I was up on the roof, just hanging out, earbuds in, music on. Maybe I was singing as well.
Just then, I saw a little monkey on the next rooftop. To my surprise, he was looking straight at me.
He just stood there, staring at me like… like I’d done something bizarre. And it wasn’t the usual animal stare. For a second, it felt like someone, not something, was watching me.
There was this look in his eyes. Curious. Alive. Like he wanted to say something. I caught myself wondering what he would ask if he could talk.
And then, the spell broke. I remembered, he’s just a monkey.
Still, I thought, Eh, let me give him a banana or something.
I rushed downstairs, grabbed one, and came back up. Seeing the banana in my hand, the monkey came over swiftly as if he’d been waiting for me to invite him.
I handed him the banana. But then, this was weird; he didn’t eat it.
He just held it. Looked kind of… confused?
It was honestly the first time I saw a monkey not immediately go for a banana like it was gold. I knew he was just a monkey but….
Something about him felt different.
Monkeys Can Speak?
Out of curiosity, or maybe just talking to myself, I said:
Hey, little monkey. Don’t you love bananas?
“I do”, he said.
I blinked. Wait. What?
I looked around. Someone else may have said that…..
Maybe I was hearing things? I looked back at him.
He was still staring at me. Calm, as if he hadn’t just shattered the laws of nature.
You just… spoke?
“Yes,” he said, as casually as someone might say “pass the salt.”
You’re a monkey. You’re not supposed to speak.
Sorry, I’m what?
Monkey. This is what we call you.
Oh, okay.
But how can you speak?
Why? Why can’t I speak?
Because you’re a Monk….
Yeah! Monkey. And, monkeys don’t talk.
At least, I’ve never seen any of you speaking.
But you’ve seen one now. Haven’t you?
I blinked.
That means… monkeys can speak.
I didn’t know what to say.
Sharing With The Fences
Before I could make sense of what just happened, the monkey started talking. I was stunned, part of me craved an explanation, but a bigger part just wanted to hear what he’d say next.
He held up the banana a little, like it reminded him of something.
Hey… don’t you love bananas? Otherwise… why’d you give it to me?
Me while I was still trying to get my head around all this:-
Oh, I do love them. But I’d already eaten enough.
And, well, we are humans, that’s what we call ourselves… we share. That’s what we do. We care for each other. We believe in sharing.
He looked at me closely, like he was trying to understand what I just said.
That’s nice…. But…
Why did you put fences around those bananas, then?
Huh…?
Just wondering. If you believe in sharing… then why do you put fences around that garden? Why don’t you just let us have these bananas directly from the trees?
Well… we only share a little bit with you.
Most of the bananas we grow are for our consumption.
Can you grow bananas? Really?
Yes, we can.
He looked amazed.
Then why don’t you grow some banana trees for us monkeys, too?
Do you think your monkey gang would let those trees grow in peace? Would you even wait for the bananas to ripen? Even if I gave you one full-grown tree today… I doubt it would survive till tomorrow.
Hmm… yeah, one tree won’t be enough.
But… wouldn’t you humans also fight if there were only one tree?
I laughed.
Yeah, we probably would. But we’re also smart enough not to let it get to that point. We’ve already grown more than enough trees, for us and for you, too.
Who Can Give More Bananas Than Trees?
The Monkey remained silent for a couple of seconds. He looked around slowly. He looked at everything, like the rooftop, the streets, the walls, as if everything were the same.
I heard stories from my mom that there used to be a lot of trees here. Then you humans came and cut them all down.
Yes, this area has been recently developed. I’ve also heard that there was a big forest here.
Sorry, recently what?
Developed. The thing that you were saying, i.e. cutting down those trees, we call it development.
But why would anyone do this development thing?
Well, those who did it got too many bananas for it.
Why didn’t they get bananas from the trees they cut?
The people who did it needed a lot more bananas than those trees could have given them.
But who can give more bananas than trees?
Hmm…. We gave. We gave them too many bananas for it.
Why would you do that? Why would you give bananas to cut trees?
Well, little monkey. There is more to life than just bananas.
Don’t we all need a place to live? We can’t climb trees like you Monkeys. We need land to live.
Couldn’t you live on a land where there were no trees?
Yeah, we could. But those lands were already occupied by other humans. And they were asking for just too many bananas to vacate it.
But the land with trees was also not vacant.
We were living there. And I don’t think you gave us any bananas.
You gave all the bananas to those humans who cut the trees only.
You’re right. I feel very sorry for you.
From Where Did You Get This Money Thing?
I was expecting anger on his face now. However, he had no complaints at all.
He just seemed to be curious as before.
Okay, tell me the trick.
What trick?
Tell me, how do you get so many bananas?
There is no trick. We all need to buy these bananas.
Sorry, what? You said, ‘Buy’?
