Birds on a wet day!

The above birds were the first ones to appear in different trees in our garden, except for the Parakeet, which was perched on a coconut tree about three hundred meters away. It was a wet morning with no prospect of sunlight at sight. 

I watched these birds and observed them for their body behaviour and bird calls. 

They looked subdued and flying only short distances. Their body appeared wet and the feathers yet to be groomed for flight readiness. 

During the early flight movements they have a short halts in each station that it needs prompt camera action to capture their movements. 

Th avian movements in our garden is a socialising activity for some birds. 

The Magpie robin will come close to our cottage and sing for us. Sometimes they fly into the back yard and wait for them to be fed with banana or millets. On those occasions when we did not notice them, they would wait till we arrived. Ther bird calls become louder if we take time to respond to them. Whereas, the Kingfisher and Parakeets are less sociable. 

When it is wet and dusky, looking out into the garden does not give the usual visual delight. The presence of the birds, their calls and movements and social gestures make us feel connected with the avians.

What I noticed as I was returning to the cottage was a sunbird perched quietly in an obscure place. I initially thought if it was a Loten's sunbird. But the features did not fully match. 

What intrigued me was its stationary position, unlike the usual sunbirds which are fidgety and move fast between twigs hiding under foliage.   

I waited for half an hour to gather more information about the sunbird unusually perched in a stationary position. By the time I went to replace the battery in the camera, it had moved away. I listened to its feeble bird calls and vigilant look in all directions. Was it a younger or an injured bird!

It was the first time I found a sunbird stationed in one position in a restful perch. 

This is the surprise about the avian behaviour. We can come across unusual bird behaviour when we take time to keep track of their presence and movements. 

I felt good that our garden is a home for some birds and flight station for many others!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

 

 

The given days !

I received the first four photos of flowers this morning, from a friend on the occasion of completing my first year in retirement, from my regular professional work in the hospital. Those flowers brought cheer reminding me of the richness and colourfulness that I experienced during the year that is just over. 

On reflection, these flowers brought to me memories of the surprises and provisions of the year with good health, wellness, and involvement with people, which added a new flavour of purpose during the first year in retirement. 

The four bird photos from our garden on a cloudy day brought another awareness about the way of living. Each of those birds communicated a restful composure. The Barbet perched in a distant tree with a mouthful of food,  brought back memories of fullness of provisions that Anna and I received during the one year. The two Bulbuls perched at the edge of a tree, symbolised to me of the comfort and gladness that Anna and I experienced during the transition year. 

After watching these birds I looked up to the sky, which was gathering clouds. There was an island of sunshine in the middle of the clouds. What a hope giving and captivating sight! The sunshine amidst clouds!

I turned back to return to our cottage when it started to drizzle. The twas when  I noticed a butterfly resting on a flower. It was not seeking nectar. It found the flower as its bed to rest. Its stillness and the quiet presence made me stay and watch it in amazement, feeling within me an invitation to desire a restful orientation within, in the days ahead!

The flowers, birds, sky and butterfly brought an unusual confluence of greetings and messages within. 

A few days back, I picked up a book from the book room at home, The Gift Years, growing older gently, by Joan Chittister, on the theme of 'A prophetic voice that is desperately needed in our troubled times'. In the introduction to the book, I noticed a text about the book: 'It is a wonderful celebration of the blessings of growing older, clear-eyed and unsentimental about the reality of the ageing process but showing us that our later years are gift, not burden. It is a time for us, to let go of both our fantasies of eternal youth and our fears about getting older'. 

Gisesla, who sent me the flowers is also a senior citizen. Her eyes to see beauty and abundance of life in those flowers reminded me of the optic through which she views her life! She lives sharing the joy of life and sharing the blessing of peace to others. 

I read yesterday in the book that I referred to above this: ' The old, on the other hand, have long ago exhausted both the wanting and the going and striving. They are immersed in being. Being alive, being healthy, being present to the moment, being who they are, being happy, being young again in delight and in vision' (p119). 

This passage brought to my memory the words of Jesus of Nazareth: 'Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither they do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?' (Matt.6:26) 

Life is a daily celebration of the gift of love from the 'father of all mercies'!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The celebration of Life

The garden around our cottage is alive with quiet happenings and vibrancy of life most of the time! The above photos taken, when sun appeared around 9 am from behind the clouds, tell about several events taking place in the garden at the same time. 

These sights were delightful to watch. This brought to me an appreciation of life expressing itself in all its fullness. The romance of the Myna pair, the majestic stillness of a Kingfisher at a lofty height on a coconut tree, a Drongo staying sheltered, the butterflies on the flowers, the dragon flies in their splendid colourfulness, the rain Lilies fully open, the roses in bloom and the ripening rambutan fruits, gave an indication of the fullness of life at any time in our garden! 

