Born as Anita Mazumdar on June 24, 1937 in Mussoorie Her mother was German and her father was

Bengali

Spoke German at home and Hindi to friends and

neighbors She first learned English when she went to school. It was the language in which she first learned to read and write,

and so it became her literary language

Completed her schooling from Queen Mary's Higher

Secondary School in Delhi and graduated in English literature from the University of Delhi (Miranda House). Received a BA in English Literature and graduated with honors from the University of Delhi. Started publishing her work shortly after her marriage to Ashrin Desai on December 13, 1958.

She is part of a new literary tradition of Indian writing in English which dates back only to the '30s or '40s new style of writing is also different from that of many Indian writers, as it is much less conservative than Indian

literature has been in the past.

focuses on personal struggles and problems of

contemporary life that her Indian characters must cope with.

portrays the cultural and social changes that India has undergone

focuses on the incredible power of family and society and

the relationships between family members, paying close attention to the trials of women suppressed by Indian society. She has received numerous awards, including the 1978

National Academy of Letters Award for Fire on the Mountain,

the first of her novels to be brought to the United States.

In 1983 she was awarded the Guardian Prize for

Children's Fiction for The Village by the Sea, an adventurous fairy tale about a young boy living in a small fishing village in

India

She was awarded the Literary Lion Award in 1993, and

has also been named Helen Cam Visiting fellow, Ashby fellow, and honorary fellow of the University of Cambridge.

Pigeons at Daybreak by Anita Desai

Synopsis
Mr. Basu is the man who is unable to perform his task on his own because of the different illnesses that developed into his body . Otima , the wife of Mr. Basu has the selfless love towards him . She takes care of her husband despite of all the problems and complications that emerged in their situation .

Otima used to read the news for Mr. Basu because Mr. Basu could not able to read the news due to poor eyesight. Otima produced deeper patience and love for her husband. From the time when their house had no electricity due to electric problems , the two went to the terrace and decided to stay there until the electricity comes back.

When Mr. Basu was lying on the terrace, he reveals his love toward his grandson. But when the electricity went back , Mr. Basu refused to go back inside the house for it was the time of preparation of leaving . Mr.Basu accepted the fact that his life will soon vanish and become part of heaven . The pigeons at daybreak mark the end of his life and symbolize his spirit and his journey in the next life.

Theme: Loyalty

Mr. Basu that has been suffering from the ailment of asthma for so long. His wife, Otima Basu has to take care her husband who is so selfish instead of her housework chores.

Example of her loyalty: She tends him well and when her husbands breathing problem increase, she carries him to the roof-top. She help his husband to read the newspaper since he has poor eyesight. In fact, Otima knows the psychology of her husband well, even the slightest occasion enhances her husbands problems to the extent that Otima find it extremely difficult to deal with these weak moment of her husband. She knew how rapidly he would advance from imagined breathlessness into the first frightening stage of a full-blown attack of asthma (P.223)

Plot Summary

Exposition

Mr. Basu has been suffering for a number of years with a multitude of physical and emotional problems that often plague the asthma, depression, and failing eyesight. His wife, Otima, is the loving, understanding, but totally exhausted caregiver.

Rising Action

As the story proceeds, Otima reads aloud from the newspaper that there will be a planned power outage that night. Basu responds with an asthmatic attack, fearing the hot night to come with no electric fan to move the air.

Climax

Otima decides they will sleep outside, up on the terrace. Basu is no more comfortable on the roof and the night is spent in agony. At one point, he remembers bringing his grandson up to see the collectors pigeons on the neighbor's rooftops . This memory fills him with emotion. Remembering the sense of wonder that the boy had is a wonderful feeling but Basu is also saddened by the passage of time.

Falling Action

Still unable to sleep, his discomfort too much, Basu says his grandson's name over and over to himself, like a prayer or mantra. At daybreak, Otima goes downstairs to get Basu some iced water and discovers the electricity is back on. She runs back up to the terrace to help him down so he can sleep in his own bed for a while. He refuses saying it is cooler up there now and tells her to leave him alone

Resolution
The story ends with him laying "flat and still, gazing up, his mouth hanging open" and the pigeons hurtling upwards against the "dome of the sky, opalescent, sunlit, like small pearls". They turn into crystals, then prisms of light, then disappear into "the soft, deep blue of the morning."

Point of View
3rd person omniscient /mnsnt/ It allows for exploration of internal monologues, thoughts and feelings of every character rather than simply the character who narrates it. Eg:Mr Basu

Characters & Characteristics

Mr. Basu A simpering pg 321 Spoiled pg 224 A member of the upper class, has a loving wife, family, and an education yet refuses to work because he is too "sensitive" and work prevents him from "thinking his own thoughts." Egoism He notes that women are "usually kind to him" and revels in his mothers, sister-in-laws , and wifes devotion. Otima Basu Become Mr. Basus wife through arranged marriage. Loyal and sincere. pg 221 Take a good care of her husband. Never holds grudge towards her husband even though she feels irritated with his attitude sometimes.

Bulu
- One of the Basus' next door neighbor - Described as "burly", "good-natured pg 226 - Uneducated and "half-witted". pg 226 - He is Mr. Basu's diametric opposite and used in the story as a contrast against Mr. Basu.

Setting

The story is set during the height of the oppressive summer and in Darya Ganj (in Delhi), near the Jumna River; more specifically, it centers around the Basus' house and terrace.

Historic map of Shahjahanabad (now called Old Delhi), 1863, showing Daryaganj

Place setting
Mr. Basu's bedroom Is his place of comfort with its ceiling fan and comfortable bed. It brings him security and protection from outside noises and hostilities. The terrace Is in acute contrast with his bedroom's comfort, as not only is it exposed to the hot summer air, it also lacks any fans with only a string bed "that the strings cut into him, that he could not turn on that wobbling net in which he was caught like some dying fish."

