Pet Bird

Images of women appear frequently in Chughtai's work, and in several of his paintings—such as this one—the women are depicted with a captive bird. Chughtai left remarkably few clues about the intended meanings of his works. The image of the captive bird might refer to the restricted lives led by many of Chughtai's female contemporaries. On the other hand the pet bird may have been intended by the artist as a symbol of the captive heart. Themes of love and romance derived from South Asian and Persian literary traditions were among the artist's favorite subjects. Persian poetry in particular employed the image of a caged bird tended by a woman as a metaphor for the love-struck male suitor.