Walking with birds ...

I am totally smitten by the idea of going for walks ... be it morning or evening.  And whenever I can fit one in my schedule, I do so with great pleasure. And though evening walks are enjoyable, I really look forward to morning ones. I believe it rejuvenates both the body and soul.  It is like embracing the Mother Nature at its best.

The rooftop of my house provides quite a sufficient walking area, so I set my pace to the tune of a prayer and enjoy my mornings J

This morning my reveries were cut short by constant chirping of a sparrow.

Now, sparrows of late have become a rare sight and with the monkey menace on rise, sparrows rarely come to the terrace. So this was a pleasant surprise.

So, I marvelled at the way it happily “breakfasted” on the bread crumbs and sweet vermicelli. I marvelled at the way its feathers shown in the early sun. Sparkling, gorgeous dark brown skin and streaks of white feathers in between. I just kept marvelling. The rhythm of prayer broke as I kept admiring the bird, its chirping and eating.

I decided not to disturb it and in trying to be courteous I shortened my walking route. The circle was immediately confined to half of the terrace.

As I kept on making my rounds, I could hear the chirping and I sneaked every now and then to find it eating to satisfaction. This gave me an immense pleasure.

After a few rounds, I observed that there were two sparrows now instead of one. My happiness knew no bounds and believe me or not one of these ( I am not sure if it was the former or latter) was even hopping across the terrace.

The route was shortened further and I was actually walking along a straight line.

Then one of the birds flew away. Number of thoughts crossed my mind. May be it sensed my presence and was scared. May be it had eaten sufficiently. I even prayed for it to come back. And said n number of “sorry”s in my heart.

But I did not return to the half circle. I kept on walking along same straight line.

And in answer to my prayers … the bird came back … and accompanied by another one. And a small host flew overhead.

I have no words to explain the delight I felt at that moment. I vowed not to disturb them anymore … mumbled a quick thank you and immediately hurried downstairs.

In the evening, I went upstairs with my nephew and the bread crumbs were all gone and only some of the vermicelli left behind. I am not sure if everything was eaten by that host or if others joined them. It could have been monkeys also.

But when I look back at the morning today … I feel a strange contentment … an inexplicable happiness and above all hope.

And I wonder if tomorrow I will be "walking with birds" again?