The tragic hard worker

I am sure once in your lifetime you must have been called a “গাধা” (donkey) by your near and dear ones or relatives, when you have made stupid mistakes or were just being silly.

Although, have you ever wondered why you were called a donkey and not any other animal? What did this poor animal do to get blamed for your stupidity? Furthermore, this poor animal is not only blamed and made fun of in Indian cultures, but the picture is also the same in western cultures. I would even say the western people have stepped up a bit further, as they literally used to call the donkey an ass. We all know what that means in other terms, don't we.

I assume you have all heard of the famous Shakespearean comedic play: A Midsummer Night's Dream. Amusingly enough, the most comedic act in this play is when a lowly character's (Bottom) head gets turned into an ass. Now, if the whole universe made you the symbol of stupidity, you would get mad.

However, we don't get this swarm of hatred and anger, because it doesn't understand our language. We continue to put the same old label on it because we don't realize the donkey's language. Therefore, this mistreatment is a result of misunderstanding and the common human error of “judging a book by its cover.” On the contrary, research shows that donkeys are highly intelligent animals, having an intelligence level as good as dogs or dolphins.

One such intelligent donkey was Fanny; she was a donkey under a milk business owner. She was trained in such a way that she was able to deliver milk to people's houses without any supervision. So, she was given the badge of the most clever donkey in the town. She even got interviewed by BBC: BBC Archive 1976: Fanny — the world's smartest donkey.

Thus, donkeys are the true tragic hardworkers, with no appreciation. To clear this generational misunderstanding, search are donkeys really smart? on Google — or read more about donkey intelligence.

First published in Sharodiya 2025, BCA Barcelona's annual magazine.