The Sparrows ,10+1 Summary, Character

 

THE SPARROWS By K.A Abbas

Notes prepared by Daya Krishan Pathan

About the author :-

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, best known as K A Abbas, was a prominent director , a film maker and screenwriter in the Indian film industry. He was born on 7 June 1914 in Haryana. He was also a journalist for the Bombay Chronicle and then the Blitz. He wrote some 73 books in the genres of fiction and non-fiction prose in Urdu, English and Hindi. His fiction includes 15 novels and seven short story collections.As a journalist, he has had the privilege to interview renowned personalities like Nikita Khrushchev, Franklin Roosevelt, Charlie Chaplin, Yuri Gagarin etc.

His Short Stories :-

Rice and Other Stories (1947)

Cages of Freedom and Other Stories (1952)

One Thousand Nights on a Bed of Stones and Other Stories (1957)

The Black Sun and Other Stories (1963) etc..

Story of the prose :-

The Sparrows is the most famous story written by K.A Abbas. It was written and  published initially in Urdu  later translated into English. The story was written by K.A Abbas, when he was just 26 years old. The story was included in "West German Anthology." The story revolves around the character of Rahim Khan who was a peasant.

It discusses the importance of displaying our sense of love and affection to our fellow human beings beginning with our family. Sense of love and compassion expressed towards worldly creatures.

This story also depicts the judgmental and indifferent nature of people and how it affects the life of an individual.

Sparrows :-

The story begins with the return of Rahim Khan from his fields with his oxen. He was broad and strong, aged 50 odd years. The readers come to know about the character of Rahim Khan through villagers gossips about him. As he passes the chaupal villagers dare to speak about him. Kullu was the first to throw light on his character. He says - "There goes the hard-hearted devil!" Next speaks Nanha, the sweet seller of the village. He says, "He is getting worse and worse every day." Only yesterday he beat poor Ramoo's child for throwing a pebble at his oxen. Ramnath, the officious zaildar details his recent cruelties - "And the other day he nearly killed my mare for straying into his field." The old grey haired Patel was the last to open his toothless mouth. He says - "I have never seen such a cruel man. He has compassion neither for a child nor for helpless animal." Patel also reveals the fact that his sons have run away from home because of his cruelties.

Rahim Khan lived in a hut, stood gaunt and aloof from the neighboring cluster of houses. When Rahim Khan reached his hut, an old woman enters and informs him that his wife has run away. He guesses that she has gone to her brother at Nurpur. During thirty years of their married life he had always felt that she would leave him one day. Six years ago his eldest son Bundu had run away from home and three years later his youngest son Nuru joined his brother. Since that day Rahim Khan had felt his wife too would run away.

When he was young there had been none in the village to beat him in feats of athletic skill in wrestling, in kabadi and in diving from the canal bridge. He wanted to join a touring circus. He loved Radha, daughter of Ram Charan, the village banya. But his parents had killed both ambitions as circus work was too lowly and immoral for a peasant and marrying Radha, a Hindu was infamous and irreligious. For some time he rebelled but soon he accepted paternal authority and social traditions. After few days the circus left the village and Radha was married to Ram Lal, a middle aged banya of neighboring village. Rahim Khan also married a girl of his father's choice. At that very moment Rahim Khan made a terrible resolve to avenge himself on his parents, his family and on society. He held them responsible for the frustration of his life's dreams. For thirty years he had ill-treated his wife, his children and his bullocks. He also quarreled with everyone in the village and made himself the most hated person.

Rahim Khan sought consolation in the unquestioned authority over his wife. For thirty years his wife had submitted to his persecution. As sleep gather round him, for the first time he had a feeling, not exactly of affection for his wife, but loneliness without her.

When Rahim Khan awoke it was already late afternoon he milked goats for his breakfast which consisted of the remains of the previous day's chapattis soaked in fresh milk. Then he sat down to smoke with hookah beside him. In a corner of his hut he finds cobwebs, having decided to absent himself from his fields, he thought he would tidy his hut. Tying some tags to the end of a long pole, he was about to remove the cobwebs when he saw a nest in the thatched roof. Two sparrows were fluttering in and out, twittering constantly.

