Khandaker's Literary CLUB

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💗💗Shooting an elephant💗💗
💚💚💚George Orwell💚💚💚

🌟🌟About Orwell: 🌟🌟
Left education before going to University. Joined the Indian Imperial Police at the age of 17 as a sub-divisional police officer. Served here from 1922-1927. This essay was published by New Writing, on 2 Autumn 1936.

💚Paraphrase of the text:💚

In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me.

👉Paraphrase:
When I lived in Moulmein, a town in lower Burma, most of the people hated me (because of being British), this was the only time in my life to be important enough to be hated by people.

👉Text:
I was a sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, petty kind of way anti-European feeling was very bitter.

👉Word notes:
Aimless– without any specific reason [কোন উল্লেখযোগ্য কারণ ছাড়াই];
Petty– mean[নীচু]

👉Paraphrase:
I served as a sub-divisional police officer of Moulmein. There an anti-European feeling was very extreme. People expressed their bitterness without any specific reason and their way of expressing the feeling was very mean.

👉Text:
No one had the guts to raise a riot, but if a European woman went through the bazaars alone somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress.

👉Word notes:
Guts– courage [সাহস];
Raise a riot– create violence [হাঙ্গামা];
Spit betel juice— throw saliva mixed with betel juice [পানের পিক ফেলা]

👉Paraphrase:
No Burmese native had the courage to create a violence to protest against the colonizers, but they irritated the Europeans at every manner. If any European woman would go through any market place alone, “somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress”.

👉Text:
As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so.

👉Word notes:
Bait— to annoy willingly [উত্যক্ত করা]

👉Paraphrase:
As I was a police officer, they did not spare any chance to irritate me. Sometimes, when they felt safe, they irritated me willingly to engage and humiliate me.

👉Text:
When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter.

👉Word notes:
Nimble—swift moving [দ্রুতগামী];
Trip up— make stumble [লেঙ মারা];
Yell— shout;
Hideous— be****al [পাশবিক]

👉Paraphrase:
In the playground the Burmese players made me stumble willingly and moved away swiftly and the referee, who was another Burmese, overlooked it willingly. The audience Burmese got much pleasure at my distress and shouted with be****al laughter.

👉Text:
This happened more than once. In the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves.

👉Word notes:
Sneer— mock [উপহাস করা];
Hoot—make bad remark from behind [ পিছনে থেকে কটূক্তি করা];
Nerves— feelings

👉Paraphrase:
The same event happened several times. In the end of the play, whenever I met the mocking Burmese, they insulted me with bad remarks from a safe distance. It hurt my feelings seriously.

👉Text:
The young Buddhist priests were the worst of all. There were several thousands of them in the town and none of them seemed to have anything to do except stand on street corners and jeer at Europeans.

👉Word notes:
Jeer— ridicule [কটূক্তি করা]

👉Paraphrase:
The young Buddhist priests irritated the Europeans the most. They were in large numbers. It seemed that their only job was to stand on street corners and ridicule the Europeans.)

👉Text:
All this was perplexing and upsetting.

👉Word notes:
Perplexing—puzzling [হতবুদ্ধিকর]

👉Paraphrase:
All these happenings were making me puzzled and upset.

👉Text:
For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better.

👉Word notes:
Imperialism— colonization [আমরাজ্যবাদ]
Chuck up— give up [ছেড়ে দেয়া]

👉Paraphrase:
Because at that time, I had already understood that imperialism was a bad thing in the name of good. So, I decided to leave my job as soon as possible.)

👉Text:
Theoretically – and secretly, of course – I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.

👉Word notes:
Theoretically— logically [তাত্ত্বিকভাবে]
Oppressors— tyrant [অত্যাচারী]

👉Paraphrase:
Logically and inwardly I totally supported the Burmese and opposed the British as they tortured them.

👉Text:
As for the job I was doing, I hated it more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear.

👉Word notes:
As for— about

👉Paraphrase:
To tell you about my job, I hate it so much that I can't express it in words.

👉Text:
In a job like that you see the dirty work of the Empire at close quarters.

👉Word notes:
Dirty— corrupt
Close quarters— very close

👉Paraphrase:
Doing this kind of job, you can see the negative aspects of imperialism from a very close position.

👉Text:
The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been bogged with bamboos – all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt.

👉Word notes:
Wretched— unfortunate [হতভাগা]
Huddle—gather in a little place [গাদাগাদি করে থাকা]
Stinking— having bad smell [দুর্গন্ধময়]
Cages—prison cells [জেইল খানার কুঠোরী]
Grey—pale [ফ্যাকাশে]
Cowed—afraid [ভীত]
Convicts— the accused [আসামী]
Scar— mark of wound [আঘাতের চিহ্ন]
Bogged—beaten [পিটানো হয়েছে]
Oppress—torture [যন্ত্রণা দেয়া]
Intolerable— unbearable[অসহ্য]

👉Paraphrase:
The poor people who have been accused of crime have been placed in overcrowded tiny cells of prison like animals from where bad smell was coming. Mark of fear was seen in the pale faces of the long-term convicts. Some men were brutally beaten in their buttocks with bamboo and marks of wounds were visible. All these events tortured me with an unbearable feeling of guilt (because I was a part of the empire).

👉Text
But I could get nothing into perspective.