It was after indulging in this sight of abundance of life, I switched on the TV to look at the formal procedure of the Indian parliament of both houses around 11 am. Both houses were engaged in an intense verbal fight between the ruling party and the opposition parties over a discussion on the irregularities related to the NEET examination,   because of which aspirants to the medical colleges are in protest. The credibility of the examination procedures is in suspicion as gross irregularities have come to surface. The opposition parties in the parliament sought a discussion on this matter and the ruling party was avoiding a discussion. About 2.4 million students appeared for this eligibility test for about one hundred thousand seats in the medical colleges in India. 

I found myself facing a dilemma. The sights around me in the garden announced the fullness of life.  The nature brings to us as a symbol of opportunity to labour and gather the fruits of the labour. 

The students often spend months in preparation for passing the eligibility test for entrance to medical college and their aspiration and efforts get shattered when the entrance test was conducted carelessly to allow fraudulent practices to creep in. The merit list was tampered with following leakage of question papers and invigilators in the examination hall in a few places, helping some students with correct answers in lieu of financial gratification received. 

It is this dichotomy that disturbed me. The resistance of the government to discuss and to seek corrective measures surprise me. The government who conducts the examination ought to be forthcoming with serious and expedient measures to eliminate corrupt practices! If the government is resistant to discuss this matter in the open in the parliament, one suspects if the government has something to hide!

The photos above are signs of celebration of life. But for the students awaiting admission to medical colleges, it is a time of ordeal and uncertainty. Their labour and efforts seem to be in vain, unless those in authority find a way forward. 

I like to live rooted in the message which nature with its fullness around us brings to us- live gratefully and gracefully!

This calls for living relationally. 

The Myna birds in the first two phots communicate that. I wish such a warmth exits between humans! Why should we displace others for us to have a larger space to occupy!  

I saw a six years old child use a Kaleidoscope yesterday. His delight in seeing the multiple colours and shapes while seeing through it, was worth watching. He looked surprised and occupied. 

The humanity brings wonderful colourfulness to behold! I wish that we grow in a sense of belonging, to be able to celebrate the gift of life on earth!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

  

A monsoon morning !

I found a small window of dry spell yesterday morning to move around inner garden, seeing the sights and movements of butterflies and birds. 

Daphne having noticed me from her yard kept calling me with a tone that was indicative of her desire to be with me. She is recovering from her surgery earlier this month and is returning to be herself. 

She stood in one of her favourite places and seemed to watch the movements of birds and attend to their chirps. 

I felt the existential stress of the birds on a monsoon morning. They moved between trees with loud bird calls unlike the usual purposeful movement to find food! 

A barbet alone seemed to look for its food. Other birds were having an outing before the next shower. It was gathering clouds and the rainfall was imminent. 

The two observations of the morning that stayed with me was the avian stress in an inclement weather. The second was a canine instinct to be part of the activity around. 

The birds feel threatened sometimes; a canine can express its need in a way humans can understand. There is a communicative process that they both use to express themselves. 

This cosmic language of communication is what humans seem to miss. There was a landslide in a hilly terrain recently near to us following excavation of soil for construction work. The members of the civil rights movement cautioned against the soil excavation as the hill would soon get vulnerable with no support at its base. That is what happened a few days back with road access blocked with the landslide and houses below facing threat of flooding. 

The language of communication is all around us. I wonder whether we hear or feel or respond to the silent communicative efforts of nature around us!

To be human is to be relational !

The birds and Daphne reminded me of this call !

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Flowers to the Indian parliamentarians.

 

Having completed the routine of the oath taking, the elected members of the Indian parliament met to elect the speaker of the house yesterday. The parliament commences its proceedings today.

Let me send this flower bunch from our garden to all the members of the parliament with good wishes to remain as the voice of people in the parliament. 

In the address to the parliament, the Prime Minister and the speaker did not appear to be cordial enough to the opposition party members. This was a disturbing scene. The government is a coalition formation, which should actually make the government more open to negotiate. But that was not evident. 

The Leader of the Opposition parties made a speech with composure which had content, clarity and conciliatory tone. 

The newspapers suggested that the government is weak in its stamina to engage unemployment, price rise, and to make the national entrance tests to professional courses corruption free. 

Is it a new beginning with renewed enthusiasm and commitment or a continuation of the past with a myopic optic! 

The democracy is a governance  process by the people, for the people and of the people. This to me is a lip service. The partisan view is domino. In our context the partisan view is heavily loaded with a religious connotation of majoritarianism. 

The restraint for that to be the norm would come from the opposition parties, who have a good representation in the parliament in the 18th Loka Sabha. 

The constitution of Indian Republic in its preamble starts with the phrase, 'We the people of India...'. I wish that the members of the parliament, elected by the people of India, would engage in parliament with a desire to bring better prospects for the people of India!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)