Pigeons at Daybreak

The story begins with Otima preparing to read a newspaper for Basu as she had always done. Basu is annoyed at his wife's carelessness when she cannot trace her spectacles and finally misplaces the newspaper. They are at the balcony and Otima immediately starts reading the newspaper as Basu listens. She then leaves him at the balcony and goes to the kitchen to accomplish one or two things he had not done (Dasei 222). A postman brings in a letter from their son and Otima reads it loud to his husband after which Basu is served some lunch. Otima then makes his bed and leaves him to have some rest. Later in the afternoon, she brings him tea and Otima keeps on complaining about the hot air in the room (Dasei 225). Otima suggests taking him out to the terraces so that he can breathe cold air.

With the help of Bulu, Basu is taken to the terraces though ne at first resists. As he is led to the last step, he remembers the time that he brought his grandson to show him pigeons several years ago. He keeps mentioning the boy's name Nikhil and moaning as he struggles to breathe. His wife is lying tired on her bed besides his (Dasei 227). At down, Otima massages his chest and goes downstairs to get him some iced water. She finds power is on and comes to get Basu into the house so that he can sleep on his bed. However, he refuses to be moved and laid still on his bed as he looked up with his mouth open. He slowly dies as the pigeon's disappear into the sky (Dasei 228).

Paraphrase: Last Two Paragraphs

The morning had come and the air was full of breeze from river Jumna, behind the city, and had been moved to the rooftops. The air is fresh, pale and delicate thus making the morning light as sweet as the breeze. The fresh air rises higher and higher and dilutes the darkness of the night as it moves higher into the universe. Gradually, the dark shades become pale and light (Dasei 228).

With a whirl and flapping their features, the pigeons moved upward and spread themselves on the universe like small shiny particles in the sky. As they moved higher, they looked like crystals and became smaller as prisms of light and finally disappeared into the deep blue air of the morning (Dasei 228).