about it. We haven’t seen the bird.”

He went back and said to the teacher, “We must see the manner in which you conduct the lessons.”

A demonstration followed. It pleased the King no end. The manner was so advanced that the bird was hardly visible. It seemed not at all necessary to see the bird.

The King was satisfied that there was no flaw in the arrangements. Inside the cage there was neither any grain nor a drop of water. Only reams of texts were being torn and the pieces of paper thrust into the bird’s mouth with the point of a quill. Not only had the singing stopped, there wasn’t even scope for screeching. It was thrilling to watch.

This time, as the King mounted the elephant he ordered the officer entrusted with twisting the ears of mischief-makers to deal with the fault-finder.

 

6.
Predictably, the bird weakened with every passing day, and lay half-dead. The tutors considered it a good sign. Still, out of innate bad habit it would look out at the morning light and flutter its wings in a reprehensible manner. In fact, on some days it would try to cut the wires of the cage with its feeble beak.

“What impudence!” the Inspector of Police commented.

Then the blacksmith arrived with his furnace, bellows and hammer and anvil. What thunderous hammering began then. A chain was fastened on the bird’s foot and its wings were trimmed.

 

The King’s brothers-in-law looked greatly annoyed as they shook their heads and said, “It’s not just that the birds in this kingdom are stupid, they are also ungrateful.”

Then the teachers, armed with quill in one hand and lance in the other, gave a memorable demonstration of teaching.

The blacksmith’s trade flourished to such an extent that gold ornaments bedecked his wife’s body, and the Police Inspector’s alertness earned him a medal.

 

7.

The bird died. When it died was not known. Thanks to the godforsaken detractors the rumour went round, “The bird is dead.”

The King called his nephew and said, “What is this I hear?”

“Your Majesty,” the nephew replied, “the bird’s education has been completed.”
The King asked, “Does it hop?”
“God forbid,” said the nephew.
“Does it still fly?”
“No.”
“Does it still sing?”
“No.”
“Does it screech if it isn’t fed?”
“No.”
“Bring it to me so that I can see it,” said the King.
The bird came. Along with it came the Inspector, a guard, a cavalry officer. The King pressed the bird; it made no sound, not even a squeak. Only its stomach let out the rustling noise of dry pieces of paper.
Outside, the green shoots of early spring sighed in the southerly breeze, filling the sky above the budding forest trees with wistful melancholy.

D. Read the following words/phrases taken from the story and write their contextual meanings in your own language in the blank spaces. (সমাধান করে দেয়া হলো) 

1. Scriptures: শাস্ত্র বা পবিত্র গ্রন্থ,

Context: Refers to the complex books of knowledge that the bird could not recite.

​Bengali Translation: এখানে সেই সব জটিল জ্ঞানভাণ্ডার বা পুঁথির কথা বোঝানো হয়েছে যা পাখিটি আবৃত্তি করতে পারত না।

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2. Educate the bird: পাখিটিকে শিক্ষিত করা,

Context: The King’s command to force formal, bookish learning upon a free creature of nature.

​Bengali Translation: প্রকৃতির এক স্বাধীন প্রাণীর ওপর জোর করে পুঁথিগত বিদ্যা চাপিয়ে দেওয়ার জন্য রাজার আদেশ।​

 

3. Pinch of snuff: এক চিমটি নস্যি,

Context: A powdered tobacco product inhaled by the teacher, symbolizing the old-fashioned and pompous nature of the scholars.

​Bengali Translation: এক ধরনের তামাকজাত গুঁড়ো যা শিক্ষক মহাশয় নাকে নিতেন; এটি পণ্ডিতদের সেকেলে এবং জাঁকালো স্বভাবের প্রতীক।​

 

4. Veritable mountain: পাহাড়সম বা বিশাল স্তূপ,

Context: Refers to the massive, useless pile of copied texts created by the scribes.

​Bengali Translation: লিপিকারদের তৈরি করা নকল-নবিশি বা অনুলিপির বিশাল কিন্তু অর্থহীন স্তূপকে বোঝানো হয়েছে।​

 

5. Dusting, wiping and polishing: ঝাড়পোঁছ ও ঘষামাজা,

Context: The act of cleaning the external cage meticulously while ignoring the bird inside.

​Bengali Translation: খাঁচার ভেতরের পাখিটিকে উপেক্ষা করে কেবল বাইরের খাঁচাটিকে যত্নসহকারে পরিষ্কার করার কাজ।​

 

6. Marked improvement: লক্ষণীয় উন্নতি,

Context: A sarcastic reference to the fact that the cage looked better, which the system considered "improvement," even though the bird was dying.

​Bengali Translation: এটি একটি ব্যঙ্গাত্মক উক্তি; খাঁচার চাকচিক্য বাড়াকেই এখানে 'উন্নতি' বলা হয়েছে, যদিও ভেতরে পাখিটি তখন মৃত্যুর দিকে এগিয়ে যাচ্ছিল।​

 

7. Cushioned comfort: গদি-আঁটা আরাম বা বিলাসী জীবন,

Context: The luxurious and comfortable lives the workers and their cousins lived using the money meant for the bird's education.

​Bengali Translation: পাখির শিক্ষার জন্য বরাদ্দ অর্থে কর্মচারী ও তাদের ভাই-বেরাদরদের ভোগ করা বিলাসবহুল ও আরামদায়ক জীবন।​

 

8. What is that I hear?: এ আমি কী শুনছি?,

Context: The King’s reaction when he hears rumors or criticism about the bird's condition.

