I became a grandmother when Krishna flew into my life.
I had cleaned the cage that housed his shell-cocoon , daily braving the fiercely protective beak of Mom Sultana. Then I listened in glee, 3 weeks later to the tiny chirp announcing his emergence from that shell.
He and elder Bro peered tentatively from their abode at me. Elder Balram dared to venture out first. Hop, skip, whirr and there he was…a perfect olive green dream.
Balram survived only two days! He simply refused to feed himself, waiting for Sultana to feed him as she did in the cage. Sultana resolutely refused to indulge him.
Balram had better plans in mind. He was a motivator. He would invest his precious little time on Earth to disappear into the cage , where little Bro Krishna still hid shyly. Or so I thought.
Balram would prod him, nudge him, repeatedly, till one day, Krishna poised on the edge, ready for his first take-off. It landed badly. Hop, skip and plop! Then I realized he wasn’t being shy.
My Krishna was handicapped!
A lovely powder sky blue, Krishna had a limp, straggly feathers, overgrown beak and gnarled claws. He waddled across with speed when he sensed his fav Kang seeds approaching. I wondered why he spent so many hours eating and still remained so thin; until I realized his overgrown beak made every bite a Herculean task.
He couldn’t perch on the bowl edge, so I got him low plates. Now he sat inside the dish to eat! One horrific day, I discovered him struggling out from the old water bowl, drenched and chattering because he aimed too high and fell in. His waterbowl too now became a plate.
yet, Krishna was a fighter. He scared away Papa Alexander(my vain conqueror) with indignant yelps. My Vet Shivani tried every remedy…vitamins, growth boosters, calcium. Krishna refused to heal, refused to bloom, refused to grow sturdy.
“He wont last long” she warned me at every visit. But he did.
Every morning was a nightmare for me. I thought I did not believe in God; but I still prayed every morn before I opened his cage drapes, hoping to find him alive. Every morning his hungry chirp demanded breakfast, his bright eyes met my tremulous gaze, his gnarled limp did not prevent him being the first at the food bowl.
Shivani shook her head, mystified. “I have no idea how he has survived so far. This is a miracle.”
Every day, the atheist in me genuflected before Hope.
Until…to b continued.
My tears flew as i re-lived this
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I know. He was such a sweetheart, wasn’t he?
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He was the bravest and the best!!!!!!!
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Jasmine was pretty brave and adventurous too. And Krishna is surely hale, hearty and happy in a place with heaps of his fav seeds.
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I have a pet too, Blacky,my black cat protection,I found it refreshing to have a pet in my life.
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Oh, a cat person! Hello there. My niece loves kittens.
Hmm, do they ever domesticize? or do they remain the barely civilized version of tigers?
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🙂 She is ruling our locality’s animal kingdom.
Besides cat,I have two eagles and a Betta fish.
you know,a reason to return home every day.Pets make us responsible.They teach us lot.
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I agree completely.
Did you say eagles? Eagles? EAGLES? Are you serious? I thought only Indiana Jones was allowed that; or Phantom, the Ghost who Walks. Just kidding!
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No its not like that, the character of Severus snape, matches me more.
Eagles are banned in india as a pets,but they were babies and their nest fell down in rain,huntress blacky found them,she was like ‘I got pizza’.So I had to protect them,they didn’t leave me when they grow up.After saving a girl nearby from snake,a viper,they are quite respectable citizens here. 🙂
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Intriguing tale, Savior! You are very lucky to have such unusual pets. Just how big a house do you have? I cannot imagine having them in a flat. A farm house is fine for their wide flights.
and do your cat and eagles get along? usually cats prey on birds. but in your case, maybe the reverse?
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Its like blacky being the army and allu and lallu are the air force.
My house is in a village,In kerala this pets are able to coexist.
Besides blacky cant attack them,so far no disputes.I dont find rats or snake this days,my armed forces are protecting me well.
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Hahaha…Army and Airforce…what a great analogy! And your fish forming the Navy, no doubt!
Your home sounds like my niece’s idea of Heaven! She loves all animals, even snakes, lizards and bugs…
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🙂 your niece,is she a biologist or something like that ?
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Her career choice varies everyday. She’s just a teenager right now.
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its ok,people much older too suffer such problems,tell her to find her true passion and follow it before its too late.
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I thought WildLife photography with Discovery channel would have been the best for her; since she loves animals and trekking/travelling. But of course, parents have Harvard/Oxford dreams.
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http://colourfade.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/betta-philosophy/
you will like this. 🙂 pets talk.
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