In the abandoned palazzo, weeds and old blankets filled the rooms. The palazzo was in bad shape. We cleaned the abandoned palazzo for ten years. We scoured the stones. The splendid architecture was furbished and painted. The doors and windows were dealt with. Then we were ready for the show.
'A Flight of Pigeons' is set against the backdrop of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny and closely follows the drastic overnight changes that came into the life of Ruth and her family and the Europeans at large. It explores themes of loyalty, friendship, selflessness, the widespread prejudice that that used to reside in the hearts of Indians based on.
The noble and empty spaces were ready for our purposes. The first act we hired was the amazing Numbered Man. He was numbered from one to thirty-five and every part moved. And he was genial and polite, despite the stresses to which his difficult métier subjected him. He never failed to say “Hello” and “Goodbye” and “Why not?” We were happy to have him in the show.
Then, the Sulking Lady was obtained. She showed us her back. That was the way she felt. She had always felt that way, she said. She had felt that way since she was four years old.
We obtained other attractions – a Singing Sword and a Stone Eater. Tickets and programs were prepared. Buckets of water were placed about, in case of fire. Silver strings tethered the loud-roaring strong-stinking animals.
The lineup for opening night included:
A startlingly handsome man
A Grand Cham
A tulip craze
The Prime Rate
Edgar Allan Poe
A colored light
We asked ourselves: How can we improve the show?
There were a lot of situations where men were being evil to women – dominating them and eating their food. We put those situations in the show.
In the summer of the show, grave robbers appeared in the show. Famous graves were robbed, before your eyes. Winding-sheets were unwound and things best forgotten were remembered. Sad themes were played by the band, bereft of its mind by the death of its tradition. In the soft evening of the show a troupe of agoutis performed tax evasion atop tall, swaying yellow poles. Before your eyes.
The trapeze artist with whom I had an understanding ... the moment when she failed to catch me ...
Did she really try? I can’t recall her ever failing to catch anyone she was really fond of. Her great muscles are too deft for that. Her great muscles at which we gaze through heavy-lidded eyes ...
We recruited fools for the show. We had spots for a number of fools (and in the big all-fool number that occurs immediately after the second act, some specialties). But fools are hard to find. Usually they don’t like to admit it. We settled for gowks, gulls, mooncalfs. A few babies, boobies, sillies, simps. A barmie was engaged, along with certain dum-dums and beefheads. A noodle. When you see them all wandering around, under the colored lights, gibbering and performing miracles, you are surprised.
Performances flew thick and fast.
We performed the sale of the public library.
We performed Space Monkeys Approve Appropriation.
We did Theological Novelties and we did Cereal Music (with its raisins of beauty) and we did not neglect Piles of Discarded Women Rising from the Sea.
There was faint applause. The audience huddled together. The people counted their sins.
We used The Flight of Pigeons from the Palace.
It is difficult to keep the public interested.
The public demands new wonders piled on new wonders.
Often we don’t know where our next marvel is coming from.
The supply of strange ideas is not endless.
A Flight Of Pigeons Pdf Free Download Windows 7
The development of new wonders is not like the production of canned goods. Some things appear to be wonders in the beginning, but when you become familiar with them, are not wonderful at all. Sometimes a seventy-five-foot highly paid cacodemon will raise only the tiniest frisson. Some of us have even thought of folding the show – closing it down. The thought has been gliding through the hallways and rehearsal rooms of the show.
The new volcano we have just placed under contract seems very promising....
- Donald Barthelme
●●●
This short story appears in Donald Barthelme, Forty Stories
First published in the USA by G. P. Putnam’s Sons 1987
Available from Penguin Modern Classics or from our local bookstore.
●●●
1857 will remain closed through the coldest Oslo months. We will announce the exhibition programme for Spring/Summer 2011 in March. In the meantime we have made this story available for your enjoyment.
I put my father in the show, with his cold eyes. His segment was called My Father Concerned About His Liver.
Back to: Ruskin Bond Short Stories Summary
The story of A Fight of Pigeons begins with the murder of Ruth Labrador’s father before her eyes in a church. The Indian rebels of the Rebellion of 1857 plotted to kill all the Britishers of Shahjahanpur including Ruth’s father.
A Fight of Pigeons Summary
First Port of Help
Ruth’s mother Mariam Labrador, amidst the turmoil, decides to take their family to their friend Lala Ramjimal’s house. Lala Ramjimal provides them with shelter. However, Javed Khan, a commander under the Nawab, learns about Lala’s refugees and drags Ruth and Mariam Labadoor to his home.
The Reluctant House-Guests
The Labrador family is warmly welcomed by the family of Javed Khan. However, Javed is smitten with Ruth’s beauty and wants to marry her even though he already has a wife.
He knows he cannot marry a woman without her family’s permission. So he pleads his case for Ruth’s hand in marriage from her Mariam. Interestingly, Mariam has Muslim roots.
Soon, they have a visitor in Kothiwali, an aunt of Javed. Mariam and Kothiwali kindle a flame of camaraderie and compassion as Mariam shares her grief.
Kothiwali tries to discourage Javed from stoking marital designs with a defenceless and fatherless girl. They are well taken care of. Ruth and her mother Mariam remain in constant fear at Javed Khan’s house.
A Flight Of Pigeons Pdf Free Download Free
Ruth is wise to his designs and tries to postpone and evade the possibility by giving various excuses. She does not want her daughter, a thirteen-year-old girl, to marry Javed.
She demands that she would have to consult her brothers regarding her daughter Ruth’s marriage. That was possible only after the mutiny in Delhi had been concluded.
A Flight Of Pigeons Pdf Free Download Torrent
She proposes a precondition to the marriage. If the British were able to crush the rebellion, there would be no marriage. But if the rebels won then she would agree to let Javed marry Ruth. The future of Delhi should decide the future of this alliance.
A Welcome Refuge
The brother-in-law Sarfraz Khan of Javed’s wife attempts to kill the English ladies but the fearless Mariam and the fear of Allah dissuade him from doing so. Then Javed’s wife visits another sister Qamran’s place and takes Mariam, Ruth and Anet (Ruth’s grandmother) with her.
The English ladies melt their host’s hearts with their plight. They even find noble defenders in Qamran’s family when they are demonized by some implacable neighbour. Soon the rainy season gets over. Javed Khan becomes more restless with each passing day.
His frustration boils over when he brutalizes his half-brother, terrorizes the maid and even kills a pigeon on a hunt. He is psychologically at his seems broken. The ladies return to Javed Khan’s house only to go to Kothiwali’s place after returning from Qamran’s place.
The Escape
Finally, the winter arrives and brings some good news. They hear that the tables were turning and the British were assuming control of the rebellion. By the April 1858, the Nawab of Shahjahanpur is defeated and so is the last stand of the Indian rebels.
Kothiwali decides to escape to a nearby area and takes the English ladies with her. They are able to leave behind Javed as the cart in which Mariam and her family are going veers off in a separate direction away from the clutches of Javed.
That was the last they ever see of him. After a long journey full of ordeals and obstacles, Mariam’s family finally reaches her brother in Bharatpur and is reunited at last. On their way, they are helped by their friends throughout the struggle.
Ruth hopefully muses that Javed Khan must have escaped to Nepal and settled there. Even though he was a ruffian she considers him gallant and handsome. In reality, as the British are able to regain control of the country, Javed Khan is killed in one of the scuffles with the British troops.
Analysis
A Flight of Pigeons is historical fiction which narrates the escapades of Ruth Labadoor and her family, British colonists, set against the background and chaos of the 1857 rebellion.
Ruth’s family is Christian but Muslim roots and Muslim relatives. This relevance gives a tint of political interest due to the current global atmosphere of intolerance and hate.
The main theme of A Flight of Pigeons is the defence of an English family by Hindu and Muslim families from the Indian rebels as they are transported from one house to another. It conveys a message of inter-religious harmony.
Bond is able to portray that love and friendship wins over religious bigotry in the end. Even in desperate and harsh times, there are always a handful of people who are prepared to defend hunted and defenceless.
The suspense and unpredictability of the characters’ lives keep the story gripping. It also highlights how political developments can ruin the personal lives of many individuals.
It depicts a memorable legacy of survival. It adorns two stoic women who are able to brave the hostile odds and survive by using their guts, brains and composure.
Play Quiz
Checkout English Summary's free educational tools and dictionaries.