A Flight of Pigeons

Last updated
A Flight of Pigeons
A Flight of Pigeons (Ruskin Bond novel - cover art).jpg
Author Ruskin Bond
Original titleahilan
Language English
Genre Novella
Published1978
Publication placeIndia
Media typePrint
Pages144 pp (hardcover)
ISBN 0-670-04927-1 (Penguin edition, hardcover)

A Flight of Pigeons is a novella by Indian author Ruskin Bond. The story is set in 1857, [1] and is about Ruth Labadoor and her family (who are British) who take help of Hindus and Muslims to reach their relatives when the family's patriarch is killed in a church by the Indian rebels. The novella is an adaptation of the novel Mariam: A Story of the Indian Mutiny (1896) by J. F. Fanthome [2] and is a mix of fiction and non fiction and was adapted into a film in 1978 called Junoon [3] by Shyam Benegal, starring Shashi Kapoor, his wife Jennifer Kendal, and Nafisa Ali. [4] [5]

Contents

Summary

The novel starts with the death of the father of Ruth Labadoor in front of her eyes in a church. This murder is committed by the Indian rebellion of 1857 and who have decided to kill all the Britishers of the small town of Shahjahanpur. It is then that Mariam Labadoor, who is the mother of the narrator, Ruth, comes into action. She takes their entire family of six to their trusted friend Lala Ramjimal who keeps them at his home and gives them security and shelter. The Pathan leader Javed Khan learns that there are some foreigners living in Lala Ramjimal's home and he enters his house unannounced and forcefully takes Ruth and Mariam Labadoor to his home. The rest of the book examines the various incidents experienced by the Labadoor family, who are warmly welcomed by family members of Javed Khan. Javed Khan himself is a cunning man and he pleads Mariam to marry Ruth. Mariam opposes the proposition many times as she does not want Ruth to marry Javed Khan. She keeps the condition that if the British are able to defeat the Indian rebels, then Javed Khan will not marry her daughter. But if they are defeated by the rebels, then she would give her daughter to him. The British are able to take the hold of the country and Javed Khan escapes the country and is not heard of. With much help and support, the Labadoor family finally reach their relatives.

Main characters

Ruth Labadoor

She is the narrator of the novel and witnesses the killing of her father. [6] With the help of her mother, friends and others, she and her family finally make it to their relatives.

Lala Ramjimal

He is the most trusted friend of the Labadoor family and he gives shelter to the family before Javed Khan forcefully takes them out.

Javed Khan

He is a courageous Pathan. He loses focus on his commitment when he sees Ruth Labadoor and falls in love with her. Despite many attempts, he is not able to please Mariam Labadoor to let him marry her daughter. He later flees the country and is not heard of.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shabana Azmi</span> Indian actress (born 1950)

Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi film industry has spanned over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist parallel cinema, though her work extended to mainstream films as well as a number of international projects. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several genres. She has won a record of five National Film Awards for Best Actress, in addition to six Filmfare Awards and several international accolades. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Padma Bhushan in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Rebellion of 1857</span> Uprising against British Company rule

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the company's army in the garrison town of Meerut, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a military threat to British power in that region, and was contained only with the rebels' defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities to have formally ended until 8 July 1859.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shyam Benegal</span> Indian director and screenwriter

Shyam Benegal is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received several accolades, including eighteen National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and a Nandi Award. In 2005, he was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema. In 1976, he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour of the country, and in 1991, he was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour for his contributions in the field of arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruskin Bond</span> Indian novelist and short story writer (born 1934)

Ruskin Bond is an Indian author. His first novel, The Room on the Roof, published in 1956, received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books for children. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Kendal</span> English actress (1934–1984)

Jennifer Kendal Kapoor was an English actress and the founder of the Prithvi Theatre. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981). Her other film appearances included Bombay Talkie (1970), Junoon (1978), Heat and Dust (1983), and Ghare Baire (1984).

<i>Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero</i> 2004 Indian film

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero is a 2004 Indian epic biographical war film, written and directed by Shyam Benegal. The film starred an ensemble cast of Sachin Khedekar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rajit Kapur, Arif Zakaria, and Divya Dutta, among others. The film depicts the life of the Indian Independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose in Nazi Germany: 1941–1943, and in Japanese-occupied Asia 1943–1945, and the events leading to the formation of Azad Hind Fauj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhopal State</span> Islamic principality in India (1708–1949)

Bhopal State was founded by Maharaja of Parmar Rajputs. In the beginning of 18th-century, Bhopal State was converted into an Islamic principality, in the invasion of the Afghan Mughal noble Dost Muhammad Khan. It was a tributary state within the Maratha Confederacy during 18th century (1737-1818), a princely salute state with 19-gun salute in a subsidiary alliance with British India from 1818 to 1947, and an independent state from 1947 to 1949. Islamnagar was founded and served as the State's first capital, which was later shifted to the city of Bhopal.

