Stories
Displaying 26-30 of 54 result(s).
Rajiv K. Singh Bais -
Neelam Hotel Railway Station Itarsi Madhya Pradesh
Itarsi. 1975. There used to be Hanuman temple under a peepal tree near Neelam Hotel, opposite Railway Station. This tree used to be a roosting place for hundreds of birds.
Itarsi. 1975. There used to be Hanuman temple under a peepal tree near Neelam Hotel, opposite Railway Station. This tree used to be a roosting place for hundreds of birds.
Rajiv K. Singh Bais -
Manorama Kutir Civil Lines Gonda Uttar Pradesh
Story for this location posted at ID 6821
Story for this location posted at ID 6821
Rajiv K. Singh Bais -
Manorama Kutir Civil Lines Gonda Uttar Pradesh
Gonda. On a hot summer day, in May 2010, we were leisurely sitting in the garden of our home. This garden supported numerous mango, litchi, jack fruit, papaya, lime and amla (Indian gooseberry) trees. As we were busy with our conversations, a female sparrow fell close-by with a mild thud as a handsome shikra (Accipiter badius) hurriedly flew overhead. My son Aakash, who was 11 then, picked up the bird with concern and brought it to me for examination. It was still alive with blood oozing from two tiny red spots on the underside of the neck. Aakash brought some water for the bird but it did not survive. Aakash’s discomfort now became visible as he caressed the bird with a hope to bring it back to life. I advised him to make a small hole in the ground and put her to rest. He dutifully followed the instructions with a heavy heart.
Gonda. On a hot summer day, in May 2010, we were leisurely sitting in the garden of our home. This garden supported numerous mango, litchi, jack fruit, papaya, lime and amla (Indian gooseberry) trees. As we were busy with our conversations, a female sparrow fell close-by with a mild thud as a handsome shikra (Accipiter badius) hurriedly flew overhead. My son Aakash, who was 11 then, picked up the bird with concern and brought it to me for examination. It was still alive with blood oozing from two tiny red spots on the underside of the neck. Aakash brought some water for the bird but it did not survive. Aakash’s discomfort now became visible as he caressed the bird with a hope to bring it back to life. I advised him to make a small hole in the ground and put her to rest. He dutifully followed the instructions with a heavy heart.
Rajiv K. Singh Bais -
MITS Gwalior Madhya Pradesh
MITS Gwalior.1977-82. I never thought one day this little bird will force me to dig so deep in to my memory for a piece of information which no one imagined would be so important several decades later. I spent 5 long years in the hostel at MITS and my mind’s first reaction on being enquired about presence/absence of the sparrows in the hostel or college during this period was “no-records-found” and then “data-deficient”. Sure, those were the days of Boney M, ABBA and Amitabh Bachchan but still I clearly remembered the rows of mulberry trees at the entrance of the hostel and also the little baby squirrel I kept as pet for few days and also the little pups I photographed with my Click III camera and even submitted the pictures in a college level photography competition (without any luck!). It was easy to report “No Sparrows”, but it felt improbable. I once again sat down with closed eyes and replayed my routine in the hostel on any typical day. This persistence paid off, yielding faint images of two hopping sparrows on the dining table in the mess at 3 PM one quiet afternoon after the daytime meals. And soon it returned another image of 2 or 3 sparrows hopping on the ground picking tidbits at Murli’s roadside tea shop at Gole Ka Mandir which used to be our favourite haunt in the evening after the classes. I felt relieved and sat down to write this story of a 34 year old sparrow record.
MITS Gwalior.1977-82. I never thought one day this little bird will force me to dig so deep in to my memory for a piece of information which no one imagined would be so important several decades later. I spent 5 long years in the hostel at MITS and my mind’s first reaction on being enquired about presence/absence of the sparrows in the hostel or college during this period was “no-records-found” and then “data-deficient”. Sure, those were the days of Boney M, ABBA and Amitabh Bachchan but still I clearly remembered the rows of mulberry trees at the entrance of the hostel and also the little baby squirrel I kept as pet for few days and also the little pups I photographed with my Click III camera and even submitted the pictures in a college level photography competition (without any luck!). It was easy to report “No Sparrows”, but it felt improbable. I once again sat down with closed eyes and replayed my routine in the hostel on any typical day. This persistence paid off, yielding faint images of two hopping sparrows on the dining table in the mess at 3 PM one quiet afternoon after the daytime meals. And soon it returned another image of 2 or 3 sparrows hopping on the ground picking tidbits at Murli’s roadside tea shop at Gole Ka Mandir which used to be our favourite haunt in the evening after the classes. I felt relieved and sat down to write this story of a 34 year old sparrow record.
