Where are ye’all?

Where are ye’all, my dear winged friends? Where are the Koels that replied back to my ‘coos’ on Sunday afternoons? I still remember me cooing and the Koels would reply back and if you stop cooing, it’d give you back a frightful coos continuously, as if it’s lost its lover. I don’t see them anymore! Or at least hear their coos anymore!

Where are the welcoming early-morning chirrups of sparrows? They used to be a nuisance when you wanted silence years before, but my ears are aching for them again… My eyes don’t see their cute little figures flitting about. Yes, I do hear their chirps once in a while these days, but where are ye’all hiding?

Even you, O’ Myna? Where are you hiding your beautiful yellow beaks? Are your yellow bordered eyes tired of Chennai-ites? Don’t your yellow feet find relief in Chennai trees? I still do see them (in fact did see one flying by today morning) but not so much!

O’ dear Parrots! Why do you fly away at my sight? Where are all your siblings? Why don’t you kee-kee a lot anymore?

Why wouldn’t ye cocks crow anymore? Do you not see the sun anymore in this polluted sky?

O! My heart bleeds and my eyes bleeds too to see ye’ all! Really, it’s sad that birds have almost disappeared from Chennai (the city I live in – previously called Madras). Not that we had exotic birds visiting us, but we did have the above mentioned birds very commonly visiting our houses, but they’re lost almost-forever. Know why? They’re not fed by people and neither are they given places to live. With structures stacking side-by-side and trees cut down to build bridges, the winged chummies were offended and driven away!

But one consolation is that I see a lots and lots of Pigeons. They lately seem to compete with the Crow population!

Hope people start realizing the importance of birds and begin feeding them…