United we fall




Pied Bush Chats are small passerine birds that are widespread in Asia. Once a part of the thrush family, they are now considered as Old World Flycatchers.

I first encountered the male at the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary sometime in 2013. He looked like a large-sized robin with the darkest plumage I had ever seen. Soon the female appeared from behind the bushes, looking like a chubby sparrow. Only upon reaching home, I found out they were known as Pied Bush Chats.

For the next two years, I saw them on several occasions. I stalked them each time until I was sure that they were not a plumper version of other species. One fine day, I decided to stop photographing them for good. Because I wanted to quit being a nuisance to a few birds, at least. Bird-watching can be an intrusive affair when documentation, unrelated to conservation. is an important part of it.

I took my last snapshot of it, during the winter of 2015, on a misty morning in Vattakanal. I stood outside a cottage, waiting for the right moment to capture a gorgeous couple in the middle of a feeding frenzy. I shot a few photographs, but daylight was dim. So, I left in peace and hoped that I would not disturb their routines again.

Last week, I had seen a strange little birdie on a tree at a distance. It resembled a sunbird, but when I had a closer look – I could not identify it. Excited, I sent one of the photographs to a professional birdwatcher. Quickly, he replied – saying that it was a juvenile Pied Bush Chat.

I made that face that Wile-E-Coyote does right before he falls off a cliff.

Now, I cannot decide. Should I put away the camera when I spot them the next time? Or fall in love all over again by photographing them some more?

Similarly, it used to be so much easier to pick a point of view about the state of national or international affairs. Today, I lack the confidence to exercise my basic right to vote in the country I was born in. Because words like “progressive” or “conservative” have turned into bandwagons. They mean nothing. We live in the age of the extremist. Left or right, we seem to have a close-minded narrative.

We fight for freedom of expression only if it corroborates our opinions. We call for censorship just because our viewpoints are different. How dare we see the shades of gray only while exercising some artistic license or while taking a personal decision that has us questioning our moralities? How do we then, with neither shame nor conviction, talk about race, politics, and economics as though the rules are clearly etched in black and white? We are capitalists and consumers more than communists or rebels. Pawns, not soldiers. Yet another sectarian cog that keeps the giant wheel of globalization in motion.

We can pretend all we want to, but we are not fighting the system. We are the system.

Kodambakam, Chennai

But, just because we lead institutionalized lives – that does not mean that we should be discourteous to each other. The last thing we should do is make things worse by being rude, greedy or petty.

So, the next time you are late to reach the elevator, please stop in your tracks and smile at those inside as the door closes.

Do it for yourself.

Do it for the Pied Bush Chats.

Do it for a better world.

United, we fall.
Divided, we seek

(Photographs: Vattakanal, Chennai)

7 thoughts on “United we fall

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    1. I say I say I say, old pal, aren’t we a cockadoodle-doo away from, I say, aren’t we just a cockadoodle-doo away, from being clearer about what we want to actually say!

      Sorry, that’s my bestest Foghorn impersonation (smile)!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. A little soul bump, mate, goes a long way. Keep the poetic laments and sanity coming. Its like the life affirming radio cackle in a post apocalyptic world for many of us.

        Liked by 1 person

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