His first impulse was to wreck the nest with one stroke of his pole, but something within him made him desist. He climbed up to get a better view of the sparrow's home. He found two young little featherless mites of red-flesh, baby sparrows hardly a day old lay inside. He barely had a glimpse of the inside of the nest when the mother sparrow attacked him.

Next day he resumed his daily work. From morning late in the afternoon he would toil in the field, ploughing the furrow and watering the crops, but he returned home before the sunset. He lied on his cot looking curiously at the antics of the sparrow family. The two little ones had now grown into young birds. He called them 'Nuru' and 'Bundu' after his lost sons whom he had not seen for several years. Now those four sparrows were his only friends in the world.

After return from the field Rahim Khan lit the lamp placed some crumbs of bread for the sparrows. He shouted 'Nuru' and 'Bundu,' but the sparrows did not come out. He found that at the very spot where the nest lay, the roof was leaking. He took a ladder and went out in the pouring rain to repair the damage. By the time the job was done, he was thoroughly drenched. Next morning he woke with a high fever.

The villagers through a crack in the door saw him lying on the cot talking - "O Bundu, O Nuru, who will feed you when I am gone?" They thought that he has gone mad and sent a message to his wife. Next morning when Rahim Khan's wife weeping came with her sons she found that the door was locked from inside, in spite the knocking at the door no one opened it. When they broke their way in they found the large and gaunt Rahim Khan lying in brooding silence of the room, broken only by the fluttering of four sparrows.

The moral of the story we learn that 'true love can elicit true relationship' and 'anything under the sun can be achieved with the support of our family members.'

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‘The Sparrows’ written by K. A. Abbas tells the importance of displaying our sense of love and affection to our fellow human beings beginning with our own family. Through this story, the author can show that anything can be achieved under the sun. All that is needed is a sense of compassion and sincere love expressed towards worldly creatures. Only true love can elicit a true relationship is the message in this story.

Summary

The most hated person in the village.

Rahim Khan was a fifty-year-old peasant. Everybody in the village hated him for his harsh and cruel behavior. He was not kind even to children and animals. No one dared to talk to him. The children would run away from their play if they saw him. But he was a very different man when he was young. His parents squashed his ambitions of joining the circus and marrying a Hindu girl, Radha. He loved Radha and found in her his soul mate but his parents had other plans for him and got him to marry a girl of their choice and community, Radha in turn also married and settled in life.

Reason for Rahim’s brutality

Rahim once heard his father boasting to his mother how well he succeeded in getting his son to accept his words obediently. Rahim Khan then decided to avenge his defeat at the hands of his parents, his family, and society. Having decided to take revenge, his first and immediate target was his wife. He saw her as the scapegoat for all his misadventures. His kind soul suddenly became as hard as iron. For nearly thirty years, he ill-treated his wife, his two sons, and his two bullocks. He quarreled with everyone in the village. Subsequently, the entire village developed a deep-seated hatred for him.

Six years earlier his elder son Bundu ran away from home after an unusually severe beating. Three years later his second son Nuru also joined his brother. One day when he returned home from the fields an old lady from the neighborhood told him that his wife had gone to her brother’s place and that she would be back shortly. Rahim Khan knew that she would never come back. He suddenly began to feel lonely not because he loved his family but because he had no one now to display his anger. Nobody was there to wash his feet; to give him food and other eatables. His wife’s absence made him feel uncomfortable as though a piece of furniture had been removed from his house.

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Brave sparrows

One day, as he was cleaning the roof, spotted a small nest of sparrows in a corner. He initially wanted to exert his might on them but good sense prevailed upon him after a long gap and he left them undisturbed. He pulled a stool and climbed on it to have better look at them. But the parent sparrows would not allow him to breach their privacy they threatened him by hovering around him and fluttering their wings hard at his face. He was amused at the little bird’s heroic efforts to save the young ones. He realized their love and care for the family. Soon the young ones grew well and began to move around inside his house. He started feeding them with breadcrumbs and other grains. He called them Bundu and Nuru after his two sons. There was now a total transformation in his temperament and outlook on life. The villagers too took note of the change in him. But they had their reservations against him. He even stopped shouting at the children.

