Man and a sparrow named “chioo”: 5

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”: 5

There was the man and the “chioo”.

Suddenly she disappeared. No “bhurrrrrr-bhurrrrrr” around, no “chioo-chioo” in the courtyard. No straws scattered in the rooms, in fact there is no place in the rooms to build a nest. On the walls, there are even no frames of photos of grandpas and grandmas and pictures of gods and goddesses.

There is no chioo to show to the baby while telling him the old, now irrelevant, story of “chioo and kaoo”.

She was a part of his life and she disappeared as if sliced off from his existence.

How did it happen, and when, and why?

They were self-dependent and free birds, un-disturbing, living by themselves. Why did man touch them?

Did he really know nothing or was he ignorant?

Was he imbecile enough to understand nothing or was he indifferent enough to refuse to understand?

Or was he selfish enough to pretend that he knew nothing?

There was a man. --- But now there was no chioo. 

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”: 4

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”.

There was He and there was She. He chioo and She chioo.

He said, we will build a nest. She asked, Why?  He said, I don’t know. I feel like it … and I thought you will like to … She said, okay, yes, I will like to.

He brought one straw. She brought another straw. He said, you are tired, I will bring the straws.  She said, you are tired, I will build the nest. Then together they built a nest-home.

Then He brought one grain. She brought another grain. Then “bhurrrrrr”, he went and drank some water. She also went and drank some water. Then both brought one more grain each. They said, these are for our babies.

Then came the little baby Chioo in the nest. Days became small and “bhurrrrrr” they passed while bringing grains for her and taking care of her. She got little wings and she used to fly around, always twittering. The nest was always filled with her existence. Full to the brim with happiness. The home was home because of her. It existed and had meaning because of her. He and She didn’t realized how fast the days passed.

Baby chioo grew and her wings grew. The nest became insufficient and the piece of sky around the nest became small for her. When she found her He Chioo she flew away with him in their unlimited sky.  

Heart throbbed with concern and joy when she was in the nest and while she was learning to fly. And then there were tears of happiness of fulfillment and pain of parting when she flew away … .

Now again, only He and She remained in the nest. Once in a while He would say ‘Chiu-Chiu’ and She would say ‘Chiu’. Then sometimes She would say ‘Chiu-Chiu’ and He would say ‘Chiu’.

Then, sometimes, baby Chioo (now she was also a grown-up) would call over the wind. While she was on air the nest was full of her continuous twittering, as if she was flying around. Then there were only memories.

Still, as usual, reminding all these past things, the real sparrow “chioo” was twittering “chioo-chioo” and was flying ‘bhurrrrrr’ around. Her existence was a matter of fact. She was so familiar, that she was a part of his life.

But he didn’t know that. He still could understand nothing really.

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”: 3

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”: 3

There was the man and the sparrow named “chioo”.

She met him again in the college. A girl with dancing eyes and flying mind. Always twittering and bubbling with enthusiasm.

She sparrow “chioo” in the story of “He-chioo and She-chioo”. And was he the He-chioo? Wandering around, trying to attract her? Would they build a nest-home together?

Thus he felt. Did she feel the same?

He didn’t know that. Such thoughts had never come to his mind before. Such intensity of feeling, such longing, such anticipation and hope. … And such apprehension and unknown fear.  

He knew nothing really at that time.

There was He and there was She.

Was she Chioo?

Chioo; who would clean and feed; would protect and take care of the baby and would help the baby to develop. Who would keep the house and make it a home and take care of everything.

And was he “Kaoo”?

Kaoo; who would be a vagabond, wandering here and there, doing nothing; coming and going at odd times; thoroughly irresponsible; always demanding; voracious eater with unhealthy habits; shitting at odd places and spreading filth everywhere.

Why they got together and got involved? But it’s like that, most of the times.

This he didn’t know. He knew nothing really.

But the story should not be like that. That’s what he felt.

