Chirp chirp come Again!

"Once upon a time....", this would be the usual starting of a fairy tale in the early days. However, this is also the only phrase that comes to my mind now a days when I think of sparrows. Gauraiyya or Chidiya as they are called in our national language have become less visible these days. All of us have adored this sweet little bird through school poems. Harivanshrai Bachchan in his poetry "Neev Ka Nirman" has portrayed the sparrow as a courageous soul irrespective of how small she is. But today when I want to show a sparrow to my little nephew, all I could see is the ever increasing crows and pigeons. That’s when the phrase pops in my mind:

Once upon a time.....we would see the sparrows every now and then.

Once upon a time.....trees were laden with her chirps at dawn and dusk.

Once upon a time.....we had sparrows building nests in our house.

Today the evenings are either quiet or noisy with the honking horns and the grumbling machineries around. I wonder why there has been such a drastic change in the number of sparrows! Lack of habitat, some might say, but sparrows have long back adapted to the human construction and made it their home equally. Today how many people have a sparrow building nest in their attic, bathroom/toilet, above the windows? Hardly any!

One of the reasons is the, much talked about, pollution. Some scientists also believe that the sparrow get effected due to the wireless transmission zones like the mobile networks that are growing in the metros. Others can include the increasing number of bigger species like crows especially because they also tend to be the predator for the young ones of sparrow. The increase in the population of crows has been related to growing garbage dumping that facilitates easy access to food for the scavengers. This in turn has been affecting the balance in the species. Amidst all, the importance of this issue in the declining number of the sparrows cannot be overlooked.

Definitely, some steps are being taken for the conservation of sparrows. I have recently heard of a small organisation that helps you to attract sparrows to make her nest in your house. I was really impressed by such kind of initiative, but it has to be a widespread effort to actually make any difference. Since sparrow is such a common bird and too small too we can easily misbelieve that we lack in observing or are not noticing them and that they cannot get extinct.

With a large number of species becoming extinct in a comparatively shorter span of time, I really hope the sparrow’s existence will not be restricted just to the pages of books.

Nostalgic Days of Rain

11 Oct’08

After few weeks of sunny days, Bombay (Mumbai) was once again showered with rains during the second half of Navratri. To some it was relief from the heat, to some it ruined their Garba-Dandia plan, while I think it was in a way welcome to the godess “Durga”.

One could see the drama in the evenings when the clouds would gather to perform, riding on the winds, flashes of lightning filling the skies accompanied by the orchestration of the thunders. All beautifully composed, produced, directed and presented by Mother Nature. And the whole scene reminds me of the thoughts I had in my mind during the transition from waiting for the rains to the onset of it.

Just a look away

The much awaited monsoon came a bit early this time. Yes, much awaited, unlike most of the Bombayites (Mumbaites as they prefer to be called now) I was eagerly waiting for monsoon. Reason? Memories of last year’s monsoon and my new found love for photography.

Last year we shifted to new house and that opened us to more of the scenic beauty around. The dry and dead looking hills around would suddenly come to life in lush green embrace of the nature, dramatic performance by clouds of all shades from fluffy white to wet and heavy grey can be seen in the sky above. Even the small house garden of us cultivated and nurtured by my sister would be filled by colorful flowers. It was this that always made me long for the rains.

Being on the 7th floor gave me more open access to look around. The onset of rains would bring the greys in sky that would envelope the Matheran hills. The thumb like Karnala fort too would play a peek-a-boo through the clouds. The hills around have now been decorated further with falls. Every day brought new beauty and new forms that I couldn’t resist but capture. And the evenings were no less. Sky would sometimes look like a painting and other times like a palette with colors splattered around.

One thing that has been very evidently felt by all of us at my home is the amount of pollution. All through the summer there would be a haze spread everywhere and in the mornings a thick blanket of smog could be seen too. Fortunately, in the monsoon, the environment looks very clear as if some dust has been washed off our eyes. But it also makes us aware that now is the time to wake up and take some action or else soon the monsoons too will be blurred by the industrial haze.

With nature at its fullest now is the time to venture out and enjoy the most. But even while at home, I keep running to the windows and the terrace to capture as much as i can. And this is when I remember some photographer say on animal planet, "People ask me how you capture such beautiful moments? and I say that sometimes I just keep the camera aside and look around as what camera cannot capture can be captured and preserved as memories by my mind, and that is the ultimate pleasure".