The last time we saw the birds sitting on the tree it was 8 years ago. Now there were again two of them. Of course they were not the same old birds but only looked the same to us. We decided to call it Tiptipi and Kutki. Tiptipi was slightly the bigger one and quite lazy. It always seemed to be dozing and I feared it would fall off sometime from the branch they were resting on. Indeed it fell off at a short distance! Poor Kutki which was resting next to it also did! This was during the holiday season when all the children were playing on the streets. One of the little boys came running with curiosity and excitement written all over his face. He spread his two legs and bent down to pick one of them. Frightened, Kutki fluttered its wings and almost poked the little boy’s tender cheeks with its beak. The boy taken by surprise fell on his back trying hard to get up and run. The other kids started screaming with some kind of surprise & excitement around them.
I watched the little boy cry with pain. I thought he was more frightened than hurt so I decided to pacify him without making it too obvious for him. I acted as though I was impressed with his heroic attempt to rescue a fallen bird. With all the children watching me go up to him I knew we had an audience. I told the boy that he was very brave and that I hoped all children would learn from him to care for the helpless creatures. I added that Kutki was merely anxious to wake her partner by causing a small commotion and had no intention to scare little Amul – yes that’s our curious friend’s name. Amul’s tears had long stopped by now and was watching me cautiously. As I was talking, Tiptipi swooshed up with her wings almost brushing my face. It was my turn to be taken aback and gasp. Amul’s face broke into a smile and he started clapping his hands excitedly. The rest of the children also started laughing.
Soon the children found the birds to be some sort of companions during their play time. At some point during their play time they used to gather around the tree in small groups and speak in undertones. They had no intention to ruffle their feathers lest they make the birds angry. It was just that after that small incident with Amul they had found a couple of new play mates. That they were rather inactive in their roles made no difference to the kids. If the children were tired after running around they would sit under the tree and chat about various things. Occasionally they would look up to find the birds resting. Whenever I came out to my garden I couldn’t resist a smile looking at the innocence and bonding that evolved between them.
The summer was over and monsoon had just set in. The short spells of drizzle gave a wet green look all around. Droplets of water tricked from the corners of the leaves. Small bubbles stayed on the red roses. With a warm spell of golden sunshine a beautiful semi-circular rainbow was formed in the sky. I wondered about the stories of finding treasures at the end of it and found myself wandering in childhood fantasies. Children rarely came out now as the schools started in full swing. They were mostly engaged in preparing for their regular class tests which were getting competitive by the day. I missed little Amul. With two of his front teeth gone he looked adorable in his attire of shorts, bright tee-shirts and small floaters. He had a blue tri-cycle which he would not ride but push it around just to speedup.
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