A Nest of Impermanence
Among birds, crows alone seem to be creatures of both curse
and blessing. Much ambiguity is there in this kind. For its own fortune, a crow
takes curse on its own being. It never fails others of their fortune by
visiting them. When it is sitting on a rooftop, it is a sign that a long-awaited
well-wisher is coming. If its wings brush against one’s shoulder, it is a sign
of misfortune for the day. Signs are
many in his visitation. When it is associated with myth and modern short
stories, it is surely a bird of ill omen. We Indians somehow maintain the
sanctity of the bird. For us, it is neither the bird of curse nor the bird of
fortune.
Its gender variation may add further confusion to ornithologists
or at least to common people. It is hard to differentiate the gender identity
of crows. On the one hand, hen is female; cock is male; chick is child. But crows
are just crows. No genders. This leaves one in thick darkness to grope for the identity
of the bird. Still there is proliferation of the species. It builds temporary
nests in a hurry. The sole purpose of
nests is to lay eggs. For crows, nests are not for permanent residence. Even in
that ephemeral nests, cuckoos claim a share. The nests of crows give birth to one
more melody to the lyrical poems of the Romantic poets. Only the melody can be
heard not the bird. It may be because of the guilt of usurping others' nest. Therefore,
cuckoos area strange species.
Crows are not strange ones! A crow breeds in multitude and brings
upon itself the dislike of people. It gets the name ‘scavenger’ because of its
fondness for rubbish and filth. It neither sows the seed nor reaps the harvest.
To do both the bird needs to eat seeds. Seeds can become fertile when they go
through the intestines of birds. The spread of forest depends on how much fruits
are eaten by birds. If fruits ripen and decay on the land, then the seeds of
the fruits may not sprout from within the earth rapidly. They have to go
through the proper channel – the channel of intestines. It is the law of
nature. If man tries to scatter the seeds for forestation on an empty land, his
endeavour may fail miserably. He had better plant a few fruit trees in his
backyard. Birds are ready to spread the seeds of nature across miles.
But, on one condition, birds are not be hushed off from
gardens. That fruit is not for us but for forestation. They may eat the fruit and
spread the seed. Then there will be magic – a green forest will spring up. What
is needed is the propagation of the seeds of fruits from some trees. Birds can perform
the magic of forestation.
The intestine of a crow is not for the food of life, but
for the filth of life. If a crow is hungry, it seeks carcasses. Even in the
midst of a forest abounding with fruits, a crow may declare “I prefer not to…”
It may prefer to eat dead rats than to taste cherry fruits. The rotten carcasses
are delicacies to its palates.
There is a guava tree in our garden. Fruits are abundant. I
waited patiently for the fruits to ripen. Days later, to my disappointment, there
were half-eaten fruits hanging from the tree. A flock of parrots had swooped down on our
garden and left a bare tree in their wake. A similar incident took place in my
village. Last week I went there. My brother gave me the tender stem of a plantain
tree and asked me not to keep it for four or five days. It had to be cooked immediately.
If not, its essence would dry up. I asked him why he had cut off the plantain
tree. He told me that the tree had a bunch of bananas in a half-ripened state. He
went to Tanjoor with an expectation that the bunch would be ripe enough for him
to eat on his return. But he was baffled
to see a sorry sight. Squirrels had eaten all the fruits from the tree. If it were
crows, not a single banana would have been stolen! They don’t prefer fruits.
One has to pity this bird for its cursed life. It is
endowed with every blessing of the earth. Unfortunately, it cannot enjoy most
of it. It has to stay far away from the fruits of the earth. It however doesn’t give a damn about this
curse. Our garden is filled with crows. Every day the number of crows perching
on the guava tree keeps increasing. The yellow fruits don’t attract the birds
to poke their beaks into them. A crow
may be ravenously hungry. But fruits don’t agree with its
stomach. Its intestine is not for fertilizing seeds. Rather, this bird lives on
the dead. But it is not death itself.
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