01. CE 101 - The Parrot in the Cage by Mulk Raj Anand
Channel: Ishan Marvel
Date: 2020-09-22

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTSoWRKkWJTZHH9sr7bmr37Wd16TTbRbr
From LIFE UNFOLDED

Mulk Raj Anand (1905-2004)
Born in Peshawar. A pioneer of Indian English fiction, and a Sahitya Akademi Award recipient, particularly known for his novel Untouchable. His writings often depicted the oppression and plight of the poor and the disadvantaged.

The Parrot in the Cage
CONTEXT: India-Pakistan Partition. Our country's independence came at the heavy price of the Partition, with all the violence, riots, displacements and sorrow it brought on both sides of the arbitrarily created border -- the last gift of our colonial rulers.
Lakhs of people had to leave everything behind and migrate to the other side of the border due to their religion. Rukmani is an old woman who had to flee from her home in Kucha Chabuk Swaran, Lahore with nothing but her parrot in a cage. 
The story opens with her sitting by the road outside Amritsar court, waiting for the DC, in the hope that he will help her. However, towards the end of the story we learn that she is not alone and there is an entire crowd of victims like her, all waiting like her.

CHARACTERS: Rukmani, parrot, gram-stall keeper, 'Dipty Collator', crowd, police, etc.

THEME: The story brings out the pain and suffering of innocent Partition victims, brought down upon them by arbitrary rulers and systems for no fault of theirs. It further shows the callous attitude of the authorities to such mass suffering. And in the end, it highlights the pointlessness of it all, through the persistent and repetitive questions of the parrot like 'Where are you' and 'What are you doing?'