The eight photos of one sunbird perching in different surfaces in our garden fascinated me. On one occasion, it was seen perched on a slender rose stem gripping it with one foot and balancing vertically! The eight photo of resting on a leaf to feed on nectar with the leaf sustaining its weight was fascinating to watch !
The last photo is of another sunbird perching on flowers while waiting to feed on nectar!
Sunbird's ability to adapt and perch confidently according to its need is an intriguing bird behaviour!
The weight of a female garden sunbird is between 6 and 10 grams. So its presence is not 'weighty' on any surface!
An infant cries to indicate his or her need. When the need is attended to, most infants settle down and return to his or her regular activity. It is when an infant is not attended to or delay attention, the cry becomes louder and prolonged!
The voice of protest in the New Delhi streets during this week by young people, has become louder, stronger and disturbing. They were not heard for a while when they expressed concerns about questions related question paper leaks just before examinations, suspicion of merit being by-passed or when they found their names or members of the family or their neighbours removed from the voter's list and non existing people appearing in the voter's list who managed to vote or cast multiple votes by one person in different voting booths. Now, the young people took to streets to protest because they were not heard and attended to !
The protests in the streets become the democratic expression of the voice of hurting people! The way the police and the policy makers who oversee them, do not sense the grief and anger that pushed the youth to the streets and inflict injury by forcible physical action is distressing to watch, read and hear!
The rulers are called upon to rule to bring welfare to people! The democratic ethos is an interface between the electors and the elected. The electors give the right to the elected to govern! The elector-elected contract involves an obligation- the elected are accountable to the electors!
If the elected exerts a 'weighty presence' and disregards the needs of the electors, it is autocracy and not democracy.
I heard someone in a video referring to the 'dance of democracy' (the governance) which consists of a hand shake between the electors and the elected!
I feel that handshake is no more a reality between the electors and the elected in the parliamentary democracy in India now.
In this situation of chaos in the street, I heard a politician who is a leading voice, referring to the protest as resistance movement to seek for truth, justice, equality and fraternity! He even articulated the virtue of love and forgiveness, although many are hurt and 'taken into custody'! That highlighted the spiritual ethos of the protest!
A sunbird is present lightly and thoughtfully!
That is the call to all the elected representatives, because they do not have anything more than what was given by the electors! What can the electors do when their voice is not heard or ignored? They become visible, loud and organised to tell the elected that they are to carry the mantle of service and not cause injury to the already hurt electors!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
