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A FLIGHT OF PIGEONS
Written by Ruskin Bond
Cover photograph by Anna de'Capitani
Published by Penguin Books India.
Ages: 16+
Reviewed by sandhya.
In any instance of violence, war, etc, there are the active participants- those that actually go out to war, actually take part in the violence as the perpetrators or as the victims, who die in battle. And then there are those behind the scenes, who are equal stakeholders in the fallout of the war, those who do not actually take up arms, but are silent sufferers as a result of it. Those who need to survive it all, with dignity, and re-build their lives. Those who have no wish for the violence around them, and who would rather go quietly about their lives in peace. The civilian victims, the women and the children. Often those who lose the most.
This book deals with some such survivors. It is historical fiction, which, according to the writer, may be based on fact. On actual events that probably took place during the 1857 uprising against British rule.
A study of the 1857 uprising is usually from the point of view of the Indian participants. We speak about Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, Nana Saheb, and the like. And that is but natural when we speak of it as an uprising. But the British looked at it as the mutiny, being the rulers at the time.
In this book, the story is told from the point of view of Ruth Labadoor, a teenage British girl, who witnesses the massacre of British civilians in the church in the town of Shahajahanpur, including that of her father, at the hands of Indian militants.
Ruth and her mother, Miriam, grandmother, aunt and cousins are given refuge in Lala Ramjimal's house. They are tracked down there by Javed Khan, who has been enamoured of Ruth, since before her father's assassination. He forces the women to come to stay in his household, much to the chagrin of his wife, who is aware of his intentions. Which according to what he tells Ruth's mother, are honourable. He intends to marry Ruth, but he is willing to wait till Miriam gives her permission.
Javed Khan thus becomes an unlikely hero, whose passion for Ruth, combined with the surprising restraint he shows in waiting for her mother's permission keeps them safe through the days of peril for the British women. Mariam does the best thing that she could do as a mother fighting for her and her daughter's survival- keeps him at bay with the assurance that he could marry her daughter if the British fail in taking over Delhi, all the time hoping for the victory of the British, as that would ensure their safety. She knows that if she had stood up in open rebellion of him, she and her daughter would lose all chance of surviving honourably.
They had to spend the whole of 1857, and many months into 1858, in Javed Khan's household. We are told early on in the book, that Miriam's mother is a girl from a Nawab family from Rohilon-ka-Rampur, married to a British officer. They therefore have Indian cultural roots, and integrate quite easily. They spend all their time in the zenana of Javed Khan, working as members of the household.
Except for Javed Khan's wife, Khan-Begum, who dislikes their presence for obvious reasons, the rest of the women of the household soon get attached to them. They get invited to spend a few months at Khan-Begum's sister Qamran's and Javed Khan's aunt Kothiwali's place. Miriam is only too happy to take them up on their invitations, as it means that she can be safe, yet not worry about Javed Khan's repeated proposals for Ruth's hand.
It is at Qamran's place that a relative comes with the news of a prophecy made by Mian Saheb, a Pir (holy man).
'...that the restoration of the Firangi rule was as certain as the coming of doomsday. It would be another hundred years, he said, before the foreigners could be made to leave. "See, here they come!" he cried, pointing to the north where a flock of white pigeons could be seen hovering over the city. "They come flying like white pigeons which, when disturbed, fly away and circle, and come down to rest again. White pigeons from the hills!" ...'
This prediction of Mian Saheb comes true, luckily for Miriam and Ruth. The British take over Delhi, and the uprising is put down. The British army then moves to take back every town, every post from where it has been ousted.
True to his word, Javed Khan releases the women from his bondage, and they are free to go and join the British, no longer needing to be in hiding from the militants. But not before he gets Ruth to come before him, so that he could gaze on her face once, something he has not done till now, inspite of his passion for her.
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A very perceptive, wonderfully written book, complete with a detailed look into the mechanisms of the zenana or women's quarters in a segregated household. A tale of survival of the refugee women who probably did so only because of a mother playing by her wits, guts and an ability to adapt and accept her circumstances.
