KISS OF LIFE
LT COL NOEL ELLIS
02/IV/2022
Temperatures are soaring around
45 degrees here. Every morning by default plants need watering. One could
imagine maids, milkmen, labour, auto rickshaw drivers etc fight the scorching
sun for a living. It would be a long summer which is worrisome.
In the morning there is a
plethora of activity in the colony. No, not the residents but the assortment of
birds which gather. They frolic and fill the air with music. Their fights for a
mate are over now. Most of them have got nests. Their chicks should be up and
about in a couple of weeks. They too have to face the wrath of the sun.
Intensity of the heat is visible
on the plants and flowers. No matter how much you water them, their edges get
scorched and parched turning brown and crisp. No matter how much shade they are
kept in, by evening they look dehydrated and gasping for water. For us it’s a trying
time to keep ourselves safe from the fury of the sun, imagine all those who
bear the brunt toiling for a daily living.
The common lawn in front of our
house becomes the centre of activity in the morning. There are sprinklers on
the job to keep the grass green. Fun begins when the person incharge forgets to
shift them. Small little puddles get created. Worms in the grass come out
before they drown. Down come the birds diving to grab a quick snack and have a
bath. While one bathes the others keep a look out from danger. Some of them
even carry water in their feathers for the little ones which have hatched.
Danger here is not from predating
birds. Even the stray cats are bird friendly as they are well fed from the
garbage bins. They just don’t bother the birds. The menace for them is created
by the morning walkers. Imagine you sitting in your birthday suit soaking away
in a bathtub when someone suddenly opens the door, doesn’t even say sorry and walks
away leaving the door ajar.
Humans don’t bother to give them
their space. The beauty is when small children free themselves from the
clutches of their moms who are busy in their mobiles. In a blink of an eye,
they gather around the sprinkler. A dip in the colony pool is not enough for
them. Water has this powerful attraction.
Soon the moms realise that their
child has gone missing. Fanatic calls and shouts ensue. Kids also know that moment
they respond, it is the end of the shower. They sit on their haunches close to
the sprinkler and enjoy the burst of water, moving along with it as it changes
direction.
“Contact” …., between mom and
child. It was so sweet to hear the child say, ma come and take a bath, the
water is very clean and chilled. How innocent and sweet of this little child
who is so pure in thoughts inviting mom to join the fun. Mom gave one whack, as
she knows it is water from the STP. Child doesn’t care or cry as now there is one
more opportunity to have a bath at home.
As one stood and watched the
drama, time stood still. Water kept flowing from the hose. Focus had shifted
from the real birds to these ‘little birds’. Humans do not leave them free
unlike the birds who teach them to fly and leave their chicks when they are ready
to face the world in a matter of days.
Once the children were gone the
birds congregated again to have fun. I too shifted focus to the hanging pots.
Suddenly it was bliss. With my wife standing behind enjoying a cup of tea, a
sudden blast of air went brushing my cheeks.
It wasn’t the morning breeze but
a Hummingbird hovering close to my cheek as if telling me to drench her instead
of the pots. Moment, I turned she flew away only to return and give me a winged
kiss. She stood still in front of my face, twisting and turning on the hover
causing a storm in my face. One didn’t know how to react.
This close encounter with a
humming bird was far more intense than anything on earth. The black shiny male
was sitting close by and called. This tiny ‘greenish-brown’ bird flew away.
It struck me that there could be
a nest in that hanging pot I was watering. Thank God that wasn’t the case or I
would have wet the eggs inside. A guilty kind of feeling whizzed past my mind.
The closeness to the bird made my
day. Hope she will come again to give the ‘Hummingbird’s kiss’. Will she? I
wonder!!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© NOEL ELLIS
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