A Flight of Pigeons — Ruskin Bond

A Flight of Pigeons, written by Ruskin Bond, is the story of the Labadoor family, set in 1857. The patriarch of the family is killed in a church, and Ruth Labadoor and her family have to take the help of Hindus and Muslims to find their way to their relatives.

This is a mix of fiction and non-fiction, which was also adapted as a major motion picture in 1978 by Shyam Benegal called Junoon. The Indian rebels kill Ruth s father in a church, right before her eyes. Ruth s mother, Mariam Labadoor, takes the whole family to a trusted friend called Lala Ramjimal, who does help them by giving them shelter at his home. But Mariam and Ruth get taken away by the Pathan leader, Javed Khan. He insists on getting married to Ruth but Mariam plainly declines the offer. Grab a copy of A Flight of Pigeons to find out what happens to the mother and the daughter and the rest of the family.