​Bengali Translation: পাখির অবস্থা সম্পর্কে কোনো গুজব বা সমালোচনা কানে এলে রাজার বিস্মিত প্রতিক্রিয়া।​

 

9. Maintenance crew: রক্ষণাবেক্ষণকারী দল,

Context: The group of people hired to repair and look after the cage.

​Bengali Translation: খাঁচা মেরামত ও দেখাশোনা করার জন্য নিযুক্ত একদল লোক।​

 

10. Sacred tufts of hair: টিকি,

Context: Refers to the long tuft of hair kept on the back of the head by traditional Brahmin teachers.

​Bengali Translation: সনাতন ব্রাহ্মণ পণ্ডিত বা শিক্ষকদের মাথার পেছনে রাখা লম্বা চুলের গুচ্ছ বা টিকি।​

 

11. Hardly visible: প্রায় অদৃশ্য বা দেখা যায় না বললেই চলে,

Context: The education method (cages and papers) was so overwhelming that the bird itself could barely be seen.

​Bengali Translation: শিক্ষার আড়ম্বর (খাঁচা ও পুঁথি) এতটাই প্রবল ছিল যে তার আড়ালে পাখিটিকে আর দেখাই যাচ্ছিল না।​

 

12. Mischief-maker: নিন্দুক বা গোলযোগ সৃষ্টিকারী,

Context: Refers to the critic or fault-finder who tried to tell the truth about the bird's suffering.

​Bengali Translation: সেই সমালোচক বা দোষ-অনুসন্ধানকারী ব্যক্তিকে বোঝানো হয়েছে যিনি পাখির যন্ত্রণার সত্যটি তুলে ধরার চেষ্টা করেছিলেন।​

 

13. Furnace, bellows and hammer and anvil: হাপর, হাতুড়ি ও নেহাই,

Context: The heavy tools of a blacksmith used to create chains, symbolizing harsh discipline.

​Bengali Translation: কামারের ভারী সব যন্ত্রপাতি যা দিয়ে শিকল তৈরি করা হয়েছিল; এটি কঠোর শৃঙ্খলার প্রতীক।​

 

14. Hop: লাফানো

Context: The natural, playful movement of the bird which stopped after it was "educated."

Bengali Translation: পাখির স্বাভাবিক ও চঞ্চল চলাফেরা, যা তথাকথিত 'শিক্ষিত' হওয়ার পর বন্ধ হয়ে গিয়েছিল।

 

15. Green shoots of early spring: বসন্তের নতুন পাতা বা কিশলয়,

Context: Represents the life and beauty of nature outside the cage, contrasting with the death inside.

Bengali Translation: খাঁচার ভেতরের মৃত্যুর বিপরীতে বাইরের প্রকৃতির সজীবতা ও সৌন্দর্যকে তুলে ধরা হয়েছে।

 

16. Wistful melancholy: করুণ হাহাকার বা বিষাদ,

Context: A sad, longing atmosphere in nature mourning the death of the bird.

​Bengali Translation: পাখির মৃত্যুতে প্রকৃতির বুকে জেগে ওঠা এক বিষাদগ্রস্ত ও করুণ আবহ।​

 

NextPrep Model Test

1. Vocabulary Analysis

2. Multiple Choice Questions

3. Comprehension Questions & Answers

Q1: Why did the King order the bird to be educated?

Answer: The King ordered the bird to be educated because he felt it was useless. It could not recite scriptures, lacked manners, and only ate fruit from the royal market, which the King saw as a loss of profit.

Q2: Who were the people that benefited financially from the "education" of the bird?

Answer: Many people benefited, including the goldsmith (who built the cage), the scribes (who copied texts), the maintenance crew (who cleaned the cage), and their supervisors and cousins. They all became rich while the bird suffered.

Q3: Why was the cage built with gold and made so beautiful?

Answer: The cage was built with gold to look impressive and expensive. It symbolized how the system cares more about the external appearance of education (infrastructure) than the actual learning or well-being of the student.

Q4: Why did the King not see the bird when he visited the schoolroom?

Answer: The King did not see the bird because the "arrangement" was too grand. The cage, the noise of the chanting teachers, the music, and the crowd of workers completely hid the small bird. The method of education became more important than the student.

Q5: What does the "mountain of texts" created by the scribes symbolize?

Answer: The mountain of texts symbolizes rote learning and the burden of unnecessary information. It shows how the system confuses quantity of materials with quality of education.

Q6: How did the "education" affect the bird's natural behavior?

Answer: The education destroyed the bird's natural behavior. It stopped singing and hopping. Instead of food, it was force-fed paper, which eventually killed it.

Q7: What did the phrase "marked improvement" mean to the people in the story?

Answer: To the people in the story, "marked improvement" meant that the cage was being cleaned, polished, and repaired constantly. They focused on the maintenance of the facility rather than the health of the bird.

Q8: Why were the "fault-finders" or detractors punished or ignored?

Answer: They were punished because they tried to speak the truth about the bird’s suffering. The King and his officials did not want to hear that their expensive system was failing, so they silenced the critics.

Q9: What is the irony in the nephew's statement that the bird's education is "completed"?

Answer: The irony is that "completed" usually means successfully finished. However, here it meant the bird was dead and silenced. The education was "complete" only because there was no life left in the student.

Q10: In your own opinion, what is the main lesson of this story?

Answer: The story teaches us that true education cannot be forced. It criticizes systems that focus on expensive buildings and strict rules (the cage) while ignoring the freedom, creativity, and natural needs of the student (the bird).