Rahim, a transformed man

On a day that brought in a heavy downpour, he noticed that the roof had begun to leak near the sparrow’s nest. He immediately climbed his roof to close the gap. He came back fully drenched. He had already started sneezing. He failed to take care at once. He woke up the next day with a high fever. His only companions now were the two sparrows. He was worried as to who would take care of the two birds after he dies. A couple of days passed. There was no sign of Rahim Khan walking out. The villagers grew suspicious. They sent for his wife who arrived with her sons. When they came in, they could see his body lying still and the fluttering of the birds the only sound to be heard.

Symbols

➤ Sparrows are a symbol of vigilance, joy, creativity, wisdom and kindness. Kindness never left Rahim. Sympathy was always present in his heart's corner just like the sparrow's nest. It became visible after contemplation. This can be compared to the cleaning of the house. Just like how the he found the sparrows while he was cleaning the house, he found the kindness hidden in his heart through deep thought and consideration.

Rain-symbolizes purification

➤

House - It is described as gaunt and aloof (empty and unattractive). It symbolizes his loneliness and isolation from society.

➤ Crack in the door It symbolizes the crack between personal and private life, through which any passer- by can peak through and make a judgment. The villagers peek through the crack in the door and decide that Rahim has gone mad without even attempting to go inside and find out what the reality is. If they had done so, they could have even prevented his death. It shows how judgmental and indifferent people can be.

Conclusion

‘The Sparrows’ is a wonderful story where nature teaches man to behave himself. What human beings could not demonstrate nature’s tiny creation a happy sparrow-couple could effortlessly achieve this story is remarkable not just for its narration but also for its characterization of the infrahuman, yet ultra-humane sparrows. This is a very moving story of the sorrow and disappointment of a supposedly hard-hearted man. His transformation from utter cruelty to one of endearing love and compassion forms the lifeline of the narrative. 

Characters

1. Rahim Khan: The main character who becomes cruel because of his parent’s deeds.He wanted to marry Radha.She was a Hindu banya girl.Rahim Khan 's father refused him to marry with  a Hindu girl.Rahim Khan was a fifty-year-old peasant. Everybody in the village hated him for his harsh and cruel behavior. He was not kind even to children and animals. No one dared to talk to him. The children would run away from their play if they saw him. But he was a very different man when he was young. His parents squashed his ambitions of joining the circus and marrying a Hindu girl, Radha. He loved Radha and found in her his soul mate but his parents had other plans for him and got him to marry a girl of their choice and community, Radha in turn also married and settled in life.
2. Radha: Rahim Khan’s long-lost love.She was a Hindu banya girl.Her father was Ram Charan .Rahim Khan wanted to marry her.But Ram Lal a neighborhood banya married to Radha.
3. Rahim’s wife: Victim of Rahim Khan’s cruelty.She also leaved Rahim Khan because of his cruelty.Rahim's wife does not have a name. This signifies her place in Rahim's heart. Who she is as an individual does not matter to him. She is just an unpaid servant who takes care of him. It is also symbolizes the plight of Indian wives.
4. Bundu: Rahim’s elder son. He leaved Rahim Khan 6 years ago.
5. Nuru: Rahim’s younger son.He leaved Rahim Khan 3 years ago.
6. Ram Lal marry Radha .A Hindu banya.
7. Ramnath: village zaildar.Ramnath mean lord Ram. Ram is supposed to be righteous and truthful. But the zaildar is someone who spreads rumours and half truths
8. Kallu :-  a villager
9. Patel:- teethless villager.
10. Nanha :- sweet seller ,Nanha means small. But this name is attributed to a fat sweet seller.
11. Family name, honour, caste etc plays an important role in Indian society. These systems decide the future of people in our country. It is considered disgraceful to choose one's happiness over protecting one's honour, caste or family name.
12. Introduction -- The Sparrows’ written by K. A. Abbas tells the importance of displaying our sense of love and affection to our fellow human beings beginning with our own family. Through this story, the author can show that anything can be achieved under the sun. All that is needed is a sense of compassion and sincere love expressed towards worldly creatures. Only true love can elicit a true relationship is the message in this story..