Our Feathered Friends

I have always believed that pets are also members of the family; their presence and absence are felt.

We had a chicken in our house after 5 or 6 years that went blind, probably due to ageing. I used to feel very sad when I saw it. I used to keep food and water near it. It would eat a little. Then one day it died, and that day my heart was very sad. But in some corner of my heart, there was a reason for patience because it was in pain, and death relieved it of its pain.

Some people keep birds in captivity and then call them pets. This is completely wrong; in fact, calling a captive a pet is a very bad act.

Two years ago, a pair of sparrows built a nest in the storeroom of our house and laid eggs. I did not know when the swallow laid the eggs, but when the babies were born. I knew by their sounds. After a few days, it was a hot summer day. I brought millet from the farm and placed millet and water in an earthen pot near their nest.

Nature has its system, and intellect is not only for human beings but gives every living being the ability to think according to its own needs. I saw a sparrow dropping some millet into a pot of water. After some time, when the millet softened a little, it would break into pieces with its beak and go to the nest to feed its young.

When the sparrow chicks grew up a little, some of the chicks flew away and some remained with it in the storeroom. There is a guava tree in one corner of our yard, besides many small plants. They all enjoy the winter sun there.

As soon as I start cutting bread for them during the day, they understand, and all the sparrows fly and sit in front of me as if they are not afraid of me. I made this picture for my friends about two months ago, but something happened that I could not write on this topic.

I may have said this before, but I truly believe that with love you can do anything. By capturing birds, you get the bird, but its soul remains restless, and you cannot get its love.

Our house is next to my cousins’. My cousin used to purchase a lot of expensive parrots when they were babies. I used to wish I could help the parrots because I saw them every day.

One day, I walked by the cage, removed the lock wire, slightly opened the door, and then carefully made my way home. It was after a while that I heard my cousin sobbing loudly. After I fled, Aunt informed me that the parrots had all flown away, and we couldn’t figure out how the cage door had been left open. Even though I was thrilled to hear this, I nonetheless painted a dejected expression. However, my cousin can’t stop crying and will occasionally pass out on the floor.

The cousin liked these parrots because they were talking like humans when they were young, but even at ten years old, I felt that there was no law of love when it came to confining helpless birds in a two-foot cage that prevented them from even fluttering.

Upon learning that my cousin was unconscious during the night, I went to see him. In the yard, he lay asleep. His mother was dabbing at his head with a damp cloth. My cousin’s head was quite hot when I placed my hand on his forehead. He was discussing parrots, even in this state. I immediately wondered, “What would happen if it died? I was anxious when I got home and had trouble falling asleep the entire night. I was also having horrible ideas. All night long, I prayed that he would make it through.

My cousin had regained consciousness when I arrived at his house early in the morning, but his face was covered in so many symptoms of shock—as if someone had died there. His mother was giving him bread bits to bite into. As soon as I got a better look at him, I knew that this shock would not kill him. I returned home and slept soundly, exhaling a sigh of relief.