The sparrows expressed their grief at the death of the grandmother. They sat around her dead-body mourning her death. They didn’t chirrup. Nor did they touch the bread crumbs thrown to them by the narrator’s mother. They flew away quietly when the dead body was carried off. In this way, they paid their silent homage to the old lady.

The grandmother was really very much excited and happy when the narrator returned from abroad. She came to the station to receive him. She took him in her arms. She was in a mood of celebration. She collected the women of the neighbourhood in the evening. She continued beating an old drum and sang for hours. She even forgot to pray.

The narrator’s grandmother was a very old lady. He was going abroad for higher studies for five years. A five-year period was quite a long time. Those five years meant a lot for such a terribly old lady. The narrator had a genuine doubt whether she would live for those five years to receive him again.

The old lady was taken ill. She had a mild fever. The doctor told them that she would be all right soon. But the grandmother declared that her end was near. She forgot to pray the last evening. She was not going to waste any more time talking to them.

The sparrows also joined the mourning. They sat in thousands around her dead body. They didn’t chirrup. Nor did they touch the crumbs of bread thrown to them. They flew away quietly when the dead body was carried off for cremation.