House Sparrows and Ants

Mom, Carpenter uncle and I were walking back from the Annanagar home. Suddenly carpenter uncle mentioned about cell phone radiations killing sparrows. Only then, it dawned on me that I had not seen one for many years. I searched on net and found articles on sparrows listed as endangered species as early as 2005. 6 years and I never missed a sparrow till now.

My Sparrows Saga

In my school days, there used to be so many sparrows around the quarters, eating whatnot. While rushing out for school, dad would close all the windows. I would sneak in under some pretext and let open one window for the sparrow to build its nest on the cupboard. The clumsy sparrow built its nest up there, but there was one baby sparrow, which somehow could not thrive up there. It fell down, it was brownish pink, without any feathers and maggots had infested its body. It stank for a while and we decided, it was best to leave all the windows closed when we went out.

Dad had got me a book with birds pictures, by Salim Ali, I believe. I used to trace out sparrows and babblers from them.

Campus obviously was wi-fi. Thanks to our academic schedule, many a nights, I used to sleep with the laptop on my belly and wi-fi on. For years, I have used wi-fi round the clock. I would never bother about those articles on radiation effects of cellphones. But now, after discovering about sparrows 7 years later, am keeping my mobile off the bed, I switch off net connection, every time consciously, instead of mindless surfing.

Ants – one of our practical teachers

Yes’day was the first day of my yoga class nearby – a recap of what I had already learnt in Aliyar and Bangalore. The instructor was telling us about ants. “How ants have come to symbolize surusuruppu and hard-work. They have a life cycle of hardly 6 months. Ants always move forward, no matter, what obstacle is placed before it. It takes an alternate route or crosses over the obstacle, but keeps on moving without a second thought. Ants forever seem to be hoarding things, but it does not do it for itself, but rather for its future generations and its clan. It eats, what was already stored for it, by its previous ancestors.” Reminded me of the shraadh we do. My astro mentor tells me that every grain we eat now is because of the shraddh dhaan done by our progenies in previous births.

I know many people, who create rangoli master pieces. It is like a bewitching painting, photograph at times. But I wish, people would put a pinch of sugar, flour for ants instead of rangolis in fancy colours. Of course, a thing of beauty is a sumptuous feast for eyes. Thanks to my back, I don’t put rangolis, I just feed some sugar and flour for ants everyday and still get scolded by mom for not polluting soil with rangoli colours.

What is ours to give and take, we are mere tenants here for a fleeting few years, enjoying what had we had left unfinished in our last birth and unknowingly accumulating more. Let us leave this a better, happier place than we found it.