Nature Fights Back

15th January, 2010
Pune

A long time ago I had written about pigeons who had nested in my balcony. The doom of the chicks although not witnessed by me could as well be imagined. So, I had given up hope.

But, to my surprise, the pigeons didn't give up hope. Now, I do not really have that keen a sense to be able to distinguish one pigeon from the other and, unfortunately, I could not tag them. So they are all Blue Rock Pigeons to me. So, immediately after the chicks disappeared, the mating began. Well, I must say they didn't take any time to grieve. Or may be they did. May be this was their way of grieving. To bring back a life that was taken away. To fight for what was rightfully theirs. Or may be I am just reading too much into an aroused group of pigeons.

Nature took its course. Usually after pigeons mate, they lay eggs. So, within a month or may be more (I didn't really keep track of time) I had two more eggs in my balcony with the pigeons perched protectively over them. Unfortunately, for my Mom they chose her Money Plant for their family home. And today it lies almost at death's door. My mother may love her plants but she would never take away someone else's life purposely. The Money Plant would have to struggle for its own survival. (And the struggle continues.)

I didn't really have any hopes on this family considering the previous tragedy. Nonetheless, I kept a close watch. As nature was fulfilling its duty perfectly, the eggs hatched and we had two babies either being fed or sleeping. As time wore one, the food seemed to be doing its job pretty well. They greww plumper by the day. At the back of my head, I kept thinking it was only a matter of time before the evil Crow would put in an appearance. I am not sure if I hold any grudges against the crow, because even he has to eat somehow in order to survive. I am not sure where my sympathies lie. But then when it comes to nature, I guess you can't really take sides. So neither will I.

So, my little baby chicks who didn't really seem little anymore, soon started flapping their wings. Time does fly by too quickly and before I knew it, the chicks were learning to fly too. At first, there were baby steps. They hopped from one pot to another.

This time the parents had chosen a better spot to nest. It was in a corner. So, while the chicks were growing up, they weren't really visible. And when they started hopping about, they took shelter in between the pots at any sign of danger. I wonder if instincts really are the best teachers.

And then, one day, I found them perched on the legde above my balcony, looking down at me as if with pride at their own achievement. We humans, often, attribute human qualities to the other species. May be these chicks have no idea what pride means. Or may be they do. I wonder if I will ever know. But we better not forget their achievement in the midst of a so called philosophical question. So, there they were, looking out at the world from their rightful place.

I hoped and prayed that they would fly away soon, I had grown too attached to them to witness another tragedy. Thankfully, this time nature let them be. So, one fine day, I found one of them had flown away. How do I know if he had actually flown away? Because at night he came back! To sleep in the pot that he grew up in. The next day, both were gone for a while. And came back later. This went on for a few days until one day, when, I guess, they finally decided it was time to set out on their own.

Nature seems cruel at times. Natural disasters (in light of the Haiti earthquake) definitely validate that point. But it is the human spirit, no, not just the human spirit, but the spirit of every living being that brings about a balance. There may be cruelty in Nature but it is the very same Nature which has given us the strength to face that cruelty and still survive.

(By the way, pigeons defintely have something called 'word of mouth/beak publicity' because I am officially naming my balcony 'Pigeon Breeding Ground' considering the fact that there is another pair of pigeons out there at this very moment looking after their freshly layed eggs. )

Purandar-I should have trekked there!

12th September, 2009

Purandar-I should have trekked there!


I had missed the last time my friends went trekking to Purandar. Wonder where I was??? Anyway, I convinced them to go back since they hadn’t gone all the way up. So, we got onto our bikes ( at around 8.30 I believe) and made our way to Solapur road. It is not difficult to find your way as long as you take the correct right turn at Saswad Phata. It could get a bit confusing since there is a bus stop at the turn which is very crowded. I don’t remember exactly where but somewhere along the way you pass the infamous Urali Devachi. I had only heard of the place before but now I can understand why the poor people out there were protesting. The mountains of garbage out there are unbelievable.

The route mainly follows the main road except that you have to take a left turn from the main road in order to get into Purandar village which then leads you on to the foothills of Purandar fort. Since, the rest of the group had already trekked to the fort, this time we decided to go on our bikes. The road didn’t look too good but we didn’t think it would be too bad either. However, we were proved wrong. That road may be motorable for cars but for bikes with not-so-good shock-absorbers it can leave you with a backache. It definitely left me with one since I already have a weak back. The road winds a long way through the mountain but the view keeps you engaged.

I think it was the first time that I saw the Indian Tree pie around here. I have seen it on my two trips to Kerala but never around Pune. Although I am told it is not an uncommon sight out here. We also saw the Malabar Whistling Thrush whose ID a friend confirmed. We might have seen a Short toed Eagle but didn’t get a definite ID. It was definitely an eagle but not sure as to exactly which one. It was spotted at the water reservoir near the top (which, by the way, looked very tempting for a swim.) The road to the very top was barricaded for some reason and no one was in a mood to trek further up, so, we turned around and trudged back on the graveled road on our iron horses.

Earlier, we had had a measly breakfast at Samarth Wadapav in Saswad mainly owing to the fact that all the money we had added upto Rs.50/- After breakfast, we thankfully found an ATM. On our way back, we stopped at the same place but had a more filling lunch. We were back home by around three which made the trip all the more worthwhile because we still had the rest of the day to ourselves.