Holiday Diaries: BELGAUM! #1 A Magical Event

An opportunity to visit Pune and Belgaum always delights me;  as will any young adult feel when presented with a chance to visit one's hometown and grandparents' house. It also provided me with an opportunity to relax and get away from: stress, studies and most importantly, SCHOOL! Relaxation was knocking on my door and I would prove a fool if I didn't welcome it! Such happy thoughts coursed through my mind as I journeyed to Belgaum via Pune.
A happy sight greeted me at the threshold of my grandparents' house. The smiling face of my grandma and the aroma of something delicious cooking in the kitchen!
Aaji-as I call my grandma led us to the balcony and pointed towards the suspended washing line. Awe crept through me, as I saw a carefully woven nest, balanced precariously in the gap between the wall and the end of the washing line. A male bulbul sat in its midst, clearly offering warmth through its fluffy body to the eggs cushioned beneath. I was surprised to see the male bird guarding them, rather than the mother. But I was happy as well, for once, the father was taking responsibility while the mother was probably enjoying herself and having a good laugh.

 Over breakfast, Aaji explained how this nest had come into being. Initially, each time the couple tried to build a basic structure with hay or twigs, she had swept them away, as most of us would do when birds start nesting in our houses. But after she had read an article lamenting about the fact that scores of trees were being uprooted, and birds were not being able to find suitable places for weaving nests, she took pity and graciously allowed them to continue their construction. I was amazed at this kind act! If I had been in her shoes, I'm not certain that I would have been as gracious. But along with happiness, sadness streaked through me too; as I had not been able to witness the actual building of the nest.
Each time I entered the balcony, I used to see the bulbul guarding the nest, occasionally flitting away to find food. It never attacked us or regarded us with suspicion when we went to hang clothes on the washing line. It sat by the eggs, day in and day out, never once abandoning the eggs. Meanwhile, the mother was nowhere to be seen!
A few days later, the parent began leaving the nest for short intervals, returning with morsels of food, clutched in its mouth. Tiny chirrups of noise drifted into the house through the windows. We suspected that the eggs had hatched! We started sneaking peeks at the nest, hoping to catch a glimpse of the tiny ones. The father continued to fetch food, often accompanied by another male bulbul!!

One afternoon, my mother started beckoning to me frantically, saying that she could see the little birds. I came as fast as I could but they had already retreated into the comfort of their nest! How disappointed I was! This happened not once, but thrice, with my mother and grandmother having all the luck! But I waited and my time came as well.
I was sitting by the balcony, reading a particularly thrilling book, when I heard their melodious chirps. I got up with a start and peeked my head through the door. There they were, 2 tiny black heads, barely visible, craning their necks to call out to their father, apparently hungry for food. I grabbed the phone and clicked as many snaps as I could! I was DELIGHTED!!! The birth of new and innocent creatures was a unique experience for each one of us!

We glanced at the nest every so often during the days following the hatching. Even though, all four of us had previously viewed the birds, child-like happiness made its way through us, each time we got a chance to see them again.
On 22nd May, we woke up to a pleasant surprise. A brown, fluffy bird, with a white underbelly, very much resembling a baby penguin, sat perched atop the edge of the nest! We were shocked! We had exclaimed only the previous evening how tiny and cute the birds were! And lo and behold! Here sat a mature bird, the next morning, as if to prove us wrong, that it was no longer tiny but a grown-up bird, ready to choose its own path! Its position reminded me of that of a young adult, torn between childhood and adulthood, not a small child anymore but neither a grown adult, ready to make decisions for himself, stuck somewhere in the middle.

A while later, Abu-as I call my grandpa settled down to read his newspaper. When he looked up, another surprise was in store for him. The baby bird had flown all the way from the nest to the living room's window sill! It was a sort of metamorphosis!! His/her (which one was it?) father joined it a moment later, proud of his child's achievement! This means that birds and humans do share a common trait-pride! The young bird then flew away into the unknown, ready to explore and discover the world!
The second baby bird emerged from the nest a while later and started taking flight to a place close to its nest, and then returning, once confident of the strength of its wings. Once, it sat on the parapet an started moving its head in all directions, as if to inspect the surroundings from which it had been hitherto hidden.

After such short flutterings and flits to nearby telecom wires and branches, it too took a leap into the sky and beyond! I never knew that birds learn to fly within the span of half a day! It seems they're born learners!

I'm really happy that the birds grew up and learned to fly! But I do feel sad for their parents (especially the father :-)) who literally are empty nesters! We too miss listening to their short sharp chirps, the cry of a bulbul, a sound which had been burned into my brain. I will forever cherish these moments and am privileged that I got a chance to experience another of Nature's most magical creations.