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”: 2

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”: 2

There was a man and a “chioo”.

Once, all the frames of ancestors and gods were removed for cleaning. He and she chioo flew bhurrrrrr away. Chioo’s nest-home behind the photo-frame came down to earth, straws scattering on the floor. One chioo baby, injured and frightened, was trying to fly, but in vain. Then, loosing hope and engulfed in fatigue, it was lying there with beak wide open. He ran to bring some water. When he tried to pour few drops in the wide-open beak, somebody stopped him.

Sparrows won’t accept the baby-sparrow if he touched it. If any man touched it, it would be a castaway.

He was shocked.

Sparrows were twittering helplessly. He couldn’t listen.

He witnessed the death helplessly. He couldn’t do anything.

One nest-home was shattered forever. What does that mean?

But then, he didn’t realize that.

He knew nothing at that time.

There was a man and a “chioo”. Always flying and twittering around him, she was a constant member of the environment since his childhood. She was so familiar and homely that she had almost become a member of the family. She and many others like her. There were “kaoo”, “raghoo”, “maina”, “bulbul”, “bagale” and “moar”. Those self-dependent, self-sufficient and free birds.

But they didn’t like a man to touch them. They didn’t allow it. If a man touched them, ---

He was shocked.

So much alienation, distrust and fear in the familiarity? Why?

But he didn’t know that then. 

He knew nothing really at that time.

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”: 1

Man and a sparrow named “chioo”.

There was a man. And there was a sparrow named “chioo”.

First she met him in the story of “chioo and kaoo”.

He was a baby at that time and she was as if his mother. She used to sit in her wax-house that wouldn’t get washed away in rain. She cleaned and bathed him, clothed him, fed him, protected him and cared for him.

But then, he didn’t realize that.

He knew nothing at that time.

There was a man. And there was a sparrow named “chioo”.

She met him in the courtyard. Always twittering chiu chioo- chiu chioo, hopping and jumping, flying away bhurrrrrr and coming with bhurrrrrr. Sitting on the lap of his grandpa, he then used to throw grains and chioo would come near to eat them. When he learned to walk he tried to run with clumsy feet, trying to catch her. Then she would fly again with bhurrrrrr. She was real, now in his courtyard, materialized from the story of  “chioo and kaoo”.

But then, he didn’t realize that.

He knew nothing at that time.

There was a man and there was a “chioo”.

Now she came through another story. Grandpa’s favorite “unending story”.

There was a large godown. Many men used to bring huge quantities of grain and stored it there every year. The godown had a small window. Through it one sparrow came, took one grain and flew away with bhurrrrrr. Only one grain, enough for her small beak and small appetite. Thus many sparrows would come and go. This went on and on forever.  

In that story, that godown never went empty and everything was always enough for men and sparrows and everybody for that matter. And there was a hope and assurance that the story would never end. There was safety and security. There was a faith that till the time you hear the sounds of sparrows twittering “chiu chioo”, and the sound of their flying “bhurrrrrr”, godowns will never be empty and everything will be enough for everyone.

But then, he didn’t realize that.

He knew nothing at that time. 

There was a man and a sparrow named “chioo”.

He was a small boy then. He would be studying or playing in his home.

She would bring hay in her small beak, one straw at a time. She would sit on a bar of a window and peep inside. Then she would enter. Thus she would wander, bhurrrrrr in and bhurrrrrr out of his home all the day.

She chiu and He chioo had built their nest-home with the straws behind the photo-frames of Grandma and Grandpa. A home in the home. In those days, hanging on the walls, there used to be photos of grand parents, grand-grand parents and lots of framed pictures of Gods and Goddesses. In their omnipresence, families of their children and families of sparrows would flourish. Sweet homes were filled with continuous sounds of “chiu chioo” twittering, laughing and shouting. In that pleasant nostalgic mixture of sounds one sound was of his own.

But then, he didn’t realize that.

He knew nothing at that time.