Koly is thirteen. Koly lives in India. Her family are very poor and it is difficult to feed everyone. Even though she is only thirteen her mother (Maa) and her father (Baap) decide it's time for her to be married. They find a boy aged sixteen who will marry her but his family are demanding a large dowry. The family sell all their precious things. Koly is taken to a village far from her home and on the wedding day she briefly meets her new husband.
The marriage is a deception. Hari is desperately ill. His parents, who Koly calls sass (mother in-law) and sassur (father in-law) have set up the marriage so they can obtain money from the dowry. They plan to use to take Hari the sacred Ganges River. They hope bathing in the river will heal their son.
Hari has tuberculosis. He does not recover and now Koly is a widow which in India means she has no status and no chance of another marriage. She becomes a slave in the household of her inlaws. Hari's sister Chandra is soon married and moves away. Mr Mehtas dies and so now Koly must endure unkindness and even cruelty that is dished out each day by Sass. After two years of this dreadful existence Mrs Mehtas announces they are moving to Delhi. On the way the train stops in Vrindavan - the city of widows. Koly is betrayed, Sass abandons her. Now she must survive with no money, no friends, and no where to go. Luckily Koly is a resourceful girl and she has skills. She can read and she is very skilled at embroidery. It is these things along with the kindness of strangers and meeting one very special friend that mean this book does contain that all important happy ending.
Homeless Bird is a rich exploration of a different culture. There is an extensive glossary in the back of the book but Gloria Whelan weaves Hindi words so skilfully into the story that I had no need to refer to this. Here are some quotes to give you a flavour of this writing:
"Maa got me up so early ... We went to the courtyard well and drew water to wash my hair. Maa oiled and braided it. She dusted my face with golden turmeric powder, and with a paste of sandalwood and vermilion painted the red tikka mark on my forehead. My eyes were outlined with kohl. My lips and cheeks were rouged. The kautuka, a yellow woolen bridal thread, was fastened around my wrist."
"Even with my bedroll to soften the stone of the doorway, I could not sleep."
"I tried everywhere to find work, but for every job there were a hundred seekers. For a week the doorstep was my home."
"Along the borders of the rich lady's sari were embroidered flurries of blossoms in pale yellows and pinks twined with green leaves. I could not take my eyes from the clever work."
"As I thought of the river, I remembered the heron. I began to stitch its long neck and its head with its sharp beak. I stitched the long danging legs and the great wings. I forgot where I was. ... 'This is what I want (said Mr Das); it is your heron. It has flown right out of your head, and more important, out of your heart."
Homeless bird was published in 2000 but I am happy to report it is still in print. I was lucky to find a sale copy in a local bookshop. Gloria Whelan and I almost share a birthday and she is the author of a very impressive body of work.
I would pair Homeless Bird with Amal Unbound.
I thought I knew the name Gloria Whelan. I now discover she is the author of two (very old) titles from the Stepping Stones series published by Random House. Next Spring an Oriole and Shadow of the Wolf. I read both of these junior novels many years ago.
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