The punishment of khipil

THE PUNISHMENT OF KHIPIL

 The Auther George Meredith

George Meredith was born in 1828. He was of Welsh and Irish descent, and was naturally very proud of his double Celtic origin-a fact that is When quite a small boy lie had the misfortune to lose his mother, and for some years he attended a day-school in Portsmouth.

George Meredith

 When he was fourteen, he was sent to the Moravian School at New Wied on-the-Rhine, which he left when sixteen. 
On returning to England he directed his unwilling attention to the law, which he soon gave up for literature. His first book of Poems was published in 1851, then came the fantastic Shaving of Shagpat in 1855.
 After that he wrote many poems and novels. He is considered as one of the major Victorian novelists. His best English novel is "The Egoist. He died in 1909. The Punishment of Khipil It is taken from George Meredith’s. The Shaving of Shagpat-an Arabian Nights like an allegory and a brilliant oriental extravaganza. The story is about a lazy person.
 Who enjoys a lot at the expense of the king. The name of this person is Khipil. Everybody is made to laugh when he reads this story, and the builder is quoted as a symbol of fun and laughter. This story is a burlesque fantasy because it strongly exposes to ridicule an imaginary character, Khipil, the ‘clever’ builder. It has a satiric purpose behind it and has a corrective influence on people. Since the author was a poet also, the poetic touch is noticed everywhere in the story.
 It would have made an even better verse than prose romance. The poetic touch has become quite obtrusive in the story. Khipil is the royal builder. Khipil as well as to all those who were behaving like Khipil in his kingdom.
 He was a very talkative person. He thought himself to be very clever and wanted to befool the king through his oily tongue ( (Jt; ). He was, sadly mistaken about it. The king punished him in a strange way. Khipil was fond of inventing stories. All the time he sat with the masons and workers and amused them by relating interesting stories. 
They were also happy with him, because diey were getting their wages widiout doing anything at all. Khipil was not a diligent worker. He wanted to enjoy at the expense of the king. He was also not a wise person. When die king came He is ordered by Shali-Pesh, the Persian King to build a palace for him. Sliaii-pesh is an imaginary character like Kliipii.
 He has been introduced as a king of Persia, The very name appears to be an Iranian one. He has been portrayed as a very good administrator. When he came to power, the state of affairs in the country was deplorable. The worker did not do their duty properly and they were a burden on the state.
 He wanted to change these people. But he did not give them any physical punishment. He devised a novel way of reforming them through the punishment of KJiipil. He had ordered Khipil, his royal builder to construct a palace for him. He took four year’s time but hardly raised the site structure of the palace.
 Shah-pesh went to inspect the site, without giving any notice. Khipil was taken aback. He wanted to put off the king through his oily tongue. The king took the unreal.situation as real and pretended as if he had not noticed his negligence. Shah-pesh' humiliated him in such a way that he became a laughing stock But he could hardly raise the structure of the building even after a lapse of four years. Khipil was a very lazy person.
 He used to waste time in gossiping with the other masons and workers. He actually wanted to enjoy at the expense of the King. One day Shali-Pesh came there so that he might have the inspection of the palace. Khipil was upset at the surprise visit of the king. There was no palace at all, Khipil started praising the site of the palace, instead of showing him round the palace. He also pointed towards an imaginary chair and told the king that was the royal seat. Shah-Pesh was a very intelligent king.
 He guessed the whole thing at once and determined to teach him a lesson. He pretended as if he had not noticed the negligence of Khipil. When he was being conducted among the unfinished structure of the royal palace, Khipil suddenly stopped. There was a gap in the wall below which was a pond of deep and cold water. Shah-pesh ordered him to move ahead. 
As Khipil stepped forward he fell into the water below. He was taken out from water by king’s men. He was shivering with cold and his teeth were chattering. ShahPesh said, by way of joke that it was a wonderful device for taking a bath.  Then the king took Khipil to the State Hall and ordered him to sit in the royal seat, to which he had already pointed. 
There was no chair, But he had to bend his body to pose as if he were really sitti'ng in the chair. He was ordered to remain in that position till noon. His whole body started aching, but he was compelled to suffer it. After this he was asked to take 'lie king to the royal garden, which was to be an important part of theroyal palace. But there was no garden.
 There were weeds, and nettles growing in that place. Shah-Pesh pretended to be very proud of the garden. He praised the beauty of die garden. He asked Khipil to smell a handful of flowers and when he did so, his nose was reddened. He was ordered not to rub his nose. 
The king also ordered that that a nosegay be presented to his wife on behalf of Khipil. He was not allowed to rub his nose but the neighbours of Khipil were allowed to rub, but they rubbed those portion of his body which he did not want to be rubbed. His neighbours also did not chafe him. Khipil’s wife was annoyed when she received nettles instead of flowers. 
So when he reached home she insulted him and turned.him out. The matter did not finish here. The king inflicted another punishment on him. 
He was asked to stand for seven days and seven nights, with amis stretilied like the branches of a tree and ordered that in each hand be placed a pomegranate. And he was called a wouldful tree of Pomegranate.