The Lonely Bird

 

 

A peahen visits our housing society regularly. She is all alone.

 It was during the Covid I sighted her for the first time. Those days, when we were brutally confined to our four walls, her presence worked magic.

She was like a rainbow in the sky; like a heavy rain on a hot summer day. When we gazed blankly at the future, trying to come in terms with the saddening news all around, she flew down on to our balconies, carrying boundless positive energy.

Her long, glimmering turquoise, blue neck, the beautiful plumes rafting in the wind, the small shining crown on her head... they all added colors to our otherwise dull and gloomy days.

She perched on the mango tree, flew from one roof top to the other, walked majestically across the abandoned shuttle court. It filled our heart. We competed with each other in taking her various snaps. We shared it in other groups, making them comment jealously,

" How lucky you are to have such a beauty among you during these dark days”.

I always felt that her presence had a larger meaning. She was not just another bird. She was, in some way, a messenger of nature; a harbinger of hope. Our over indulgence into the material life had somewhere broken our bridge to the nature. This wonderful creature was rebuilding that bridge by slowly connecting us back to the nature.

Then the covid was over and we went back to our busy lives. Naturally, we forgot the bird. I am sure that the sudden surge of activities might have startled the bird as well. Eventually, it disappeared from our life.

Now she is back again, still alone. Surprisingly her presence does not excite me anymore. I watch her roaming around our society without any interest.

Even she has lost her sheen. She looks old and worn out. Her focus is only in fetching food. While she rests on my terrace, she looks drained and worried. While flying away to safety from the attacking dogs, she looks tired.

Most of the houses in our society are empty and she visits those balconies in the morning, as if to fill the void. When I saw her precariously balancing on the balcony grill, I felt she must be waiting for the inmates to come back home.

We no longer take her photo. For us she is just another stray animal, without any significance.

But why did she come back? What happened to her in between? Is she here with a message of another impending disaster? Or, is she reminding us again that we are moving further away from nature? Is her exhausted body making us realize how transient beauty can be?  Is she echoing the sorrow of those empty houses? Is she searching for her final place to rest?

I do not have answers to any of these questions. I, however, realize that, today the presence of this beautiful creature, which instilled hope and excitement years back, is filling me with grief and despair.   

My heart whispers that it is time to repay for the hope, happiness and healing it provided me during those dark days. Question is, how will i?