I had read this book many years ago in my teens, and at that time I had been struck by the elusive relationship between Ruth and Javed Khan. Ruth is a mere child all throughout, cringing and hiding behind her mother in his presence, except at the end.
"I have only one request to make," said Javed, uneasily shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"Yes, what is it?" asked Mother.
"I know that the time has passed when I could speak of marrying your daughter," he said. "It is too late now to do anything about that. But will you permit me to see her once more, before I leave?"
"What good will that do?" began Mother; but impelled by some odd impulse, I stepped forward into the light and stood before Javed Khan.
He gazed at me in silence for about a minute, and for the first time I did not take my eyes away from his; then, without a smile or a word, he turned away and mounted his horse and rode away into the night.
She has grown-up and become a woman in that one year.
The honourable behaviour of Javed Khan, inspite of his advantage as the abductor and refuge-giver, still strikes as note-worthy. As also is the historical perspective of the book, which was a treat even at its first reading.
What stands out much more at this reading is the steady but quiet and dignified resistance put up by Mariam, Ruth's mother in protecting her child, despite her obvious disadvantage as a refugee. At times she is even willing to take up arms in protecting her daughter, as when they are attacked by the militants.
The adaptation to her circumstances, assimilating in the milieu in which she has been thrust, so that she does not stand out like a sore thumb.
The antagonism with which they are initially viewed by the women of Javed Khan's household, as the other, the firangis, against whom the Indians are up in arms. Which changes (with the exception of that of Khan-Begum) to an acceptance of, and also to some extent affection towards them, when it is realised that they are women just like any others, somewhat helpless under the circumstances, and willing to integrate into their everyday existence.
The detailed and very perceptive (considering that Ruskin Bond is a man, and culturally a British one, at that!) potrayal of the camarederie and internal politics inside an all women Indian Muslim household from a hundred years ago.
The very impressive grapevine by which the women came to know of incidents, personal and political, in the outside world, without setting foot out of the zenana, in an age when they had no access to any media of any sort.
The instinctive understanding of all that was happenning, with the ability to take the initiative, if required, of older women like Kothiwali, to whom even the likes of Javed Khan paid their respects.
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The book has an introduction by Ruskin Bond, in which he says that there was probably some truth in accounts of an actual girl called Ruth Labadoor, whose account is to be found in old records of the 1857 uprising. He quotes these specific references in the notes at the end of the book, as also gives us a perspective on the period in which the book is set.
In his own words, in the introduction to this 2002 edition, he says, "In retelling the tale for today's reader I attempted to bring out the common humanity of most of the people involved--- for in times of conflict and inter-religious or racial hatred, there are always a few (just a few) who are prepared to come to the aid of those unable to defend themselves."
Something that is true of all such situations. As I discovered in my pursuit of books on the Holocaust, human beings are really good, and they often rise above themselves at such times.
He goes on to say, "I published this account as a novella about thirty years ago. I feel it still has some relevance today, when communal strife and religious intolerance threaten the lives and livelihood of innocent, law-abiding people. It was Pascal who wrote, 'Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.' Fortunately for civilization, there are exceptions."
Very true even today, and will always be so until there are dystopian conditions anywhere on earth.
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A review of A FLIGHT OF PIGEONS will be incomplete without a mention of its 1978 movie adaptation, Junoon, which translated means 'a kind of madness,' whether it was the conditions during the uprising, or the madness of Javed Khan's passion for Ruth. This movie directed by Shyam Benegal, with Jennifer Kendal as Mariam, Nafisa Ali as Ruth, Shabana Azmi as Khan-Begum, and Jennifer's real-life husband Shashi Kapoor as Javed Khan, is that rare instance when, a Hindi movie matches the expectations raised by the book, if not betters it. A must watch for someone who enjoyed the book.
Crossposted here.
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