[The Price of Flowers — Capsule Note
The Price of Flowers is a touching story by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay.
Mr Gupta, an Indian in London, meets a poor young girl named Maggie.
Maggie lives with her widowed mother, Mrs Clifford, in Lambeth.
She works as a typist but dreams of becoming a secretary and doing “brain work.”
Maggie's brother Frank is a soldier serving in India.
Maggie and her mother are worried because they receive no news from him.
Frank has sent them a crystal ring, which they believe has magical powers.
Mrs Clifford becomes seriously ill because of her anxiety about Frank.
Maggie asks Mr Gupta to tell her mother that Frank is alive and well.
Mr Gupta tells this compassionate lie, and Mrs Clifford recovers.
Later, they learn that Frank has been killed in battle.
Before Mr Gupta returns to India, Maggie gives him a shilling to buy flowers for Frank's grave.
The shilling represents Maggie's love, grief and sacrifice.
The story highlights love, compassion, sacrifice and human relationships beyond national boundaries.
The title refers not merely to the cost of flowers but to the love and sacrifice behind them.]
[Prepared By Sindhu.P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai]