In Chorus

For me one of the most beautiful sounds one can hear is the chirping of hundreds of birds simultaneously as if they are singing in chorus. It's fun to watch them fly forming various patterns in the air . At my paternal grandfathers place there is a temple just next to house. There is a large tree in the temple. The tree used to become the abode of hundreds of house sparrows in the mornings (just about sunrise) and in the evenings(at sunset).At that time the whole atmosphere resonated with their calls.
And if somebody hurled a stone at the tree or if something made a loud noise ,there chirping would become loud for a moment and in a flash all the sparrows would leave the tree and fly away .
In my maternal grandfather the scene was no different. When my grandfather used to eat he would sit cross legged on the open porch (The old houses usually have a open verandah or a porch which served multiple purposes). He would take a roti ,break it into pieces and throw around. The sparrows would gather around him and enjoy the feast.The sparrows had free access to the house. They would sometimes enter the room in search of food. They were part of the surroundings and member of the house.

Living in Bangalore for the last few years , it is not common to find birds flying around. And it is still rare to find the small house sparrows. It's only recently that I have started the presence of birds which seemed so ubiquitous in my childhood.
The little sounds and sights of nature have their own joy and beauty and it's pleasure to observe them. It may be a strange comparison to make but nowadays I see more kinds of mobile phones in a day then the birds and listen to more ringtones then I do to birds.
The world around me has changed ...