Persian · noun · Iqbal's Emblems
Tuti
तूती
said TOO-tee
also written: Tooti, tuti, tota, parrot
Meaning
A parrot; in Persian verse a sweet-voiced bird that speaks and sings.
Literally: parrot
How Iqbal uses it
The tooti is the parrot, classically the sweet-tongued bird famed for repeating sugared words and, in Persian lore, lured to speech before a mirror — so it stands both for eloquence and for mere imitation that mistakes echo for thought. It is the 'sugar-chewing' speaker of Hindustan in poetic geography. Iqbal can use it for honeyed utterance, but the mirror-taught parrot also lurks behind his suspicion of borrowed speech and thought that only repeats.