BIRD TALK

How a bird try to cope with its.... life of imprisonment..... It is a rational way ...of thinking.....

                            BIRD TALK

 

                          I am a bird in a small cage hanging from the concrete roof of a wealthy family. Curtailing my freedom they put me in the cage. However I thought, I cant make out what sort of amusement they are getting by looking at my prison life. Every morning I am the same bird with same gloom. They think that they have clipped my wings only. But do they know that my instinct to eat the food collected by me beak, to build my own nest, to rear my little ones on the green branch of a tree…are all thwarted.

 

                  I am provided with food long before I am hungry and water, long before I am thirsty. I am alien to hunger and thirst.

                     It seems that most useless thing that I possess is myself. God is cruel. Nothing is as terrible as living a life with a feeling that I am not needed even by myself.

 

                    The old saints of India says, such a state of mind is a prerequisite to attain NIRVANA. They say this state of mind leads one to a feeling of impersonation in the long run. A feeling of being out of one’s body and mind.

                   Yes I do reach such a state often. And, while I am in it, I do not find any difference between the bars of my cage and my body. In that state I forget that I am a captive.

                 

                     Then human beings outside my cage are only in a bigger cage...bigger and wide than mine. Concrete cages, which they call their home. Yet, some people are in cages bigger and harder than that. But the bitter fact is…...they are not aware of it…!!!

          

                       It is a great solace that I am at least aware of my imprisonment. Being in a cage and not being aware of it is pathetically suicidal. There is no possibility of escape even if doors of cage are wide opened.

 

   Thinking like this…..

    Bird sang to itself…..

“Wise are free….

Even inside the cage…..

No matter….

Doors are opened…or closed…..”

Reviews

[Mark]

You may wish to read a quite famous poem by the author Maya Angelou, entitled, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". I'm assuming that you are a native of India, as there are several references to Hindu mythos in your writings. You may wish to befriend Sonashree Basu and Pratibha Roy, two Indian writers among several I have net on this site. Best luck to you, Mark Teague

[Salvatore Buttaci]

I like this because the way you wrote it gave the reader the opportunity to feel what the caged bird feels. Not so easy to do, but you did it!

[Nautili]

After reading this. the idea of attaining inner freedom if one is caged or not, it makes the line "i don't know why the caged bird sings.", more profound to me.

[Samuel Ferris]

im not much of a writer of prose, so im not the best person to review a short story.
However, when i try to write or learn a skill i always study those who do it best and start by absorbing what it is they do best. Dubliners by james joyce id say is a must read. Im in the process of that right now. Im sure there are other great short story writers of whom i have never heard of, that would be essential reading as well. Things i can comment on: i noticed a few grammatical errors, also
stylistically, i think there could be more powerful imagery, and you might want to tinker around with varying sentence structures, not just for the sake of it but to create a mood. Try brainstorming possible scenarios that might elaborate your subject. Could there be other characters, can the bird observe an action, from inside the cage.

I like your idea quite a bit. The idea of selflessness and freedom, self reliance(or an absence of it), utter dependence, and so on. Your first paragraph is my favorite. These are just suggestions to ponder on, and perhaps sharpen up the meaning of the story.