👉Word notes:
Get into—influence [প্রভাবিত করা]
Perspective— Respect [পরিপ্রেক্ষিত]

👉Paraphrase:
But I could not do anything in this respect.

👉Text:
I was young and ill-educated and I had had to think out my problems in the utter silence that is imposed on every Englishman in the East.

👉Word notes:
Young—17th years old;
Ill educated— left education before going to University;
Think out— find a solution [সমাধান খুঁজে বের করা]
Impose—ascribe [চাপিয়ে দেয়া]

👉Paraphrase:
I was only 17 years old when I joined here and I was not much educated. I always thought of the problems silently that I face here. Every Englishman serving in the East faces the same problems obligatorily.

👉Text:
I did not even know that the British Empire is dying, still less did I know that it is a great deal better than the younger empires that are going to supplant it.

👉Word notes:
Empire is dying— losing their rule over the natives;
Still less— lesser [আরো কম]
Supplant— replace/remove [প্রতিস্থাপন করা]

👉Paraphrase:
I was so obsessed with my problems that I couldn't realize that the British was going to lose their authority here. Even, I couldn't realize that the British empire was much better than the small Indian empires that are going to replace it.

👉Text:
All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible.

👉Word notes:
Stuck— caught [আটকে পড়া];
Hatred— dislike[ঘৃণা];
I served— I worked for;
Rage— anger[রাগ];
evil-spirited—malicious[অশুভ চিন্তার]

👉Paraphrase:
Little beasts— the natives;
I was obsessed with one thing only. It was that I was caught between my hatred for the British empire that I worked for and my anger against the malicious natives. The natives irritated me so much that my job became impossible here.

👉Text:
With one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down, in saccula sacculorum, upon the will of prostrate peoples; with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts.

👉Word notes:
Unbreakable—strong;
Tyranny—dictatorship[স্বৈরাচারী শাসন]
Clamped down— strictly fixed [কঠোরভাবে আটকে আছে]
Saccula sacculorum— forever and forever;
Prostrate peoples— subdued people [পদানত মানুষ]
Bayonet— a knife attached to a rifle’s top;
Guts— belly

👉Paraphrase:
From one point of view l, I thought that the British Raj was strong dictatorship. It was like something fixed, now and forever, with the will of a helplessly submissive population. From another point of view, I thought that I could feel the greatest joy in the world if I could drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest's belly.

👉Text:
Feelings like these are the normal by-products of imperialism; ask any Anglo-Indian official, if you can catch him off duty.

👉Word notes:
Byproduct—a product automatically made while producing something else[উপজাত];
Anglo-Indian—an English working in India;

👉Paraphrase:
This type of feeling is the automatic result of imperialism. If you talk to any Anglo-Indian officer when he is off duty, you will find the same thing there.

👉Text:
One day something happened which in a roundabout way was enlightening.

👉Word notes:
Roundabout—indirect;
Enlightening—educative;

👉Paraphrase:
One day an event took place which was educative for me in an indirect way.

👉Text:
It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism – the real motives for which despotic governments act.

👉Word notes:
Tiny—very little;
Glimpse— view/understanding;
Despotic—dictatorial[স্বৈরাচারী];

👉Paraphrase:
The event was very insignificant. But it gave me a better understanding of the real nature of imperialism. I realized the real purpose of a dictatorial government work.

👉Text:
Early one morning the sub-inspector at a police station the other end of the town rang me up on the phone and said that an elephant was ravaging the bazaar.

👉Word notes:
Ravaging—destroying

👉Paraphrase:
Early one morning the sub-inspector of a police station called me over phone and informed that an elephant was destroying the local bazaar.

👉Text:
Would I please come and do something about it? I did not know what I could do, but I wanted to see what was happening and I got on to a pony and started out.

👉Word notes:
Pony—small horse

👉Paraphrase:
He requested me to come and do something in this regard. I didn't know what I could do. But I wanted to see what was happening there. So, I set out riding a small horse.

👉Text:
I took my rifle, an old .44 Wi******er and much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem.

👉Word notes:
44 Wi******er— name of a rifle;
In terrorem— to frighten [ভয় দেখানো]

👉Paraphrase:
I took my .44 Wi******er rifle with me though it was not strong enough to kill an elephant. But I thought that the sound it makes might be useful to frighten the animal.

👉Text:
Various Burmans stopped me on the way and told me about the elephant’s doings.

👉Word notes:
Burmans— people of Burma, present Myanmar;

👉Paraphrase:
Many Burmese stopped me on my way and informed me of different activities of the elephant.

👉Text:
It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one which had gone “must.”

👉Word notes:
Wild— belonging to the jungle [বুনো]
Tame—pet[পোষা]
Must— kind of madness created by sexual desire.

👉Paraphrase:
The elephant was not wild but a pet one. It was driven crazy by sexual desire that attacks many animals time to time.

👉Text:
It had been chained up, as tame elephants always are when their attack of “must” is due, but on the previous night it had broken its chain and escaped.

👉Word notes:
Due—timely;
Escape— flee[পালানো]

👉Paraphrase:
Like all other pet animals it was previously kept chained up when their attack of must took place on time. But this time, the previous night, it had broken it's chain and fled.

