The three Parrots on a Window

It was 6 AM and the sky was clear on a post-monsoon Mumbai morning. As I opened my window, first rays of sun came rushing in. From my fourth-floor apartment, the view was clear. Nearby mango tree has been pruned recently by the municipality as a pre-monsoon check. Crows, pigeons and parrots which used to sit on the mango tree now had to look for space elsewhere.

I saw three parrots sitting and chirping on my neighbour Seema aunty’s window. Seema aunty would start her day early in the kitchen preparing food for her husband Mahesh. Mahesh uncle would always be in hurry to leave early to reach his office in time. With kids working in another city Seema aunty would often spend time in the kitchen to experiment with new recipes. She regularly shared fusion recipes on her YouTube channel “Seema’s fusion kitchen” She already had become a local celebrity.

Parrots looked happy biting the ‘roti’ which Seema aunty had put up lovingly as her daily ritual. I wondered are these the same three parrots I saw yesterday and the day before and for the last several days? Are they friends, family members or relatives?

As they jostled for space along with hovering pigeons and crows their crimson beak and foot-long bluish-green tails made them stand out. It was their morning ritual to visit the same window as mine was to look out at nature after my morning schedule of meditation.

I wondered how far they lived and how they remember to come to the same window every morning? Is this due to love, affection and care they received without any expectation from Seema aunty? They symbolized to me the spirit of Human beings who flock where they receive these innate human emotions.

A sudden voice disturbed my focus, two monkeys jumped from a nearby tree on Seema aunty’s window. Realizing these parrots quickly flew grabbing whatever they could in their beak to the nearest branch. Seema aunty while admiring the beauty of parrots quickly closed her window due to this chaos. She tried to scare the monkeys, but they happily grabbed the remaining roti’s and waited to see if they can get some more.

Seema aunty quietly went inside her apartment, must be wondering if the three beautiful parrots would return tomorrow, or how she would have to deal with the menacing monkeys.

I wondered, if I should start putting a few guavas on my window to invite the beautiful parrots. Suddenly my younger kid Daksh came shouting “Papa, see three beautiful parrots are on the railing of our bedroom window!”.

Gaurav Gandhi