Red Riding Hood!!

Here I am walking in the rain with a red hooded raincoat I borrowed from my friend. It feels funny walking in the dark on this familiar track, with the rain pouring away. My first thought is - I feel like Little Red Riding Hood! Incidentally it is one of the first fairy tales I can remember. And I giggle to myself as I wonder who or where the wolf is! But then as I reflect over it I decide how synonymous it is to my own situation – here I am back in the city away from the safe haven that I was in for the past 2 years.
No longer am I surrounded by the beautiful Sahyadri mountains, the open fields, the river and streams and the simplicity of the village life. For almost 2 years now, I had been on my own living in such serene surroundings on the huge campus of 75 acres. It was a life of basic needs which suited my minimal budget very well. Eating sattvik food with no onion and garlic (I was living in an ashram environment) with sometimes only 3 others for company besides the 5 cooks, in the huge common dining facility which can normally house 750 persons at one time. Got used to doing my own laundry – in fact it became my stress buster. No TV - though I was thankful to have the computer and internet facility that evolved from dial-up (40kbps) to the 512kbps Idea internet data card and eventually to broadband thanks to BSNL!! Also, thanks to MSEB (Maharashtra State Electricity Board Or rather Monday to Saturday Electricity Band as we called it) we had frequent power-cuts after 9pm leaving one no other option other than early to bed :). Sitting in the shared taxi with 14 others, when ideally there should be a max of 10 persons including the driver, became a better option than waiting for the State Transport bus. But it was all fun while it lasted and as is the rule nothing is permanent.
So, here I am back in my home town, walking in the rain on familiar yet alien roads, noticing the increase in the number of shops and cars, wondering what’s in store for me and strangely feeling insecure the way little Red Riding Hood did in the forest and of the wolf. But then if anything the past 2 years have prepared me for all shocks and surprises and am sure the Hunter will soon come to the rescue of this Red Riding Hood the way He did in the past 2 years! :)

Hope floats...

Every morning when I enter the reception block of Chinmaya Vibhooti I would see the nest on the left-hand-top corner of the entrance wall and would be amazed at how these little birdies had built this mud-nest. The birds would take turns flying in gathering tiny morsels in their beaks while the other partner patiently sat on the eggs. In the evening after sunset both the birds would sit in the nest with their tiny tails butting out on each side of it.
As the days went by, I was dying of curiosity to know if there were eggs inside and if they had already hatched.
Then one morning it happened …one of our workers stoked the nest with his bamboo stick in order to “clean the walls”! The poor birds kept flying in and around the wall, totally confused about what exactly happened to their home. The mud nest was on the floor with the contents open for all to see. There were 3 chicks – still alive and nestled together in a cozy bed of hay and feathers– their eyes yet to open. But their parents were not aware of this and even if they were what could these tiny helpless creatures do to restore the home and keep their little ones secure. We did’t know if there was any way we could help them, though I did place the remains of the nest closer to where the two birds were perched on a nearby wall. The chicks did survive that night and to my surprise the next morning, were chirping away with their eyes open. But then my joy was short-lived …by noon the little ones breathed their last.
We all felt sad but then these are the ways of nature. A very tragic end you would say…but no, the story does not end here!
The very next morning I saw the 2 little birds flying up and down, circling the area on the wall where now there were only tiny remnants of their home. By mid-day as I watched with joy, they were back to carrying tiny bits of mud and placing them on the wall…yes they had started re-building their home! This is the picture of the nest clicked just this morning- really amazing architecture. Can you believe the tiny mud nest is strong enough to support the 2 parents and also nestles the eggs (chicks) in a soft bed of hay and feathers? Am keeping my fingers crossed for these little ones :)