“East is East and West is West,”

(Twin shall never meet)

The old saying, “East is East and West is West,” speaks of the many ways in which different lands see the world through different eyes. It reminds us that the same creature, the same object, or even the same idea may carry a very different meaning from one culture to another.

Consider the owl. In the subcontinent, it is often spoken of with suspicion. Many people associate it with foolishness or bad omens, and its lonely cry in the night has long stirred fear in the hearts of some. Yet across the ocean, in the United States, the owl is admired as a symbol of wisdom and quiet observation. There, it is not feared but respected, not mocked but honoured.

The donkey too bears a changed fate in these different worlds. In the subcontinent, it is often laughed at and called stubborn or worthless, as though its only gift were patience without grace. But in the United States, the donkey is seen more kindly. It is praised for its patience, its hard work, and its steady usefulness. What one place dismisses, another learns to respect.

And so, the saying comes alive in these simple examples. It teaches us that judgment is shaped by habit, and meaning is shaped by culture. A thing that seems ordinary in one place may be noble in another. A creature despised in one land may be cherished in another. The world, then, becomes a tapestry of different beliefs, each thread colored by history, tradition, and imagination.

To understand this is to become wiser. It is to look beyond our own customs and recognise that difference is not a defect. The owl and the donkey remind us that before we judge, we must first learn to see.