Dr Shiam Chuttoo

A reflection by Dr Shiam Chuttoo in French, English, Mauritian Kreol and Hindi, with my HOME Model.

• Français : Nul n’est prophète en son pays.
• English: No one is a prophet in their own country.
• Kreol Morisien: Personn pa enn profet dan so pei.
• हिन्दी : कुत्ते भौंकें हज़ार, हाथी चले बाज़ार। (Kutte bhaunken hazaar, haathi chale bazaar.) A thousand dogs may bark; the elephant walks on to the market.

Four languages, one message: know your worth, keep walking, and let the barking fade behind you.

One proverb, four of my languages

I grew up in Mauritius, an island where it is perfectly ordinary to hear Kreol, French, English, Bhojpuri and Hindi before lunch. I climbed poles for the Central Electricity Board, then came to Britain in 1988 and built a life as a nurse, a social worker, a lecturer and an author. Each language I carry opens a different door, and today I want to walk you through four of them with one old truth.

Nul n’est prophète en son pays comes from the Gospels. Jesus, returning to Nazareth, found that the people who had watched him grow up could not accept him as a teacher (Luke 4:24, Mark 6:4). The French made the line famous, and Hindi has its own cousins:

• घर का जोगी जोगड़ा, आन गाँव का सिद्ध। Ghar ka jogi jogda, aan gaon ka siddh. The holy man from your own home is just a beggar; the one from the next village is a saint.
• घर की मुर्गी दाल बराबर। Ghar ki murgi daal barabar. The chicken at home is worth no more than lentils. What we have every day, we stop valuing.

Why home is the hardest audience

The people who knew us young remember the boy who fell off his bicycle, the girl who failed her first exam. They hold an old photograph of us, and new achievements struggle to fit inside the frame. Strangers meet only the person we have become. In my years as a lecturer and life coach I watched gifted people wait for a nod from home that came late, or never came at all. Some gave up waiting and gave up the dream with it.

In fairness, home also gives us something strangers cannot: roots, language, food, memory and love. The proverb describes a habit of the human eye, and an invitation to see more clearly. To show you what happens when we chase every opinion, let me tell you a story I have loved since school.

The miller, his son and the donkey

A miller and his son set off for market to sell their donkey. They walk beside it, and a group of girls laugh: “Look at those fools! They have a donkey and still go on foot.” So the son climbs on. An old man frowns: “Shame on that lazy boy, riding while his old father walks.” The son gets down and the father climbs up. Some women tut: “What a hard father, letting the poor child walk in the dust.” So both climb on. A traveller shouts: “Two of you on one small donkey? You will kill the poor beast!”

In the end, father and son tie the donkey’s legs to a pole and carry it between them. The whole market bursts out laughing. The miller sets the donkey down, wipes his brow and says: “From now on, I will do what I know is right.”

This tale has travelled across many countries and centuries. Jean de La Fontaine made it famous in French in 1668 as Le Meunier, son Fils et l’Âne. Its lesson is as fresh today as it was then: try to please everyone and you end up pleasing no one, carrying the donkey yourself.

L’histoire en français

Un meunier et son fils partent au marché pour vendre leur âne. Ils marchent à côté de lui, et des jeunes filles se moquent : « Quels sots ! Ils ont un âne et ils vont à pied ! » Le fils monte sur l’âne. Un vieillard grogne : « Quelle honte ! Le jeune se repose pendant que son vieux père marche. » Le fils descend et le père monte. Des femmes s’indignent : « Quel père dur, il laisse son enfant marcher dans la poussière ! » Alors ils montent tous les deux. Un voyageur crie : « Deux sur une si petite bête ? Vous allez la tuer ! » Finalement, ils attachent l’âne à un bâton et le portent. Tout le marché éclate de rire. Le meunier pose l’âne et dit : « Désormais, je ferai ce que je sais être juste. » La morale : vouloir contenter tout le monde, c’est ne contenter personne.

कहानी हिन्दी में

एक चक्कीवाला और उसका बेटा अपना गधा बेचने बाज़ार जा रहे थे। दोनों गधे के साथ पैदल चल रहे थे। कुछ लड़कियाँ हँसीं, “कैसे मूर्ख हैं! गधा साथ है और पैदल चल रहे हैं।” बेटा गधे पर बैठ गया। एक बूढ़े ने कहा, “कैसा बेटा है! बूढ़ा बाप पैदल चल रहा है।” बेटा उतरा और बाप बैठ गया। कुछ औरतें बोलीं, “कैसा बाप है! बच्चा धूप में पैदल चल रहा है।” तब दोनों बैठ गए। एक राही चिल्लाया, “एक छोटे गधे पर दो लोग? बेचारे की जान ले लोगे!” आख़िर में दोनों ने गधे को डंडे से बाँधकर कंधों पर उठा लिया। सारा बाज़ार हँस पड़ा। चक्कीवाले ने गधे को नीचे रखा और कहा, “अब से मैं वही करूँगा जो मुझे सही लगे।” सीख: सबको ख़ुश करने वाला किसी को ख़ुश नहीं कर पाता।

Haathi chale bazaar: be the elephant

The miller listened to every voice and ended up carrying the donkey. The elephant takes the other road. Kutte bhaunken hazaar, haathi chale bazaar: a thousand dogs may bark, and the elephant keeps walking to the market. The elephant does not stop to argue, does not bark back, and does not turn round to explain itself. It knows where it is going.

