Full Circle

Tangy Tuesday Picks-Blogadda-July 29th 2014

“Having a place to go is home, having someone to love is family, having both is a blessing”

-Donna Hedges-

This story began with an extraordinary discovery Appa made sitting in the balcony one afternoon of this fortnight “Look! There!” he said, “Where?” I asked. He pointed between the leaves of a young coconut tree which is growing within the compound of the house across the road.  And from then on I had the pleasure of watching a beautiful family of jungle babblers come to become. They went about their daily errands in complete ignorance of being watched. The parents would fly to get food like worms, insects and what not to feed the hungry little ones. And they would open their raw and red beaks widely, each one thinking he or she is chirping louder than the other. It more seemed like they were saying “Mama for me! Me! Me!” What a precious sight and sound that was!

There were three of them in total if I am right, and what ruckus they created especially in the afternoons. On most of the times it was the neighborhood cat lurking around the nest waiting to make them his satiating lunch, and then there were those cloudbursts at odd hours. The nest was made at a very odd place, one strong breeze and they could be down on earth. Despite all this the fledglings always remained protected because one of their parents was always around in the building.

In a matter of few days I saw them perch on the edge of the nest, the mother or father would rush flying from nowhere to keep an eye on their movements. When they could obviously manage themselves they started taking steps, one by one. They made small leaps first on the tree which held their nest, and then they slowly jumped fluttering their wings to the nearby areas, on the bush, on the ground, on the compound and within no time they were out of sight. The nest is all that remains now when it is no longer necessary, with still and spawning memories.

Four years ago I had written this poem: Roots And Wings for the love our parents show us. Only when we bring our focus to certain things in nature we realize some of our blessings, there are messages in everything that is happening around. Even a small reed of grass swaying with the wind has a thing to tell. Now when I look at this empty nest I think of the babblers, “Where have they gone? What have they become?” Maybe I will find another nest by the younger ones somewhere around here again.

I am sure there are many concrete blocks down any road with the same story as this nest. People getting married, having children, bringing them up, looking after them, teaching them, seeing them grow and seeing them go. Isn’t it amazing how life comes in a full circle, even for us humans. Too abstruse I know, maybe that’s what The Big Bang Theory is all about, "we come together to move away" -LIFE !

-R