As we walked out of the main door this morning,
birds and flowers were waiting to welcome me. They knew it is ‘watering day’. Boy,
were they excited? I gave them a wink and went on with the preliminary check of
the garden.
First on the agenda was the hummingbird feeder
which had been refilled yesterday. With practice, I have mastered how to brew
that ‘magic potion’ which attracts these birds. My wife pointed out to a Bulbul
which was trying to poke her short and blunt beak into the orifice of the
feeder. She was enjoying the sugary water kept for the hummingbirds.
The ‘proportion’ is simple. 300ml of plain
water, which is about a tumbler full. We use RO water as an added precaution.
1/3rd tumbler full of sugar is just right. Put both in a bowl and
give it a violent stir till it becomes a ‘whirlpool’. Stir-stir and stir, till
all sugar granules disappear. Two minutes and the beverage is ready. Followed
by a good rinse to the feeder, fill it and forget it for a month.
I asked Ms Bulbul, “seems chicks have flown and
you are free”. She looked at me and kept pecking at the feeder hole. “Hello! I
said again. Hope your babies are safe”. She just went pip-pip-pik-pik-pip-pip.
I understood, she was saying that she is relieved now.
“Do you know that I did not water the pot in
which you had made your nest for three weeks on the trot”. She just kept
chattering and chirping as if accepting what I said. Maybe, it was her way to
say thank you. I told her that never mind, the plant is safe though parched.
Today, I shall drench it well.
I just mentioned to her about the ‘silken
thread’ which I had kept to tie some plants. “I needed it more than you, she
said. It helped me give a better weave to bind the twigs together”. By the way,
the bulbul told me. “You could have watered the pot from the far side. My nest
was tactically made an inch higher than the soil surface”. “Noted my dear mam”,
I chuckled.
Having left her to enjoy the sweet drink, it
was time to lower this hanging pot and see how she had gone about the whole ‘nestling
procedure’. It was a marvel. The intricate weaving of twigs and twines,
feathers and leaves were all there for me to see and marvel.
As I was about to praise her engineering
acumen, she took flight. Probably she wanted to pick up some roti from another
feeder which we keep. Two morsels full in her mouth and she vanished into the
trees. I am sure the little chicks would be waiting there for mama to return
with food. Chicks have an insatiable appetite.
All the birds in the vicinity have finished
hatching their eggs. The chicks are now seen flapping their wings at a very
high frequency, demanding for food. They might be sitting on a pile of grains
or roti but they want mama to feed them. It happens. We have seen our children
growing up the same way.
Thank God bird chicks do not throw tantrums, “ye
nahi khana, vo nahi khana, pizza khana hai, chocolate chahiye, sabzi is yak,
who eats dal” and so on. These little birdy babies know that their choice is
limited. Eat what is available or go hungry.
I remember my dad, who made sure whatever was
served on the plate had to be eaten. No tantrums. One could not leave the table
till everything on your plate was finished. If mom put vegetable in the mutton
curry and you driveled it to one side like an expert hockey player. One whack from
dad came out of nowhere and in went the vegetable. That is how our generation
was brought up.
It was a very satisfying day. I looked at the
nest and then looked at the plant and thought about the plant’s feeling.
Imagine, if you are deprived of the basic necessity like water in this hot weather,
when you see all the neighbouring plants being inundated regularly. I am sure
the plant sacrificed for the nest. It understood that here are two young
fellows who will eat insects which may infest it.
With that thought, I moved in thinking about
the vacant nest, where tiny wings once fluttered, now only stillness
remained. What all do I keep
thinking? I wonder!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© ® NOEL
ELLIS
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