👉Text:
Its mahout, the only person who could manage it when it was in that state, had set out in pursuit, but had taken the wrong direction and was now twelve hours’ journey away, and in the morning the elephant had suddenly reappeared in the town.
👉Word notes:
Mahout—the person who takes care of it;
Pursuit—search;

👉Paraphrase:
The mahaout was the only person to calm it down. But when he set out in search of it at night, he took the wrong way, almost opposite, and is now almost twelve hours’ journey away from the elephant. In the morning, the elephant suddenly appeared in the town again where it lived.

👉Text:
The Burmese population had no weapons and were quite helpless against it.

👉Word notes:
Weapon—arms

👉Paraphrase:
The Burmese people didn't have any arms to face the elephant and so they felt quite helpless.

👉Text:
It had already destroyed somebody’s bamboo hut, killed a cow and raided some fruit-stalls and devoured the stock; also it had met the municipal rubbish van and, when the driver jumped out and took to his heels, had turned the van over and inflicted violences upon it.

👉Word notes:
Raid—attack;
Devour—eat;
Stock—stored goods [মজুদ পণ্য];
Municipal—urban [পৌরসভা]
Rubbish—trash[আবর্জনা]
Took to heels— ran away;
Turn over—turn upside down[উল্টে দেয়া]
Inflict—ascribe[আরোপ করা]

👉Paraphrase:
The elephant had already destroyed a bamboo hut, killed a cow, attacked some fruit stalls and ate up all the fruits. It also turned over a municipal rubbish van and ravaged it after the driver had jumped out and run away.

👉Text:
The Burmese sub-inspector and some Indian constables were waiting for me in the quarter where the elephant had been seen.

👉Word notes:
Quarter—area

👉Paraphrase:
The Burmese sub-inspector with some Indian constables were waiting for me in the area where the elephant had been seen.

👉Word notes:
It was a very poor quarter, a labyrinth of squalid bamboo huts, thatched with palm leaf, winding all over a steep hillside.

👉Word notes:
Labyrinth—maze [গোলকধাঁধা]
Squalid—dirty and unpleasant due to poverty [দারিদ্র্যপীড়িত];
Thatched—roofed;
Winding—zigzag, turning frequently [এঁকে বেঁকে চলা]
Steep—erect [খাড়া]

👉Paraphrase:
The area was poverty striken. It seemed to be a maze of similar looking small bamboo huts. The roofs were made with palm leaves. They were situated in a zigzag manner in the steep slope of the hill.

👉Text:
I remember that it was a cloudy, stuffy morning at the beginning of the rains.

👉Word notes:
Stuffy—airless, suffocating [গুমোট]
Rains—rainy season.

👉Paraphrase:
It was the beginning of the rainy season and the morning was cloudy and airless.

👉Text:
We began questioning the people as to where the elephant had gone and, as usual, failed to get any definite information.

👉Word notes:
As to— about;

👉Paraphrase:
We asked people about the actual location of the elephant but got no definite information.

👉Text:
That is invariably the case in the East; a story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes.

👉Word notes:
Invariably—similarly, unwaveringly [অপরিবর্তিতভাবে]
Sounds—seems [মনে হয়]
Vaguer—unclearer;

👉Paraphrase:
The case is always the same in the East. When you hear something from a distance it seems clear to you. But the nearer to the story you come, the unclearer the it becomes.

👉Text:
Some of the people said that the elephant had gone in one direction, some said that he had gone in another, some professed not even to have heard of any elephant.

👉Word notes:
Profess—say

👉Paraphrase:
People could not tell about the actual location of the elephant. Some people said that they haven't even heard of it.

👉Text:
I had almost made up my mind that the whole story was a pack of lies, when we heard yells a little distance away.

👉Word notes:
Made up— thought;
Pack—bundle;
Yells—shouts.

👉Paraphrase:
I have already thought that it was a rumor. But suddenly we heard shouts at a little distance.

👉Text:
There was a loud, scandalized cry of “Go away, child! Go away this instant!” and an old woman with a switch in her hand came round the corner of a hut, violently shooing away a crowd of naked children.

👉Word notes:
Scandalized— horrifying [ভীতিকর]
This instant—now;
Switch—twig, small branch of a tree;
Shoo away—drive away [তাড়িয়ে দেয়া]

👉Paraphrase:
I heard a horrifying shout asking to leave the place at that moment. An old woman was driving away some naked children from the corner of a hut.

👉Text:
Some more women followed, clicking their tongues and exclaiming; evidently there was something that the children ought not to have seen.

👉Word notes:
Clicking tongue—making a sound with tongue showing annoyance;
Exclaiming— showing surprise;
Evidently—clearly;
Ought not—should not.

👉Paraphrase:
Then came some other women who made a sound with their tongues and expressed their annoyance to the children.

👉Text:
I rounded the hut and saw a man’s dead body sprawling in the mud.

👉Word notes:
Rounded — moved around;
Sprawling— lying with hands and legs spreading;
Mud—clay [কাদামাটি]

👉Paraphrase:
I moved around the hut and found a man's dead body spreading in the mud.

👉Text:
He was an Indian, a black Dravidian coolie, almost naked, and he could not have been dead many minutes.

👉Word notes:
Dravian—a member of the South Indian people speaking Dravidian language;

👉Paraphrase:
The dead man was an Indian. He was a coolie in profession and spoke Dravidian language. He was almost naked. He died not much before.

👉Text:
The people said that the elephant had come suddenly upon him round the corner of the hut, caught him with its trunk, put its foot on his back and ground him into the earth.

👉Word notes:
Trunk—the long flexible nose of an elephant[হাতির শুর]
Ground— grind[পিষে ফেলা]

👉Paraphrase:
People informed that the elephant came suddenly around the corner of the hut caught the man with its trunk. Then it put it's leg on the man's back and grinded him into the earth.

👉Text:
This was the rainy season and the ground was soft, and his face had scored a trench a foot deep and a couple of yards long.

👉Word notes:
Ground— soil;
Scored a trench — made a drain;
Yard—three feet.

👉Paraphrase:
As it was the rainy season, the soil was very soft. When the elephant grounded and dragged the man with its leg, his face created a drain in the ground which was one foot deep and six feet long

👉Text:
He was lying on his belly with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side.

👉Word notes:
Arms crucified—arms stretched [প্রসারিত]
Twisted—bent/twirled [মোচড়ানো]

👉Paraphrase:
The man was lying on his belly, his arms were stretched and his head was twisted to one side.

👉Text:
His face was coated with mud, the eyes wide open, the teeth bared and grinning with an expression of unendurable agony.

👉Word notes:
Coated—smeared[মাখানো]
Bared—open;
Grinning— terrible laughter[বিকৃত হাসি]
Unendurable—intolerable[অসহনীয়]
Agony—pain.

👉Paraphrase:
His face was muddy. His eyes were wide open. His teeth were open and a terrible laughter because of unbearable suffering was there.

👉Text:
(Never tell me, by the way, that the dead look peaceful. Most of the co**ses I have seen looked devilish.)

👉Word notes:
Corpse—dead body;
Devilish—terrible[ভয়ানক]

👉Paraphrase:
I never believe that the dead bodies look peaceful. Most of the dead bodies that I have seen in my life looked horrible.

👉Text:
The friction of the great beast’s foot had stripped the skin from his back as neatly as one skins a rabbit.

👉Word notes:
Friction — rub [ঘর্ষণ]
Great beast—elephant;
Strip—remove, peel [ছিলে ফেলা]
Skin —remove skin;

👉Paraphrase:
The touch of the heavy leg of the elephant was so strong that skin from the back of the man was removed. He looked like a skinned rabbit.

👉Text:
As soon as I saw the dead man I sent an orderly to a friend’s house nearby to borrow an elephant rifle.

👉Word notes:
Orderly— a constable to perform orders of the officers;

👉Paraphrase:
Seeing this scene I got alarmed and felt the need of an elephant rifle to kill the giant and sent an orderly to one of my friends to get a big rifle.

👉Text:
I had already sent back the pony, not wanting it to go mad with fright and throw me if it smelt the elephant.

👉Word notes:
Pony—small horse;
Fright—fear;
Smell—get the scent;

👉Paraphrase:
I thought that seeing this elephant my little horse may be so much afraid as to throw me off it. So, I sent it back and decided to walk on foot.

👉Text:
The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle and five cartridges, and meanwhile some Burmans had arrived and told us that the elephant was in the paddy fields below, only a few hundred yards away.

👉Word notes:
Cartridge —bullet;
Meanwhile — by this time;

👉Paraphrase:
My orderly got back in a few minutes with a big rifle and five bullets. By this time, some burmans came to me and informed that the elephant was now in a nearby paddy field, “only a few hundred yards away”.

👉Text:
As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me.

👉Word notes:
Started forward — went forward;
Flocked out— came out in large numbers;

👉Paraphrase:
When I started walking to the elephant, all the people of the area came out of their houses and started to follow me.

👉Text:
They had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant.

👉Paraphrase:
As now they have seen the big rifle, they have been sure that I was going to shoot the elephant. So, they were very excited and started to shout.

👉Text:
They had not shown much interest in the elephant when he was merely ravaging their homes, but it was different now that he was going to be shot.

Word notes:
Ravaging —destroying;

Paraphrase:
The people didn't show much interest when the elephant was destroying the homes. Because, it was not anything special. But watching an elephant to be shoot was a quite a new and exciting idea for them.

Text:
It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat. It made me vaguely uneasy.

Word notes:
Bit—little;
Vaguely—slightly[কিছুটা]

Paraphrase:
Watching the event of shooting the elephant was a fun to them “as it would be to an English crowd”. Another reason behind their excitement was that they wanted to have the meat of the dead elephant. This idea of taking the meat made me somewhat uneasy.

Text:
I had no intention of shooting the elephant – I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary and it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you.

Word notes:
Intention —wish;
Merely —only;
Defend —save;
Unnerving— making nervous;

Paraphrase:
I didn't want to shoot the elephant. I brought the rifle just to save myself from any unexpected situation. But, now I was feeling nervous as a large crowd was following me.

Text:
I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people jostling at my heels.

Word notes:
Marched— walked;
Army—group;
Jostling— pushing each other;

Paraphrase:
I walked down the hill to reach the elephant. I felt that I was looking like a fool. Because, I was walking “with the rifle over my shoulder” and an increasing number of people were pushing each other near me to watch the event from very close.

