It is spring and nature’s beauty is in full bloom. Glorious flowers are being wooed by buzzing bees, lady birds, grasshoppers and ants. During the day, pigeons, crows, mynas, woodpeckers, parakeets and cuckoos can be seen going about their business. Some are collecting twigs as the nesting period has begun. Others are impatiently fluttering their wings and looking to grab a bite or lazily moving on to the fruit laden and flowering trees.
As the day progresses to dusk, the sky grows pale as if the blaze of the dramatic sunset has spent itself. Soon the canopy is dense black and stars emerge gingerly to twinkle sparsely. Only to burst forth everywhere in a resplendent silver brilliance.
The trees that stood silhouetted against the indigo of the sky merge into the darkness. And then the twittering, chirpy birds grow silent and all one hears is the murmur of the wind rustling the leaves. The sudden silence makes me wonder. Will the house sparrows come tomorrow? Are there any left?
I remember wistfully the hustle-bustle caused by them in the porch when they came to peck at insects or scattered grains. They drank from rain puddles and even bathed in them. They chomped away on the fat earthworms wriggling in the dark alluvial soil at the base of the trees. They would plonk themselves on milking cows and buffaloes to pick up the ticks and also to feed upon the fodder and seeds from the grass the cows chewed. They shared a symbiotic relationship with the earth and all its creatures.
So why did the sparrows leave? And what do we do to get them back?
We do have a few answers. The electromagnetic radiation from cell phone towers, air pollution, smog and depletion of their natural habitat have caused havoc. Their nesting places have vanished and have been replaced by concrete structures that offer them no shelter, no refuge. Natural grass and muddy paths and green swathes have made way for cemented paths and concrete parking spaces. The few remaining trees and plants are covered in pesticides.
Vehicular smoke has choked them and the few that survived cannot hear the cries of their young above the the noise pollution. The water loaded with chemicals, has become too contaminated for them. Their fertility, seed dispersal abilities and food chain have been severely affected.
These sociable, chirpy house sparrows were an integral part of my childhood, though my children have hardly seen them. But yes, they know about them through my stories and mainly via the popular animation film where we heard the lilt of, ”Ek chidiya, anek chidiya, dana chugne aaye chidiya” ( one sparrow, many sparrows, all come in groups to feed on the grains) , but the many sparrows have now been reduced to only a few and now no body feeds them regularly. And children get to see them in pictures only.
These playful common birds have become uncommon. And yet there were times when we kids could differentiate between the male sparrow (we called him ‘chidu ) and the female (Chidi to us). It was interesting to see a male sparrow proudly displaying his black bib to win over the female.
To save these lovely birds, it is important that we begin from scratch by planting more bushes and shrubs. We must feed them grains on a daily basis, create nesting spots and fill accessible pots with water.
Let us allow our cities to be greener and our gardens to be a little wilder so that there are more insects for the sparrows to gobble up. Setting aside a patch of green for them in our cities and a place in our heart and not just in our memories will really help. And then maybe the sparrows will chirp again.
Anjali Sharma is a teacher on a sabbatical and is making the most of it by scribbling her thoughts . She believes in keeping things ‘simple and easy’ and her writing reflects that.