Outside our front verandah in Chandigarh is a small garden. It has a few big trees and some small ones .
Little birds nestle on the large trees. The air is filled with their chirping, especially early morning and in the evening.
On this tree, Mama bird and Papa bird gave birth to two babies. Two little baby birds. Little birdies. Baby bird 1 and Baby bird 2. Both very very tiny. Born just a few days ago.
For some reason, the little babies fell down and lay on the ground. They were injured, but alive.
My sister noticed them and called for a veterinary doctor. The vet came in and examined them.
Baby bird 1 had a fractured leg. Baby bird 2 had ruffled feathers but no fracture .
Both seemed to be in pain : the vet gave them medication and gave us a set of instructions - he said, “Don’t leave them in the open till they have more strength, they could be preyed upon by other birds, or cats / dogs. Keep them hydrated”.
As the vet was examining the babies , Mama bird and Papa bird both hovered around. They perched themselves on a nearby branch and made a lot of noise. In a while, they realised that we were not harming the babies but were trying to help.
A few hours later, Baby bird 1 succumbed. The poor little thing could not make it.
This spurred us to put far greater attention to Baby bird 2 . Following the vet’s instructions , putting it inside the house at night and covered it with a nice , airy netted bucket so that there was enough flow of air and good visibility from inside.
Over the next few days, The morning routines evolved. Every morning , we would put Baby bird 2 in the open portion on our verandah. Mama bird and Papa bird would notice us getting the little one out in the open and feed the baby all day, take care of it .
There is a pomegranate tree in our garden- they would pierce the pomegranates with their beak, take out little bits of pomegranate seed, and put it in the beak of the baby. They would also get other food and put it in the baby’s beak. It was surreal to see both birds taking care of the young one, doing their very best.
They would sit around all day, and make those calls encouraging Baby bird 2 to buck up. The baby began to eat , and bit by bit started gaining strength . It would start flapping its wings and practice it all day. As it flapped it’s wings, Mama bird and Papa bird would give out encouraging calls . The little birdie started responding with a voice that became less feeble by the day.
It started jumping around a little bit. And practising small little flights .
Watching this spectacle of nature unfold in front of my eyes, I was reminded of the beautiful poem that I had learnt in school .
Little Birdie
———————
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
What does little birdie say,
In her nest at peep of day?
“Let me fly,” says little birdie—
“Mother, let me fly away.”
“Birdie, rest a little longer,
Till the little wings are stronger.”
So she rests a little longer,
Then she flies away.
———
The baby bird was growing. However, It’s legs continued to remain weak and wobbly. The weather outside continued to be very harsh, with temperatures crossing 45 degree C during the day. I was worried that baby bird was not having enough water or hydration.
Then, yesterday, it learnt to drink water. We had put water in a small container and it learnt to drink by itself :
I was thrilled. So were Many of us in the family who had become very deeply connected to the little birdie over the past few days.
Last night , we got it indoors, as we had been doing for the past several nights , with the plan to get it back into the rhythm and care of its parents in the morning .
This morning, however, we woke up but little birdie didn’t . We saw it lying lifeless.
My heart broke. So did the hearts of all in the family who had become very connected to little birdie.
My sadness amplified when I thought of the parents, Mama bird and Papa bird. I thought it might be a good idea to not let the parents figure it out . Seeing their little birdie lifeless might be heartbreaking for them. Not seeing it might make them believe that little birdie had learnt to fly and had flown away.
We stay out of sight of Mama bird and Papa bird and get little birdie buried a little far away.
On the other side of the verandah, Mama bird and Papa bird are flying around, making the rounds, giving their calls, looking for little birdie, and to commence their morning nursing routine.
I cry.
I wish there was a way for me to hug Papa bird and Mama bird and share my memories of little birdie. And share my pain of seeing it fly away to the other world.
On the other hand, I think that just like all parents , Mama bird and Papa bird might be believing that their little one had grown ‘enough’ and had flown away to its next phase of life. With this belief , they would perhaps move ahead with their own life, knowing they did the best they could for their little birdie and she had indeed flown away.
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