Text:
At the bottom, when you got away from the huts, there was a metalled road and beyond that a miry waste of paddy fields a thousand yards across, not yet ploughed but soggy from the first rains and dotted with coarse grass.

Word notes:
Metalled —concrete[পাঁকা]
Miry—muddy;
Waste—left land after cutting crops;
Yet—till now;
Ploughed —cultivated;
Soggy—wet[সিক্ত]
Dotted—marked;
Coarse grass—rough grass;

Paraphrase:
After getting down in the bottom, away from the huts, there is a concrete road. After that road, a thousand yards across, there are some muddy harvested paddy fields. The lands have not been cultivated till then. But the soil was wet due to rain and there were different kinds of grass growing high here and there.

Text:
The elephant was standing eight yards from the road, his left side towards us. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd’s approach. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and stuffing them into his mouth.

Word notes:
Slightest — littlest [সামান্যতম]
Approach—coming near;
Stuffing— putting;

Paraphrase:
The elephant was standing only eight yards from the road. Its left side was turned towards us. It didn't notice at all that we were so close to it. It was just pulling up the grass, beating them against it's knees to clean them and putting them into its mouth.

Text:
I had halted on the road. As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him.

Word notes:
Halt—stop;
Ought—should;

Paraphrase:
I stopped on the road. When I saw the elephant, I became sure that it is quite calm now and I should not shoot it.

Text:
It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant – it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery and obviously one ought not to do it if it can possibly be avoided. And at that distance, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow.

Paraphrase:
It is much harmful to kill an active elephant. It is like destroying “a huge and costly piece of machinery”. One should not kill an active elephant if he can avoid it. Besides, watching the elephant from this distance it seemed “no more dangerous than a cow”.

Text:
I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already passing off; in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about until the mahout came back and caught him.

Word notes:
Must—frenzy due to sexual excitement;
Passing off—no more active;
Merely—only;

Paraphrase:
Wander—move about aimlessly;
“I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already” gone. Then it would only move about aimlessly without causing any harm “until the mahout came back and caught him”.

Text:
Moreover, I did not, in the least, want to shoot him. I decided that I would watch him for a little while to make sure that he did not turn savage again, and then go home.

Word notes:
Savage—wild, harmful;

Paraphrase:
Besides, I didn't have the least intention to shoot it. My decision was to observe it for sometime to make sure if it turns wild again. If it remained calm, I would go home without taking any action.

Text:
But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. It blocked the road for a long distance on either side.

Word notes:
Glanced —had a look;
Immense — huge;

Paraphrase:
Now I looked around to have a look of the crowd that was following me. It was an immense crowd of at least two thousand people and the number was increasing every moment. The road was blocked for a long distance on either side due to the crowd.

Text:
I looked at the sea of yellow faces above the garish clothes—faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot.

Word notes:
Garish—bright;

Paraphrase:
I looked at the yellow faces of the large number of people around me wearing bright clothes. They all seemed “happy and excited” to see this event. They were sure that the “elephant was going to be shot”.

Text:
They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick.

Word notes:
Conjurer—a man supposed to have magical power to control spirits [ভূতের উঝা]
Trick — applying a magic.

Paraphrase:
The people were watching me in such a way as if I were a conjurer and was going to ‘perform a trick’.

Text:
They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly.

Word notes:
Momentarily—for the time being [ক্ষণিকের জন্য]
Wills—wish;
Pressing me forward — pushing me ahead;
Irresistibly— uncontrollably;

Paraphrase:
The people of this area didn't not like me as I was a European. But for this very moment, I became important enough to be watched. Because, I had this ‘magical rifle in my hand’. To observe their curiosity, I felt that I had to shoot the elephant. All the people who gathered there wanted it from me and I couldn't go beyond their wish. I could feel that they were creating an invisible pressure on me with their wills to shoot the elephant and I didn't have the power to do otherwise.

Text:
And it was at this moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man’s dominion in the East.

Word notes:
Grasped —understood, felt;
Hollowness — emptiness, insignificance [অন্তঃসারশূন্য]
Futility — meaninglessness;
Dominion—reign[রাজত্ব]

Paraphrase:
Now having the rifle in my hand, I understood, for the first time, that the British reign in India was meaningless and insignificant.

Text:
Here was I, the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd – seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.

Word notes:
Seemingly — supposedly;
Piece—scene;
Absurd —strange;
To and fro— to different directions;

Paraphrase:
In this scene, I was a white man having a rifle in hand standing before a large unarmed native crowd. I seemed to be the hero of the scene. But actually I was nothing but a strange puppet in their hands. I was being pushed ‘to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.’

Text:
I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib.

Word notes:
Perceived —understood;
Tyrant—oppressive ruler;
Hollow—insignificant;
Posing dummy— acting as a doll;
Conventionalized — traditional, common;
Sahib— a term of respect for important white Europeans in colonial India.

Paraphrase:
Then I understood that being an oppressive ruler, a white man, actually, destroys his own freedom. He becomes an insignificant doll acting according to the will of the natives. He becomes a traditional sahib, someone extraordinary in movement and action.

Text:
For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the “natives,” and so in every crisis he has got to do what the “natives” expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.

Word notes:
Mask—false character;

Paraphrase:
The condition of the rule of a white man in India is that he has to spend all his life ‘in trying to impress the natives’. In every crisis, he has to act according to the expectation of the natives. He has to develop a false character of a sahib and change his character to become a sahib.