Every time I started something new, from the electricity poles of Mauritius to the wards and lecture halls of Britain, somebody had an opinion about it. Now, at sixty-five, I am writing this blog for the whole world, in all my languages. Some will cheer, some will shrug and a few will bark. The market is still where I am heading.

One honest warning: the elephant must still look where it treads. Some voices are barking, and some are friends trying to warn us of a ditch ahead. Wisdom lies in telling them apart.

My recommendations

• Sort the voices: ask whether a comment is barking or honest feedback. Honest feedback is specific, fair and offered to help you.
• Choose your five: name five people whose judgement you truly trust. Give their words more weight than the crowd’s.
• Wash your face first: before you dismiss a critic, check whether there is some dust on your own face. My WASH Model can help.
• Do not bark back: arguing with every critic steals the energy you need for the walk.
• Let the work answer: results, kindness and consistency speak louder over time than any reply.
• Lift a prophet at home: this week, praise someone close to you whose gifts usually go unnoticed.

My HOME Model

© Dr Shiam Chuttoo 2026. Four ways to live well with the proverb, wherever you stand.

• H, Honour your roots: speak your mother tongue, cook the old recipes, tell your children where they come from.
• O, Offer your gifts wherever you stand: serve the people in front of you, at home or abroad, whether they clap or stay silent.
• M, Make room for every language: each tongue you learn widens your heart and your circle of friends.
• E, Encourage the prophets in your own home: be the first to praise the talent in your family, your street and your community.

The last step turns the proverb on its head. We cannot control whether home recognises us. We can choose to be the person who recognises others.

En bref, en français

Nul n’est prophète en son pays. Ceux qui nous connaissent depuis l’enfance ont parfois du mal à voir le chemin parcouru. Je suis né à Maurice, j’ai grimpé aux poteaux de la CEB, puis j’ai construit ma vie au Royaume-Uni comme infirmier, travailleur social et enseignant. Honorez vos racines, offrez vos talents partout, et soyez celui qui reconnaît les prophètes de sa propre maison.

An Kreol Morisien

Personn pa enn profet dan so pei. Dimounn ki konn nou depi nou tipti pa touzour trouve sime ki nou finn fer. Mo finn ne Moris, mo finn mont poto CEB, apre mo finn konstrir mo lavi Langleter kouma infirmie, travayer sosial ek profeser. Respekte ou rasinn, partaz ou talan partou, ek rekonet bann profet dan ou prop lakaz.

संक्षेप में, हिन्दी में

घर का जोगी जोगड़ा, आन गाँव का सिद्ध। जो लोग हमें बचपन से जानते हैं, वे कभी-कभी हमारी यात्रा को देख नहीं पाते। मैंने मॉरीशस में बिजली के खंभों पर चढ़कर काम शुरू किया, फिर ब्रिटेन में नर्स, सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता और शिक्षक बना। कुत्ते भौंकें हज़ार, हाथी चले बाज़ार। अपनी जड़ों का आदर करें, अपना हुनर हर जगह बाँटें, और अपने घर के गुणी लोगों को पहचानने वाले बनें।

Questions to sit with

• Whose donkey am I carrying because I am trying to please everyone?
• Which voices in my life are barking, and which are honest friends?
• Who in my own family or community deserves more recognition than I have given them?
• Which of my languages have I let grow quiet, and how could I bring it back?
• Where is my market, and what would help me keep walking towards it?

Nul n’est prophète en son pays. Kutte bhaunken hazaar, haathi chale bazaar. Honour your roots, keep walking, and be the one who sees the prophet at home.

A word of caution. This piece is for education and personal reflection. It is not medical, psychological, religious or legal advice, and it does not replace care from a qualified professional. Please understand any technique before you use it. Anyone who uses these ideas does so by their own choice and is responsible for their own actions. If criticism, worry or low mood stays with you, talk to someone you trust, your GP or another health professional.

© Dr Shiam Chuttoo 2026. The HOME Model, the recommendations and the French, Kreol and Hindi retellings are the original work of Dr Shiam Chuttoo. The proverb draws on Luke 4:24 and Mark 6:4; the fable is retold from the traditional tale made famous by Jean de La Fontaine (1668); the Hindi sayings are traditional. Credit: HOME Model, created by Dr Shiam Chuttoo. You may share or use this model only with my permission, or with clear credit to me as its author. Contact: shiamduth@outlook.com. Work record: Ref DSC-2026-HOME-01. Title: Nul n’est prophète en son pays. Author: Dr Shiam Chuttoo. Created 15 October 2026. All rights reserved.