A half-day Parole

The sight of endless sky, without the obstruction of the cage grill , confused them. Their white feathers had turned yellowish and they had almost forgotten the art of flying. But the kids were eager to see the doves take off into the enormity of the sky….!!! Most of them had this dream about touching the horizon, and they wanted to see the birds crossing that  limit and disappearing in to the endless white of the outer space. it took a while for the birds to come to terms with the sudden realization of the freedom.The moment they were released from the hands of the minister , they flapped their wings  vigorously trying to to stay afloat . Unable to do so, most of them had to  land  on the ground . The press photographer  was more worried about missing an opportunity to get the cliche shot of the white dove spreading the wings and flying away from the dark hands of the politician. Head-master of the school understood the irony of the situation and cursed the pet shop guy Faizal  for not training them for the big occasion . The minister's smiling face almost went blank realizing that the inspiring speech he just delivered would lose the punch  if these birds failed to demonstrate the "flight to future". Suddenly the sound of firecrackers  going-off, reminded them of the metallic reverb of gun shots - the memory which had been passed down to them through generations. They all took-off in a flash… And the kids started clapping and screaming. The head-master breathed a sigh of relief. The minister left in a hurry as he had similar functions to attend across the state . Hence learning some bad lessons about freedom and hope, students returned home with a small tricolor pinned to their uniforms. 

It was almost sunset by the time Abdul reached the shop. The sky was full of dark clouds, and it had started drizzling. Kaushal the shop owner was furious. The lanky Abdul parked his two wheeler and started unloading the iron cage. He looked very tensed. From the weather beaten face it was evident that he had  worked hard the whole day without any food. He opened the iron cage and started transferring the doves in to the main rack, counting out loud. To their surprise , he ended up with one extra!!! Much relieved he gave a sheepish grin , to which Kaushal didn't react.

Staring in to the darkness, in the damp and cramped interior of the cage,the doves pushed against each other unable to spread their wet, clipped wings.

Cooing about the glimpses of true blue they would wait impatiently for the next year's independence day celebrations. And I sincerely hope that , next time they will be successful in escaping the inevitable...dream on...!!