Phil Robinson

“ When I smell this piece of peel I remember the bits of fruit the children used to give us, and can hear the rustling of the leaves every time that the wind comes in through the door and stirs those plantains in the tubs. We were not mere monkeys then, shut up in a cage. We were the “Bhunder-logue” or the village, and a part of the little community. We shared the villagers' food and warmed ourselves at their fire, and their children played with us, and when visitors came or went they always gave us a 'Ram, Ram,' as they passed. ”

“ You are certain that it will never be too cold nor too hot, that your food will never fail, and that nothing shall do you hurt.”
“I know all this quite well. You are very good to me. But I tell you this, and you may believe me. I would rather be back in Gyneepore in famine-time, feeding in panther-peopled jungles and drinking from rivers filled with crocodiles, than be here. It may be different perhaps for the other animals, nyl-ghai and antelope, but I would rather be back in India. For there I was something more than I am here—a common monkey for everybody to grin at.” ”

“ I want freedom. When I get on the swing I think of the boughs of a tree, and the next minute the mockery of it makes the motion hateful, and I get off. Do you not see that we never do anything for long together? ”