Ms Babita Parwah

Since last few months I have been more time working on my Computer with Broadband connection. From Banking to research everything can be done easily. Easy and helpful. However, with more usage gave me some problems.

So my optometrist and physiotherapist gave some sound advice. Every 10 minutes stop. Relax. Look away at that wall and focus on calendar. Again start working. I found a better solution. Just look outside the window to my left. Green and luscious Peepal Tree and giving him company is slender Neem Tree. Few birds dancing and chirping and singing. Good break and back to business.

Life can not be normal. If it is normal it is not Life. I was getting irritated by the blue rock pigeons or Parwah as they call locally in Marathi. They are very romantic and since sunrise to sunset the gutter-goo goes on. Any season is good for them, just like humans. Being allergic to many things and scared of the bird flue, I scared them away with all the energy and enthusiasm of a young guy.

Over a period of time, one particular parwah whom I named Babita targeted our window with a grill as best accommodation to start her family. She and her boyfriend who had a look of unemployed guy with good sense of humour.

Then around Navarathri one day in morning when I went to work on my computer, I got shock. This pigeon Ms Babita had laid an egg. Oh My God! Fait Accompli!!! She knew possession is half ownership in Mumbai. No government can evict her. If this was not enough, next day one more egg. I rushed to my library to check from Salim Ali's Book of Birds and was relieved to know that was all. Two is max.

Next 3 weeks was total change of scene. The sunrise to sunset gutter-goo stopped. The husband and wife took 12 hours shifts to sit quietly without sound on the eggs and incubate them. Nature tell us that if we wish to create something we need faith, patience and commitment.

Then the babies came out and both parents started feeding them. The kids were too smart and they used to together put their heads inside the parents mouth to eat whatever was available. As the feathers came out, the learning started.

Parents preened and cleaned themselves and cleaned kids too. The parents were quite strict and tough on kids to teach discipline. Once when they were noisy, Ms Babita only just made one sound that both went silent and asked for forgiveness and went her her. Mothers are best teachers and they know when to be strict and when to be liberal. Why is it so?