THE HUNGRY CROW

 THE HUNGRY CROW

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

05/VII/2022

 

            We all have heard the story of the ‘Thirsty Crow’. A crow sitting on a pitcher with a stone in his beak is etched in my mind permanently.

 

            Crows were always disliked. Firstly, for their indefinite & irritable ‘cawing’. Secondly, these guys can attack. Having lost a tuft of hair from my head, while trying to rescue a fallen crow chick in our garden as a child, made me abhor them even more. The whole ‘murder’ of crows attacked me from all possible directions which even a compass won’t show.

 

            Be that as it may. It was a lovely day as clouds were attempting to rain. Temperatures were within bearable limits. Sun kept hiding behind dark clouds. Off I went skipping with my ‘weapon’ starting with a C, not with a G to the riverfront. It was time to sneak into the world of my feathery friends.

 

            A click here and a click there as I met the five doggies, who wagged their tails as if by now they knew me well. Pandit ji was busy doing ‘Arti’. We exchanged ‘Ram-Rams’ as he went through his rituals of ringing the little bell with his left hand and moving the thali in circles with his right.

 

            Then something unusual caught my attention. A crow was never in the scene till date. Probably he was new to the area. Dogs just couldn’t stand him. As soon as he flew down from his perch, dogs went hell for leather after him to send him back to the closest tree.

 

            Soon the dogs got tired of this 'wild crow' chase and curled up in their dugouts. Now was the crow’s chance to have a ball. Dogs by now had alarmed other birds who were trying to congregate for their morning snack to be cautious.

 

            A crow is a ‘scavenger’ and can eat anything. But a crow eating grains was a surprise. They are ‘maukatarians’. Even squirrels were not happy with his presence. They would scoot to safety the moment this crow would land. Birds dived at him to shoo the crow away. This crow just won’t leave.

 

            Birds never fought with each other but did get startled in case a ‘new bird’ joined the feast. All of them took flight together for a couple of feet in the air but returned immediately. It was only when this crow landed, it became an issue.

 

            In Hindi, such people are called ‘Dheent’ or stubborn. Mr Crow just won’t budge. He would skip a couple of feet sideways and then slowly creep cunningly doing a ‘sidewalk’. Once in, he would pick grains and look up to thank God.

 

            His stubbornness reached a crescendo when he pounced at every bird to snatch grains from their beaks. Birds quickly turned their backs to him to avoid direct contact.

 

            In the background, one heard a ‘Party’ of Peacocks call out loud. They were now cautiously approaching the feasting site. I hid in the bushes to let them feel free and maybe pose for me. One neck emerged over the bund. Then there was silence. Suddenly, the Peahen screamed to inform its ‘Bevy’ that all was clear. Other birds took notice of the regular inbound beauties and went on with their eating ritual.

 

            Here, Peacocks are not scared of dogs and dogs don’t chase them either. Soon a squirrel came and stood watch on a stone on the bund, as if it was on an observation post, narrating to the peacocks the ‘ankhon dekha haal’ (running commentary) as to how a crow was creating nuisance. Lady of the jungle gave a patient hearing.

 

            Someone opened the colony gate. Before one could blink his eyes birds took off, except this lone crow. This guy now had the whole area to himself. He would run to where the squirrel was eating, pick a grain or two, then scoot to where the pigeons were enjoying their meal. It appeared that he wanted to finish off all that was there. A kind of ‘greedy crow’ he was.

 

            My eyes were fixed on the peacocks. But today, due to this outsider they were uncomfortable sharing the same table. One of the dogs got into stealth mode. He probably was not liking this crow spoiling the fun. Slowly it tiptoed to reach very close to the crow and pounced.

 

            The attack on the crow from such close quarters almost got it by his neck. Even I got carried away with the situation and wanted that crow out of the scene. Off he flew across the river with plucked & ruffled feathers dancing to the ground. I too sauntered home. This crow appeared to be more of a ‘Greedy Crow’ than a ‘Hungry Crow’. What says you? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS