📑 Table of Contents

• About the Author
• Detailed Summary
• Themes & Message
• Character Sketches
• Important Question-Answers
• Glossary
• Source / Reference

✍️ About the Author

A.K. Ramanujan (1929–1993) was a distinguished Indian poet, scholar, folklorist, and translator. He worked extensively in both English and Kannada literature. His work often explored the depth of Indian culture, folklore, and oral traditions. “In the Kingdom of Fools” is adapted from his celebrated collection “Folk Tales from India”, which retells stories with wit, wisdom, and moral insights.

📖 Detailed Summary

“In the Kingdom of Fools” is a humorous yet meaningful folktale from A.K. Ramanujan’s anthology Folk Tales from India. It portrays how foolish leadership and blind obedience can create chaos, while wisdom, wit, and intelligence eventually prevail.

The story begins in a kingdom ruled by a foolish king and his equally foolish minister. They decide to do everything opposite to other kingdoms. Hence, they decree that night will become day and day will be night. People must work at night and sleep during the day. Anyone disobeying would be punished with death. Terrified of punishment, the citizens obeyed the strange rule.

One day, a guru and his disciple visited the city. To their amazement, they found the city deserted during the day and bustling with activity only at night. Stranger still, all goods in the market cost the same — a duddu (a small coin) regardless of whether one bought rice or bananas. The guru realized the danger of such an illogical system and decided to leave, warning his disciple that it was a city of fools. The disciple, however, chose to stay because he could eat to his heart’s content at very low prices.

As time passed, the disciple grew fat on his cheap diet of bananas, rice, ghee, and wheat. Meanwhile, fate brought about a strange case. A thief died when the wall of a merchant’s house collapsed on him. His brother complained to the king demanding justice. The foolish king ordered a series of absurd trials where blame was shifted from the merchant, to the bricklayer, to the dancing girl, to the goldsmith, and finally back to the merchant himself. In the end, the merchant was declared guilty, but since he was too thin to be executed on the newly prepared stake, the king ordered that a fat man be found instead. The disciple, who had grown plump from overeating, was chosen.

Facing death, the disciple remembered his guru’s warning and prayed for help. The guru, with his wisdom and magical insight, arrived just in time. He whispered a plan to his disciple, and then announced to the king that both he and his disciple wished to be executed first. This puzzled the king, who demanded to know why. The guru cleverly tricked him by saying that whoever died on the new stake would be reborn as king, followed by the disciple as minister. Greedy and foolish, the king and his minister decided to take their place at the stake that night. Thus, they were executed instead.

The citizens were left shocked at the death of their king and minister. They pleaded with the guru and disciple to take charge of the kingdom. The guru reluctantly agreed, but only on the condition that normal laws would return — day would be day, night would be night, and fair prices would be restored.

The tale highlights the dangers of foolish governance, blind obedience, and greed. At the same time, it underlines the importance of wisdom, foresight, and presence of mind in overcoming difficulties.

🌟 Themes & Message

• Foolishness in Power: Irresponsible rulers can endanger their subjects with irrational decisions.
• Wisdom vs. Foolishness: The guru’s foresight saves both himself and his disciple, contrasting wisdom with blind greed.
• Greed and Blind Obedience: The disciple’s greed nearly costs him his life; the citizens’ fear makes them obey absurd rules.
• Moral Order: Ultimately, wisdom restores balance, justice, and rational governance.

👤 Character Sketches

• The King: Foolish, irrational, insecure, makes absurd rules, driven by greed.
• The Minister: Equally foolish, blindly supports the king’s decisions.
• The Guru: Wise, farsighted, calm, resourceful; represents intelligence and reason.
• The Disciple: Greedy, foolish, loves food, but eventually learns from experience.
• The Citizens: Fearful, obedient, unwilling to question authority.

📌 Important Question-Answers

📖 Glossary

• Bailiff: A law officer who ensures court orders are carried out.
• Scrape: A difficult or problematic situation one has landed in.
• Duddu: A small coin or unit of currency in the folktale.
• Stake: A sharp wooden post used for execution by impalement.

📚 Source / Reference

This story is adapted from A.K. Ramanujan’s Folk Tales from India, a collection of traditional tales that blend humor, wisdom, and cultural values.