Yeah… you have to give money to get something. So, the banana you’re eating, I had to buy it.
Wait, so… you give ‘money’… and then you can get bananas in return?
Exactly.
He leaned in, curious.
Where do I get this money thing?
Haha. You don’t just get it. You have to earn it.
We humans do things for each other, and we get money in return.
Forget it. Just think of it like… I did something for someone, and they gave me bananas for it.
Who Is Your Human?
His eyes lit up.
Oh, it’s like Jimmy.
Jimmy?
Yeah! He’s one of us. He dances for his human.
Spins in circles. Jump and do a weird kind of dance for him.
Then his human gives him a banana. So…
You’re like Jimmy!
….Huh. I guess….. You could say that.
But Jimmy is always tied with a rope. I see no rope on you.
Well… you can’t see them.
But yeah, you could say we’re tied up too. The ropes are just… invisible to monkeys.
Strange. So, all the people who have bananas, do they have to dance too?
Yep. Every single one.
For whom? For whom are all of you dancing? Who is your human?
I scratched my head.
Uhh… we kind of… dance for each other?
It isn’t very easy. You wouldn’t get it.
Do You Love Dancing?
Okay. But you must be a nice dancer. See how many bananas you have.
Yes, you can say that. But being a nice dancer isn’t enough.
You also need to be better than others.
Yes, you’re right. I once tried dancing in front of Jimmy’s human. But he didn’t even look at me. Maybe I need to be better than Jimmy.
But Jimmy has been learning from his human since childhood. Can you be my human? Would you teach me how to dance?
I smiled.
No, it’s not that easy. Just like Jimmy, I’ve also been learning since I was a kid.
And learning is not enough. After learning, we have to dance every single day.
And that too for 8–10 hrs.
You people must love dancing.
Also, I don’t get it. You say everyone dances every day.
But I’ve never seen it. How’s that possible?
Not Really. Most of us hate the dance we do.
And you don’t see us all dancing because we don’t dance like Jimmy. We each have our style.
A few of us dance like Jimmy as well, but you can only see their dance if you have enough bananas to pay for a ticket.
Can’t We Just… Skip Dancing?
So, you spend years learning this dancing thing. Then every day, you compete with each other. And based on how well you dance, you give bananas to each other. And most of you don’t even enjoy the dancing.
He paused.
Why is this dancing at all?
What??
I’m asking, why don’t you people skip the dance thing and share bananas?
That’s a nice question. But how would we decide how many bananas one person should get? Dance helps us see who deserves more bananas.
But… you people can grow bananas, right?
Why not just grow more? Enough for everyone?
Yes, we can. But there are two problems here. One is that we don’t have enough land to grow bananas for everyone.
Really??? I can see the land only.
Yeah. But can’t you see humans everywhere?
We’re just… too many.
So your problem is not the lack of land. Your problem is that there are too many of you.
Monkeys Who Can’t Stop Dancing
But there’s a bigger issue. The people who are good at dancing, the ones who can get more bananas than they need, they don’t stop.
Even after they have enough, they keep dancing. And their hunger makes it harder for the rest.
It sounds like… the second problem came from the dancing itself.
He glanced down at his banana.
If monkeys could get more and more bananas by dancing… a lot of us would probably spend our whole lives just… dancing.
Yes, most of us do precisely that.
Can’t you all… decide to share the bananas based on who needs them most?
That’s a nice idea. But if we do that, then no one would feel the push to work.
Sorry, feel pushed for what?
Work. The dance we were talking about.
Does Your Dance Create Bananas?
But didn’t you say most people don’t even like dancing? Wouldn’t that be… a good thing?
I hesitated.
Well… It’s not just about who gets how much. The dance itself is useful. It creates things.
His head tilted.
Oh. I thought people danced to entertain each other, like Jimmy.
His dance is fun to watch… but it doesn’t seem to create anything.
No, the dance we do creates real things.
Like what?
Hmm.. like this banana, even growing and caring for a banana tree is a dance.
He lit up.
Then why doesn’t everyone do that dance only? If I were you, I would’ve learned this dance alone. And I’m sure I’d never get tired of it.
Haha… You’re cute.
What?
Leave it.
Well, little monkey, everything isn’t just about bananas.
Then… what is it about?
I paused. Looked at the time.
I would love to tell you, but I need to go now. It’s my time to dance.
But you know what? I liked talking to you. It gave me a strange kind of relief. Why don’t we meet tomorrow at the same time? Tomorrow is Sunday as well.
Sorry, what? Tomorrow is what?
Haha. Leave it. I hope you have a nice day.
You what?
I’m sorry, little monkey. I don’t have time for this now. See you soon.
Here are two more bananas for you.
Wow. I hope your human gives you too many bananas today.
I smiled, nodded, and walked away.
To be continued….