This represents a sort of selfimprisonment, as he is cut off from the outside world and unintentionally sacrifices his freedom for comfort.

This sort of "freedom" is firstly taken resentfully by Basu, who constantly complains about his discomforts from his surroundings. However, he later prefers the terrace to the bedroom because of the scenery and the coolness of the morning air.
All of those link back to the author's main theme; sense of protection against that of vulnerability and self imprisonment against that of freedom.

Literary Theory

Feminist Criticism -Mrs Basu still carry on with her duty as a wife to Mr Basu and loyal to him. (Pg 221, 2nd prgph) - Mrs Basu does all the chores (pg 220, 2nd prgph) - Shows that in the story theres no individualism for Mrs. Basu.

Cultural Criticism - As an Indian women, Mrs. Basu wrap herself with a sari - Devoted to her husband by serving him (pg 220, 223, 227;2,3) - In India, some people sleep at the terrace because its more windy and cooler there
Historical Criticism - The authors life history influence the story- As an Indian, her stories are influenced by her lifestyle

Birds are a symbol for the state of Mr. Basu. The two types of birds used by the author are the caged parrot and the pigeons.

The caged parrot

The caged parrot (pg 222) represents the state of Basu when he is in his living room, drawing attention to his ungrateful attitude towards what he has. It is also significant that the parrot is caged, giving a visual metaphor for his captivity

The Pigeons
The pigeons represent Basu's desire for happiness and freedom. Whenever pigeons are mentioned the tone is always that of tranquility; Furthermore, pigeons are linked to Basu's cherished memories such as taking his daughter's son, Nikhil to see the pigeons. They are linked, in essence, to Basu's self.

Birds are a symbol for the state of Mr. Basu.

Caged Parrot The Pigeons
Represents the state of Basu when he Represent Basu's desire for is in his living room, drawing attention to happiness and freedom. his ungrateful attitude towards what he has, just as the parrot refused when Mr. Basu's offered chilies.

It is significant in that the Basu offered Whenever pigeons are mentioned the chilies, showing that Basu had the the tone is always that of actual ability to enjoy them, but didn't do tranquility. so he was in effect refusing himself his own fortunes. It is also significant that the parrot is caged, giving a visual metaphor for his captivity. Pigeons are linked to Basu's cherished memories such as taking his daughter's son, Nikhil to see the pigeons. They are linked, in essence, to Basu's self.

The Lights

Setting

The story is set during the height of the oppressive summer and in Darya Ganj (in Delhi), near the Jumna River; more specifically, it centers around the Basus' house and terrace.

Place setting
Mr. Basu's bedroom Is his place of comfort with its ceiling fan and comfortable bed. It brings him security and protection from outside noises and hostilities. The terrace Is in acute contrast with his bedroom's comfort, as not only is it exposed to the hot summer air, it also lacks any fans with only a string bed "that the strings cut into him, that he could not turn on that wobbling net in which he was caught like some dying fish."

This represents a sort of selfimprisonment, as he is cut off from the outside world and unintentionally sacrifices his freedom for comfort.

This sort of "freedom" is firstly taken resentfully by Basu, who constantly complains about his discomforts from his surroundings. However, he later prefers the terrace to the bedroom because of the scenery and the coolness of the morning air.
All of those link back to the author's main theme; sense of protection against that of vulnerability and self imprisonment against that of freedom.

Moral Values
Should always have good relationship with neighbours Love and caring towards others Learn to appreciate people for their deeds Never hold grudge

QUESTIONS-GIVEN TIME !!!!

1. What is the global issue mostly arised in the Pigeons At Daybreak? 2. In your opinion, how is the relationship going between Nikhil (Mr Basus grandson) ? Give your evidence based on the text. 3. What is the tone used by the author in the story?

Answer for no.1

Pigeons at Daybreak, by Anita Desai, is a global narrative which describes a lot about India. It has much assumed and new information about India, while a lot of its information relates to the reader. It is assumed that the reader is aware of the hot weather in India. The fan is so important to the story because without it, the hot weather will not allow him to sleep. Some readers may question how did Basu sleep on the roof? And it is assumed that one is aware that in India, all of the houses have flat roofs, with stairs leading to the top. It is also assumed that the reader is aware of the symptoms of asthma, and that it becomes worse in hot weather. One should also be aware that in India the power goes out a lot, which is the reason why Basus condition is so bad that he is near death. The author relates the situation to the reader because when most people come to old age, they have more troubles, and even the slightest change, may be life changing. In Basus case the regular outage power was a large change, and with every day the power went out, part of his life was shortened.

Answer for no.2

The relationship between them very well. This can be prove when Mrs.Basu opens the door thus directly make her husband rewind sweet events between him and Nikhil. In page 226, Mr.Basu always thinking about Nikhil and wonders when he would see Nikhil again. This prove that Mr.Basu really miss his grandson. Furthermore, he felt more comfort when spending time with his lovely grandson.

Answer for no.3

The tone of the narrator is largely neutral, in that the narrator does not give direct commentary via choice of descriptive words. The tone of the piece in general is developed via tone of the characters and their interaction. The tone of Mr. Basu changes as he develops from tense to relieved. Otima's tone is steadfastly one of sighing longsuffering and resignation to her role as Basu's caretaker

References
http://deni4s.blogspot.com/2009/12/them e-analysis-in-anita-desai-pigeons.html http://janexuzoo.blogspot.com/2010/11/pi geons-at-daybreak.html http://www.scribd.com/magic63/d/370488 73/10-Pigeons-at-Daybreak http://www.scribd.com/doc/50862207/Hill s-Like-White-Elephants http://enga1s1012.wikispaces.com/Pigeo ns+at+Daybreak