The Green Birdy

Adela: ‘Do you know what the name of that green bird above us is?

Ronny: ‘Bee-eater’

Adela: ‘Oh no, Ronny, it has red bars on its wings’

Ronny: ‘Parrot’, he hazarded…

The green bird sitting right on top of these two characters almost becomes a way to mock the two British characters, particularly Ronny who thinks his knowledge is all-encompassing. Just when Adela thinks she can probably understand any aspect of India, the bird serves as a reminder that India has an unidentifiable quality along with an interesting mysticism that transcends colonial boundaries of thought and comprehension.  To an Indian, the bird could represent a number of different things, but to the English people, it remains somewhat of an elusive presence because even though the animal can be identified (probably India), it’s breed, nature and type cannot be reflected upon (what constitutes India). Essentially, ‘the mere asking of a question causes it to disappear or merge in something else’ (Forster 91).

The bird also becomes a way to underscore the different tensions between the English and the Indians. The English are often obsessed with knowledge, logic and scientific inquiry and use these as vehicles of gaining and maintaining power but the Indians, in sharp contrast are more attentive to emotions and undertones. This mysterious green bird, through an interesting metaphorical function suggests the incompatibility of English obsession with classification and order with the shifting quality of India- that the land in fact is a ‘hundred Indias’ that defy labeling, understanding and logical deduction. The British may have had the knowledge to venture out on their civilizing missions but they ultimately lacked the knowledge to understand the geography and exoticism that characterized India. This would also mean that they would struggle in understanding their own identity a midst a country where they feel lost and confused.

India is elusive; it cannot be neatly categorized. It will always bewilder and confuse those Westerns who try and seek to understand it. The Indians, essentially have a different attitude to comprehension and understanding, as is shown when Aziz recites his poetry. The poetry reminds us that the Indians grasp intellectual discourse at a level of feeling, not intellect and rational science. It then becomes interesting that this very green bird unites Ronny and Adela and can be extended to the overall British herd behavior where they unite themselves against the peculiarities of the Indian people but can also be seen in an ironical context- that while India seems to be a fathomable geographical entity, most Britishers struggle to truly understand what it means to feel, breathe and live India. Every Britisher is essentially an Adela and even though she makes vocal remarks about her need to understand India, this behavior is something that is already second nature to the colonizer.