Text:
I had got to shoot the elephant. I had committed myself to doing it when I sent for the rifle. A sahib has got to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things.

Word notes:
Committed —firmly decided;
Sahib—white men in India;
Resolute—firm, committe প্রত্যয়ী];
Definite—proper.

Paraphrase:
I had to shoot the elephant. I take a firm decision to do it when I sent my orderly to bring the rifle. I am a sahib and I am bound to act as a sahib. A sahib should be firm in his decisions. He should understand himself and do the things that appear proper according to the demand of the situation.

Text:
To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing – no, that was impossible.

Word notes:
Feebly—Weakly, silently;

Paraphrase:
I have come a long way with my rifle in hand and a large number of people are following me from near. So, now turning back silently without doing anything is quite impossible.

Text:
The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man’s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.

Word notes:
Whole life— the life spent in India;
Struggle — hard try;
Laugh at — ridicule.

Paraphrase:
If I do so, the people who were following me, will laugh at me. I didn't want to be laughed at. In fact, not only me, but also also all the white men serving in the East try their best all through their staying here not to be laughed at.

Text:
But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with that preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have.

Word notes:
Preoccupied —obsessed [আচ্ছন্ন]
Grandmotherly air— like a grandmother, slowly but steadily;

Paraphrase:
I decided not to shoot the animal. Because, I found madness in it no more. It saw him busy in having the bunch of grass after beating them against his knees slowly and steadily. He was very much obsessed with this work.

Text:
It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. At that age I was not squeamish about killing animals, but I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill a large animal.)

Word notes:
Squeamish—considerate [বিবেচক]

Paraphrase:
I thought that shooting a calm animal is nothing but killing. Then I was young and I was not much considerate about killing animals. But, till then I had not shot any elephant and I didn't want to. Actually, killing a large animal always seemed worse to me.

Text:
Besides, there was the beast’s owner to be considered. Alive, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds; dead, he would only be worth the value of his tusks, five pounds, possibly.

Word notes:
Moreover, I had to think about the owner of the elephant. An alive elephant was very valuable. It was ‘worth at least a hundred pounds’. But a dead elephant would be ‘worth the value of his tusks’ and it might be possibly five pounds.

Paraphrase:
But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking Burmans who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing: he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.

Word notes:
Charge—attack;

Paraphrase:
I didn't have much time to think. I turned to some elderly people who might be experienced. I asked them what they thought about the behavior of the elephant. They all opined the same that if no one irritated him, he will not notice us. He might attack only if some went too close to him.

Text:
It was perfectly clear to me what I ought to do. I ought to walk up to within, say, twenty-five yards of the elephant and test his behavior. If he charged, I could shoot; if he took no notice of me, it would be safe to leave him until the mahout came back. But also I knew that I was going to do no such thing.

Paraphrase:
Now I knew what I should do. I needed to go within about twenty five yards of the elephant and notice his behavior. If he charged me, I would shoot him to save myself. But if he remained silent and took no notice of me, I would leave him until his mahaout came and caught him. But I knew that I could not do such thing. I would have to fulfill the demands of the natives and shoot the elephant.

Text:
I was a poor shot with a rifle and the ground was soft mud into which one would sink at every step. If the elephant charged and I missed him, I should have about as much chance as a toad under a steam-roller.

Word notes:
Sink— drown [দেবে যাওয়া]
Charged —attacked;

Paraphrase:
The shoot that I could make with my rifle was not much strong. The soil was soft and muddy. I might sink into it at every step. If the elephant attacked me and my shoot missed to attack him, I would have as much chance to live as a toad has before a steam-roller.

Text:
But even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only of the watchful yellow faces behind.

Word notes:
Of my skin— about my own safety; watchful yellow faces— the natives who were following.

Paraphrase:
But then I was not thinking about my safety. I was thinking only of the natives that were following me.

Text:
For at that moment, with the crowd watching me, I was not afraid in the ordinary sense, as I would have been if I had been alone. A white man mustn’t be frightened in front of “natives”; and so, in general, he isn’t frightened.

Word notes:
Frightened —afraid;

Paraphrase:
Then as all the natives were watching me, I was not generally afraid to face the elephant. But I would feel afraid if I would be alone. Actually, the condition of the white men were that they could not show their fear before the natives and so, generally they remain fearless.

Text:
The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong those two thousand Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled on and reduced to a grinning co**se like that Indian up the hill. And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That would never do.

Word notes:
Sole—whole, only;
Pursued—chased;
Trampled — tread, smash [পদদলিত করা]
Grinning—horrible laugh;
Corpse— dead body;

Paraphrase:
The only thought that possessed me was that if I made any mistake, these two thousand Burmans would see me in a deplorable condition. I would be chased, caught and smashed by the elephant and turn into a horrible looking dead body like the Dravidian coolie. If so happened, it was possible that some of the natives would still laugh seeing me in that condition. But I couldn't allow this to happen.

Text:
There was only one alternative. I shoved the cartridges into the magazine and lay down on the road to get a better aim. The crowd grew very still, and a deep, low, happy sigh, as of people who see the theatre curtain go up at last, breathed from innumerable throats. They were going to have their bit of fun after all.

