Author: Ruskin Bond
Publisher: Penguin/Viking
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 135
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0670049271
Description
Based on true events and filmed as Junoon, this narrative is a haunting story, rich in detail and drama and told with Ruskin Bond's trademark simplicity and deep humanity.
Set in Shahjahanpur during the revolt of 1857, A Flight of Pigeons is Ruskin Bond's classic novella about the twists of fate, history and the human heart.
When Ruth Labadoor's father, a clerk in the British Magistrate's office , skilled in an attack by sepoys, her family took refuge with their trusted companion, Lala Ramjimal. From here they eventually hope to escape to their relatives in Bareilly. But their plans go awry when Javed Khan, a fiery Pathan opposed to the British, abducts Ruth and her mother and takes them this haveli.
To their surprise, it is not hate that impels him in this time of war, but an almost crippling passion for Ruth. It will be months before the fall of Delhi to British troops brings them freedom - from fear and bafflement, and from despair, not only their own but also Javed Khan's.
Contents
Introduction
Prologue
At the Church
Lala Ramjimal
In Lala's House
A Change of Name
Another Nawab
Caught!
Javed Khan
Guests of the Pathan
Piloo's Fate
Further Alarms
Another Proposal
On Snow
The Rains
White Pigeons
The Impatience of Javed Khan
A Visit from Kothiwali
The Fall of Delhi
Behind the Curtain
The Battle3 of Bichpuri
In Flight Again
The Final Journey
Notes