Tuesday, December 14, 2010

My Pastime



Tweet…Chirp…Trill…Twiddle…I realize it is time lend an ear to my feathered friends. The backyard of my house opens towards lush greenery teeming with birds. And what chatterboxes these winged beauties are! Right from our neighbour’s parrots to tiny nameless birds, all fill the atmosphere with musical chirps. Everyday my world becomes lonely for some time after my hubby and kids leave for their respective duties. This was when I started noticing the birds and many amusing serendipities were awaiting me.

The niche of my kitchen fan was earlier occupied by a pigeon for hatching and we stopped using it in order not to disturb the nest. My habit of feeding birds started with those pigeons. My sons, who love to have breakfast by the window scatter enough crumbs on the sill for the birds to feed. Later I started scattering rice all over the sill for my ‘guests’. How they resemble human in their behaviour when they are tamed. The timid pigeons turned snooty once they felt ‘at home’. They hooted loudly in protest if I put boiled rice and would not eat it, a way of showing that they didn’t like it.

Later these pigeons were driven away by tiny but aggressive bulbuls who started visiting me regularly for their food. They come, have their stomach filled and leave without creating much commotion. One day I noticed those silent eaters chirping and took it for some silly fisticuffs with another of their kind. When this happened the next day also I rushed to the place to find out what went wrong. The bulbuls gave me a look and flew away. I realized to my surprise that I forgot to put rice on the sill and they were calling me with their chirp. This happened once or twice and now we make sure that the ‘supply’ is never broken. It was surprising to find how these birds interact with us when they find that we are hands on for them. The fact that we are detached from nature has taken away lots of amusement from our life, which is full of worries and cares. 

Monday, December 6, 2010

A Chance Meeting



It was bright and sunny day
Special as it was my b’day
Working at my desk I sensed,
A glance fall upon me
True… as I turned sideway
Spotted a primate on the door way
Clutching on the rails staring
Motionless and curious
Worried… I dashed to the door
Harried… it charged on its four
Twain feeling jubilant
Being safe from each other

Friday, December 3, 2010

A Wrong Number

                                       
Day One

“Wrong number” I overheard my husband murmur to a stray call on his mobile. The mobile was not willing to be silenced easily. “Wrong number” same casual statement from my husband. The caller still seems unconvinced. “I am not Mr. Kumar, I am someone else” not the one to reveal his identity to any wrong numbers, Rajiv asserted and the call ends there.

Day Two

Call from the wrong number again at almost the same time. Rajiv’s attempt to dismiss the call by the routine “wrong number” seemed vain.  The caller seems all the more determined than earlier not to let things go so easy. “See this number belongs to me for the past many years. There is no chance of this belonging to some Mr. Kumar. You please check the number properly”, thanks to his people relation skills Rajiv tried to explain to the caller patiently about the mistaken identity. To his surprise this infuriated the caller “I know you are Kumar. You are bluffing. Don’t try to fool me. I am after you for the borrowed money and you are evading me for a long time. Just don’t pretend that you are not Kumar.” The overconfident caller blasted ‘Kumar’ through the phone valiantly.   

The situation was too funny for my husband to get agitated. “How can I convince you that I am not the one you want to talk. You do one thing, go to the police station and give a complaint on how Kumar is fooling you when you call him on this number.” He said.

“Just watch I am going to do that. I will complain about you to the police and get you arrested.” The angry caller shouted and hung up.

Till Date

It has been months since the incident. Rajiv still has the number saved as wrong number Kumar. Fate of Kumar is still unknown.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Bees Attack

Bees bees and more bees
My home is under a stinging siege
Perched atop a nearby tree
Thrives a majestic golden hive
One, two, three, four, five..
Here comes my li’l one
Trying to analyze the swarm strength
Displaying his newly acquired skills
Hark… there is a flap on the tree
Lo! There hovers an eagle fierce
Its claws mercilessly on the grist pierce
Poking and pricking and pecking
Tapering the mighty to ruins