Word notes:
Alternative —choice;
Shove—push;
Magazine — chamber for holding cartridges;
Aim—target;
Sigh — deep breath;
Innumerable — uncountable;

Paraphrase:
I had only one choice left. I put the “cartridges into the magazine and lay down on the road to get a better aim”. The natives all became silent and took a “deep, low and happy” breath like the people who ‘see the theatre curtain go up at last’. Because, finally the drama was going to start. Finally, they were going to enjoy the fun that they were waiting for.

Text:
The rifle was a beautiful German thing with cross-hair sights. I did not then know that in shooting an elephant one would shoot to cut an imaginary bar running from ear-hole to ear-hole.

Word notes:
Cross-hair sights—cross line gun sight; two straight lines intersect each other at a point and the point becomes the focus of the target.[টেলিস্কোপিক রাইফেলে টার্গেট নিরূপণ করা হয় দুটি লাইন যেখানে মিলিত হয় সেই বিন্দুতে। এই ধরনের রাইফেলের টার্গেট কে cross-hair sight বলে]
Bar— rod, stick;

Paraphrase:
The rifle was made in Germany having a cross-line targeting system. Till then I didn't have the idea of how to shoot an elephant. I didn't know that there is an imaginary bar between the ear-holes of an elephant and one needs to break this bar to easily kill an elephant.

Text:
I ought, therefore, as the elephant was sideways on, to have aimed straight at his ear-hole, actually I aimed several inches in front of this, thinking the brain would be further forward.

Word notes:
Sideways—not face to face;

Paraphrase:
As I was seeing the elephant from a side, I decided to shoot at his ear-hole. But, finally I aimed several inches in front of his ear-hole. Because I thought that his brain was there and I wanted to shoot at his brain.

Text:
When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick – one never does when a shot goes home – but I heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the crowd.

Word notes:
Bang—loud noise;
Kick—push back when fire.
Goes home—Goes perfectly to the destination;
Roar—shout;
Glee—joy;

Paraphrase:
When I pulled the trigger, I didn't hear the sound of the shot. Even I didn't feel the push back for the shot. When a person’s shot perfectly hits the target, he generally doesn't hear the sound or feel the push back. I just heard an exultant shout coming from the crowd.

Text:
In that instant, in too short a time, one would have thought, even for the bullet to get there, a mysterious, terrible change had come over the elephant. He neither stirred nor fell, but every line of his body had altered.

Word notes:
Instant— moment [মুহূর্ত]
Mysterious —unclear, strange;
Terrible — horrible;
Stir — move;
Alter — change.

Paraphrase:
At that moment, within a very short time, even the time that a bullet needs to get there, the elephant went through a strange and terrible change. He did not fall, nor even move. But every part of his body felt some change as an effect of the bullet.

Text:
He looked suddenly stricken, shrunken, immensely old, as though the frightful impact of the bullet had paralysed him without knocking him down.

Word notes:
Stricken—injured;
Shrunken—scared [ ভয়ে কাচুমাচু]
Immensely—extremely;
Frightful—horrible;
Knock down — throwing on the ground;

Paraphrase:
Suddenly, a change became visible. The elephant seemed injured, scared and extremely old. It seemed to be paralyzed due to the horrible effect of the bullet, and so didn't fall.

Text:
At last, after what seemed a long time – it might have been five seconds, I dare say – he sagged flabbily to his knees. His mouth slobbered. An enormous senility seemed to have settled upon him. One could have imagined him thousands of years old.

Word notes:
Sagged—hung;
Flabbily— weakly;
Slobber— saliva dripping[লালা পড়া];
Enormous—huge;
Senility— inertia/old age [জরাগ্রস্ততা, বার্ধক্য]

Paraphrase:
Finally, after five seconds that seemed a long time to me, the elephant hung weakly to his knees. Saliva was falling from his mouth. It seemed that the elephant became immensely old within a few seconds. One might think of him thousands of years old.

Text:
I fired again into the same spot. At the second shot he did not collapse but climbed with desperate slowness to his feet and stood weakly upright, with legs sagging and head drooping.

Word notes:
Collapse —fall;
Desperate —immense;
Upright —erect[খাড়া] Putm I'llSagging—hanging;
Drooping—bowing due to weakness [নেতিয়ে পড়া]

Paraphrase:
I shoot again at the same spot. This time he did not fall. Rather, he stood up very weakly and swingingly. His legs seemed to be hanging and his head drooping.

Text:
I fired a third time. That was the shot that did for him. You could see the agony of it jolt his whole body and knock the last remnant of strength from his legs.

Word notes:
Agony— pains;
Jolt—shake, trembling;
Remnant — left part;

Paraphrase:
My third shot seemed to work. His whole body trembled with pain and he lost the last portion of strength from his legs.

Text:
But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, for as his hind legs collapsed beneath him he seemed to tower upward like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree.

Word notes:
Hind legs—back legs;
Collapse—fall;
Beneath—under;
Tower—soar[শূন্যে ভেসে উঠা]
Topple —tumble[উল্টে পড়া]
Trunk—long nose [শুর];
Skyward—upward[আকাশমুখী]

Paraphrase:
While falling, he suddenly seemed to rise. Because, his back legs fell under him and he seemed to bounce upward like a huge rock and his trunk soared high like a tree.

Text:
He trumpeted, for the first and only time. And then down he came, his belly towards me, with a crash that seemed to shake the ground even where I lay.

Word notes:
Trumpeted—made a loud sound;
Crash—collision[সংঘর্ষ]

Paraphrase:
Then the elephant made a loud sound. This was for the first and the last time that any sound came out from his mouth. Then he fell down on the ground. His belly was towards me. When his body collided with the ground, the earth seemed to quake, even where I was lying.

Text:
I got up. The Burmans were already racing past me across the mud. It was obvious that the elephant would never rise again, but he was not dead. He was breathing very rhythmically with long rattling gasps, his great mound of a side painfully rising and falling. His mouth was wide open – I could see far down into caverns of pale pink throat.

Word notes:
Racing—running;
Obvious —sure;
Rhythmically—repeatedly with an interval[ছন্দময়ভাবে]
Rattling—a groaning sound[ঘর্ঘর শব্দ]
Gasp—pant[হাঁপানো, কষ্টে শ্বাস নেয়া]
Mound—bulk[ঢিবি, বড় স্তূপ]
Caverns—larynx;[গলনালী]

Paraphrase:
Then I got up from the ground. People began to run past me through the muddy land. They were sure that the elephant will never be able to rise up again. But he was still alive. ‘He was breathing very rhythmically with long rattling gasps’. His large belly was rising and falling with breathing. ‘His mouth was wide open and I could see far down into the cavern of pale pink throat.’

Text:
I waited a long time for him to die, but his breathing did not weaken. Finally I fired my two remaining shots into the spot where I thought his heart must be. The thick blood welled out of him like red velvet, but still he did not die. His body did not even jerk when the shots hit him, the tortured breathing continued without a pause.

Word notes:
Welled out— came out;
Jerk—quake;

Paraphrase:
“I waited a long time for him to die. But his breathing did not weaken. Finally I fired my two remaining shots into the spot where I thought his heart must be. The thick blood came out of him like red velvet, but still he did not die. His body did not even tremble when the shots hit him, the tortured breathing continued without a pause.

Text:
He was dying, very slowly and in great agony, but in some world remote from me where not even a bullet could damage him further.

Word notes:
Damage—cause harm;

Paraphrase:
He was dying slowly and with great pain. He was going to a world where a bullet will not be able to cause any more pain to it.

Text:
I felt that I had got to put an end to that dreadful noise. It seemed dreadful to see the great beast Lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him.

Word notes:
Dreadful—fearful;

Paraphrase:
I thought that needed to end his painful breathing by killing him. The scene was horrible to such a big animal lying there fighting death but was not dying.

Text:
I sent back for my small rifle and poured shot after shot into his heart and down his throat. They seemed to make no impression. The tortured gasps continued as steadily as the ticking of a clock.

Word notes:
Poured—showered;[বর্ষণ]
Steadily — continually;

Paraphrase:
I ordered my orderly to bring back my small rifle. Then I showered shot after shot into his heart and throat. But the shots seemed to cause nothing to him. His painful breathing continued as before like the ‘ticking of a clock’.

Text:
In the end I could not stand it any longer and went away. I heard later that it took him half an hour to die.

Word notes:
Stand—tolerate;

Paraphrase:
I couldn't tolerate this pathetic sight anymore and went away. I heard that the elephant died half an hour later.

Text:
Burmans were bringing dahs and baskets even before I left, and I was told they had stripped his body almost to the bones by the afternoon.

Word notes:
Dah— local cutter or chopper;
Stripped — cut into pieces;

Paraphrase:
The natives brought choppers and bowls to collect flesh even before I left the place. I heard that they had cut the elephant into pieces up to the bone by the afternoon.

Text:
Afterwards, of course, there were endless discussions about the shooting of the elephant. The owner was furious, but he was only an Indian and could do nothing.

Word notes:
Afterwards — later;
Furious — very much angry;

Paraphrase:
Later a lot of discussions took place on the shooting of the elephant. The owner of the elephant became very angry. But he didn't have anything to do as he was an ordinary indian.

Text:
Besides, legally I had done the right thing, for a mad elephant has to be killed, like a mad dog, if its owner fails to control it.

Paraphrase:
Moreover, I had the legal right to shoot the elephant. If an elephant turns mad and the owner fails to control it, it needs to be shot like a mad dog.

Text:
Among the Europeans the opinion was divided. The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie.

Word notes:
Damn— heinous, mean[জঘন্য]
Coringhee Coolie(Telugu, a Dravidian language) — the unskilled or low-wage workers who emigrated to Burma under the British Empire.

Paraphrase:
The Europeans were divided in their opinions. The elderly people said that I was right in shooting the elephant. But, the young people said that my action to kill an elephant for killing a coolie was shameful. Because, the elephant was worthier than the coolie.

Text:
And afterwards I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant.

Word notes:
Pretext—excuse[অজুহাত]

Paraphrase:
Later I felt happy to think that the elephant had killed the coolie. It became a legal excuse for me to kill the elephant.

Text:
I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.

Word notes:
Wondered—thought;
Grasped—understood;
Solely—totally.

Paraphrase:
I often thought if anyone could understand my real purpose behind shooting the elephant that I had done it just ‘to avoid looking a fool’.