NEW VISITORS

NEW VISITORS

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

16/VIII/2024

Rajasthan has been blessed by the ‘Rain Gods’ in abundance this year. It has been more than ten days that we haven’t seen the sun. Dark rain clouds keep circling and shedding their load off and on. The complete scenery is washed and lush green.

This morning when we got out to check the garden with our ritualistic cup of tea, the breeze felt so cool and fresh. Very tiny droplets were falling like a spray. It was good to be out with the ‘birds and the trees’.

We had just finished our chit chat with fellow morning walkers when my wife pointed out towards the common lawn, right opposite our home. From the corner of my eye, I saw some birds taking off. Suddenly, the pair flew overhead. I recognised them immediately.

A month back I had spotted one bird sitting in our window. I had also met a pair at the riverfront. Today, they were in the garden right across. My mood got uplifted straight away as I had wished they would come to visit our home again.

At the riverfront, I accidentally came across a pair building their nest in one of the huge cement pipes. From there, to our doorstep was a welcome sign. They say, if you wish for something sincerely, it gets fulfilled. I was proved right.

The pair was collecting mud for their nest. This was obvious from their beaks, as mud was sticking around it. From here, where they were taking it to build their nest was not clear. It couldn’t have been far for sure. It probably would be under some ledge where the rain won’t disturb their nesting.

What intrigued me was, how do they know where to pick up mud from? The lawn infront had recently been uprooted to be replanted. The mud had been exposed and thoroughly drenched into a good loose mud mix due to the rains. Children who play, find their feet sinking in the soft mud. Many of them have had their slippers stuck in the dug up patch.

I related to this like how the ladies used to ‘leepo’ mud houses and Tandoors in the good old days. They would mix clay, some cow dung, and a little straw. All the three had a purpose to be mixed. Clay was the basic ingredient; dung added texture and straw added strength and acted as a binder. With their hands, they would spread the ‘goo’ all over and finish the process with a very liquidy mix of whatever used to be left in that ‘Tasla’. It used to dry very fast and the house/floor/tandoor got a fresh lease of life.

Clay, I could understand, was present in the dug-up lawn. The horticulture people had added manure which contained dung. The strands of grass which had got left behind dried and acted as straw. The rain gave water to make that mixture. The birds used their beaks to mix those ingredients and carry it away.

Nature has a way. No one teaches them, no one guides them, but when the time comes, they know where to build their nest, from where to collect the material, mix things up in the right proportion and build a place to bring new life to the world. Amazing!

We had a small conversation. I asked them if they were the same couple I had met at the riverfront the other day. No, they said in unison. They were our Chacha, ke tau, ki saas, ki behan, ke jawai ke sadu, ke damad aur bahu. WTF, I don’t understand these relations. Stay in Marwar a little longer, they said and you would know.

Why did you come to collect building material here? I asked. Well, we are very particular about our health and hygiene, they said. The mud from the stinking river is full of all sorts of ‘Keetanu’ and ‘germs’. I agreed, as all the STP water of our colony flows into it. We do not want our chicks to be infected. So we did a reconnaissance and found the ideal place. I wished them luck.

They had a lot of work to do, so they bid goodbye to me. Since then, they have been doing frequent rounds.

How soon would the ‘stork’ visit our new visitors called the “Wire Tailed Swallow”? I wonder!!!!!!

JAI HIND