Shama Zaidi is an Indian screenplay writer, costume designer, art director, theatre person, art critic, and documentary film maker. She is married to director M. S. Sathyu. Shama Zaidi Was Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at ICA - International Cultural Artifact Film Festival in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malihabad</span> Town in Uttar Pradesh, India

Malihabad is a town and nagar panchayat in the Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the seat of a tehsil and a community development block of the same name. As of 2011, its population was 17,818, in 3,032 households. Malihabad is the largest of Uttar Pradesh's 14 designated mango belts and accounted for 12.5% of all mango production in the state in 2013. Hundreds of mango varieties are grown here, including the Chausa, Langda, Safeda, and most famously the Dasheri, the "king of mangoes" of which it is one of India's main producers and exporters. Mango grower and Padma Shri recipient Haji Kaleem Ullah Khan has contributed to the popularization of Malihabad's mango industry.

<i>Raja Babu</i> (film) 1994 Indian Hindi language film by David Dhawan

Raja Babu is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language melodrama comedy film directed by David Dhawan. It stars Govinda, Karisma Kapoor, Shakti Kapoor, Kadar Khan, Aruna Irani, Prem Chopra and Gulshan Grover, with music by Anand–Milind and lyrics by Sameer. The film was inspired from the 1992 Tamil film Rasukutty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sushma Seth</span> Indian actress

Sushma Seth is an Indian stage, film and television actress. She started her career in the 1950s, and was a founder member of the Delhi-based theatre group Yatrik. Her first film was Junoon in 1978. She is known for playing a mother and grandmother role in movies and on television, and notable for her role as Dadi in the pioneering TV soap Hum Log (1984–1985). She received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Ameena Bai in B. R. Chopra's drama Tawaif (1985). She has worked with famous directors like Dev Raj Ankur, Ram Gopal Bajaj, Manish Joshi Bismil and Chander Shekhar Sharma.

<i>Junoon</i> (1978 film) 1979 Indian film

Junoon is a 1979 Indian Hindi language film produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal. The film is based on Ruskin Bond's fictional novella, A Flight of Pigeons, set around the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The film's soundtrack was composed by Vanraj Bhatia, and cinematography by Govind Nihalani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karim Lala</span> Indian mobster (1911–2002)

Karim Lala, born as Abdul Karim Sher Khan in the Samalam Village of the Shegal District of the Kunar province of Afghanistan. The other two being Mastan Mirza aka Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar.

Buniyaad (transl. Foundation) is an Indian television soap opera directed by Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti Sarup. The series was written by Manohar Shyam Joshi and dealt with the Partition of India in 1947 and its aftermath. It first aired in 1986 on the Indian state television channel DD National. It was re-aired on DD Metro, DD Retro and Sahara One.The story spans the life in India between 1916 and 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salim Khan family</span> Indian film family

The Salim Khan family refers to the family of Salim Khan which is a prominent Indian show business family, and is one of the prominent Bollywood film clans. Multiple members of the family have been actors, screenwriters, film directors and producers in the Hindi film industry of India. Salim, one half of the duo Salim–Javed, is one of the most famous screenwriters in the history of Indian cinema. His son, actor Salman Khan, has been the prominent face of the family since the 1990s, as one of the biggest Bollywood movie stars in history of Indian cinema.

Barabasti or BarahBasti initially had a group of 12 villages but later it exceeds and now they are more than 12 lying in Bulandshahr district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. These villages are located adjacent to each other within an area of seven square miles, and noted for a high population of Pathans, in addition to other Muslims and Hindus.

<i>Ishq Junoon Deewangi</i> 2009 Pakistani television series

Ishq Junoon Dewangi is a Pakistani drama serial that aired on Hum TV in 2009. It was written and produced by Momina Duraid while directed by Babar Javed. The serial tells the story of a couple, when a director husband falls for the fictional character, written by his writer wife.

<i>Seeta Aur Geeta</i> (TV series) 2009 Indian TV series or programme

Seeta Aur Geeta is an Indian television drama series that aired on NDTV Imagine. It was adapted from the Bollywood film of the same name (1972), written by Salim–Javed. The series was produced by Sunil Bohra and directed by Maqbool Khan. It aired on NDTV Imagine from 25 May 2009 to 25 September 2009.

Pathans in India or simply known as Pathans are citizens or residents of India who are of ethnic Pashtun ancestry. "Pathan" is the local Hindavi term for an individual who belongs to the Pashtun ethnic group, or descends from it. The term additionally finds mention among Western sources, mainly in the colonial-era literature of British India. Historically, the term "Afghan" was also synonymous with the Pathans. The Pathans originate from the Eastern Afghanistan and Northwestern Pakistan regions, ethnolinguistically known as Pashtunistan.

Eliza Fanthome was a British woman best known for surviving the Indian Rebellion of 1857 as a girl.

References

  1. "A flight of pigeons: Ruskin Bond - The Statesman". The Statesman. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  2. "Saga of the Fanthomes". The Hindu. 2013-04-07. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  3. "Penguin Books India" . Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  4. Sen, Raja (25 August 2005). "Revisiting 1857: Benegal's Junoon". Rediff.com . Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  5. Lokapally, Vijay (10 July 2014). "Blast from the Past: Junoon (1978)". The Hindu . Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  6. "MUST READ: Flight of Pigeons". Hindustan Times. 2006-05-27. Retrieved 2017-12-05.