The Parrot in the Cage: Lekhnath Paudyal

 

7. Poem: The Parrot in the Cage by Lekhnath Paudyal

About the poet

Lekhnath Poudyal

         Kavi Siromani Lekhanath Poudyal was born in 1941 B. S. in Kaski, Nepal. He was inspired by the writings of Motiram Bhatta and Balmiki. Lekhnath Poudyal contributed immensely to the Nepali Language and Literature. His poems describe the touch of Nepal and its nature with simplicity. Lekhnath Poudyal was honored with the title "Siro Mani" for his literary works by the Government. He was a member of 'Rajkiya Pragya Prathisthan' and was honored with 'Tribhuwan Puraskar,' a special award given for literary works. Most of his poems express patriotic and revolutionary feelings for the sake of Nepali culture and society. Siromani Lekhnath Poudyal left the world in 2022 B. S. after giving a new shape to the Nepali Language and Literature.

Theme of the Poem

"Pinjra Ko Suga" is his unforgettable poem that expresses the cruelty of the Rana rulers against the Nepali people. The poem symbolizes that the Nepali people are like parrots inside a cage, and Rana is the jailer. He was jailed for the poem, and the poem was used as a song by political heroes in jail. The theme of the poem is freedom, justice, happiness, and serenity (peace/peace of mind). The poem is a bitter satire on the then Rana regime that deprived the Nepalese people of freedom. The speaker has carefully painted the conditions that surround the parrot’s life. The speaker is disappointed by the harsh reality of man’s life. Away from his family, home, kin, friends, and natural freedom, man has forced the parrot to live a tragic life. Similar is the condition of human life in Nepal during that period. Being a worshiper of nature, Poudel expresses his deep affinity (affection) to the natural world that provides him with a childhood appetite, which he wants in his later life. Having been compelled to live away from his family, home, and friends, Poudel pines for it and expresses nostalgia towards them. Finally, through the medium of the parrot, the voices of political, social, religious, spiritual, and habitual lifestyles and situations of human beings are exhumed in the poem. The poem advocates the human instinct to live a free and struggling life away from the crowd.

Summary of the poem

The poem starts with a very strange metaphor – the parrot is compared to a twice-born child. The parrot used to have a free and wandering life in the forest, which was its first life. Now, the parrot is trapped inside the cage and is forced to live the life of a prisoner. Even though we normally associate ‘birth’ as a new positive beginning for the parrot, his second birth is nothing but a curse. Similarly, a twice-born child could signify dual life as well, one that of the parrot and the other of the poet himself. The parrot is trapped inside the cage, and even in its dream, it finds no respite (relief/break/A (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort). It thinks about its parents and relatives living in a forest. It has no one around to share its agonies. With a lump (large piece of something without a definite shape) in its sore (hurting) throat, sometimes it cries, and sometimes it jumps into madness.

It recalls how it used to fly and wander around the forest, eating wild fruits. But now fate has tricked it into the cage. There’s no more cool water, no more cool shades, and no more delicious fruits. They are like dreams, and the only thing that remains is fear. Throughout the poem, Fate is repeated constantly. The parrot blames fate for somehow tricking it into the cage. Fate has been portrayed as “beguiling”, “oppressor,” and “strange”. The parrot is constantly grumbling (A complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone) about its fate and thinks its natural gift of speaking is the reason for its captivity. Its parents must be missing it; they must be waiting and bewailing (strongly/lamenting), but Fate has separated them. Instead, it sees enemies all around, even when it is inside the cage. It has tried to break the cage open and fly away,  but its beak is now blunt (not sharp), wings and feet are cramped (painful and involuntary muscular contraction/बाउडीनु) , and it feels a sense of defeat. All it can do is play along to the whims (A sudden desire) of its master and prattle (Speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly. Shocked and puzzled, it even thinks of ending its life as well.

Even when its throat is dry, it must prate, it must chatter. If it doesn't, its masters threaten it by brandishing (waving) a cane. It has to chatter on. Such is the parrot’s life. It is forced to respond to callers. It is forced to speak even when it doesn't want to, even when it can’t. In the forest, it loved talking, but here talking is all but a cruel pleasure. It then curses God for giving it the power of speech and reasoning. Those are the reasons for his parents' grief and for his captivity (The state of being imprisoned). But it still prays to the god and asks for mercy. In the end, the parrot tells how the world is hostile to fair virtues and how there is exploitation of one’s talent. And it prays to God not to let anyone have the life of a parrot.

Understanding

1.      Who is the speaker in The Parrot in the Cage? Why does he call himself "a twice-born child?

The speaker of the poem is a caged bird, a parrot who laments much, recalling his happy life in the jungle. He calls himself a twice-born child. He may mean that at first, he was born in the jungle, but now he is passing his days inside the cage. His eyes have been swollen due to continuous weeping. As he was in the jungle, he would wander happily and eat jungle fruits. So, while staying in a cage, he thinks that he is a twice-born child.

2.      What is the present plight of the speakers in ‘The Parrot in the Cage’?

The speaker's present plight is to stay in the cage from which he laments remembering his past happy life. At present, there is no one to hear his pain and suffering. His life is now dead in life. His eyes are swollen due to continuous weeping. His enemies are human beings who put him in a cage. The speaker utters the phrase 'virtues fair' to indicate human irrational behavior and mannerisms. Virtue's fairness is related to fairness, justice, kindness, and sympathy, but we human beings attack other virtues and try to shape other creatures in our own image. Such practice of human beings gives undue suffering and pain to lower creatures like a parrot.

The poet, through his speaker, parrot, shows our selfish and self-centered nature. Because of humans' one-sided nature, many creatures are suffering. As a matter of fun and joy, people keep many wild animals and birds in zoos and exploit the innocent creatures' feelings. Such practices of human beings steal their natural right.

3.      Explain, "Fate changes her course perverse today ". What is the implicit contrast between "yesterday" and "today"?

Now (presently), the parrot is trapped inside the cage and is forced to live like a prisoner. The parrot recalls how he used to fly and wander around the jungle, eating fruits. But now, he is in the cage. He is deprived of cool water, shade, and delicious fruits. The parrot is constantly grumbling (A complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone) about its fate and thinks its natural gift of speaking is the reason for its captivity.

4.      "Excruciating, must I end my lease?" suggest? Does it mean that the world, like the cage, does not belong to the human soul or to the bird that lives for the moment, and the caged creature that is bound to live a very painful life before it may finally meet its end?

The line "Excruciating must I end my lease" suggests that the world, like the cage, does not belong to the human soul or to the bird that lives in the cage for the moment, and the caged creature that it is bound to live a very painful life before it may finally meet its end. Truly, caged creatures feel happier living in a natural environment. As they were in a cage, they had to be there till they died. Their only freedom from the cage is death. It is the great atrocity and cruelty of human beings upon the caged birds. The parrot made several attempts to free itself from the cage, but while doing so, it got injured and hurt. He is in a cage and has to speak and sing, although his throat is dry. Till he does, he has to stay inside the cage. The cage has given him tremendous pain and suffering. Due to human beings' cruelty, his dreams are destroyed.

5.       In The Parrot in the Cage, how does the speaker move between concepts of freedom and bondage?

In this poem, the speaker moves between concepts of freedom and bondage. To free himself from his bondage, a parrot struggles to get freedom. But his efforts to escape from the cage go in vain and become a meaningless struggle. For the sake of his freedom from the cage, he made great effort and endeavor. While doing so, his beak is injured, and his wings and legs are in much pain. As he could not gain his freedom, he also prayed to the gods.

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