The Telegram on the Table Parshu Pradhan

The Telegram on the Table

Parshu Pradhan 

Nepal 

(1943-)

Apply the four levels of meaning to the story “The Telegram on the Table”.

Literal Comprehension: Krishna had come into the city from his beautiful but remote village. He had been working as a tourist guide for ten years. He had dream of going to America with American tourist girl. He was crazy for that so he had completely forgotten his lovely wife, family and village. Once day he got a telegraph telling him that his wife had been died. Soon he felt happy because his dream of going to America was going to be fulfilled. He was passing his days as usual although his friends sympathized him. One night he had sudden remembrance of his lovely wife, home parents and village and became angry with himself. He started to weep. The separation of his loving wife gave him great grief. Only then he came to real life and began to cry.

Interpretation:  This story may be trying to tell us that those people who have come into city from village, normally, they forget real problems and situation of home. They even become careless to loving spouse and parents. The youths, basically, have strong dream of going abroad, earn much money and marry with rich foreigner. They think the parents, homely condition and village’s wife as burden. Being busy in artificial life of town they are so cruel that even the message of their dearest one’s death doesn’t affect them at all. Krishna a village’s youth had come to Kathmandu had forgotten to wife and village being crazy to go to America and marrying foreign tourist girl. Because of money and artificial city life he became selfish and stone-hearted that the telegram of his wife’s death didn’t touch his heart. These desires and selfishness of Krishna represent the desires dreams of selfishness of many Nepalese youths. Most of Nepalese youths have become crazy to go to foreign land and become careless to the value and cultures of their originality.

Critical Thinking: Before coming Kathmandu Krishna seems to have conjugal relation with his wife. Without calculating her mistakes how can Krishna forget his lovely wife? How can a person become so much careless to one’s wife’s death? For a dream of better future and money one can be devoted but as presented like of Krishna is not possible in every case.

Assimilation: After reading this story I got the idea that being a resident of city life I have given up all village’s memories parents, family and friends. This through me great lesson that we should not be careless to originality as Krishna did. We youth mostly commit this great mistake so we have to realize it in time.

c. Summarize the plot of the story “The Telegram on the Table” in a paragraph.

Krishna had come into the city from his beautiful but remote village. He had been working as a tourist guide for ten years. He had dream of going to America with American tourist girl. He was crazy for that so he had completely forgotten his lovely wife, family and village. One day he got a telegraph telling him that his wife bad been died. Soon he felt happy because his dream of going to America was going to be fulfilled. He was passing his days as usual although his friends sympathized him. One night he had sudden remembrance of his lovely wife, home parents and village and became angry with himself. He stated to weep. The separation of his loving wife gave him great grief. Only then they came to real life and began to cry.