MUNIA KI DUNIA

As a fledgling photographer and a pre-fledgling ornithologist, I share with you observations of the past few weeks of my busy little balcony.

I first thought they were sparrows, those ubiquitous little birds of my childhood. These turned out to be their close cousin, the Silverbill, or Munia.

The balcony often becomes brown and blurry with the chittering chattering flock.

So, from what I’ve observed, if you are a Munia:

⁃ You are perpetually famished. You commence feasting at dawn and conclude reluctantly after sundown.

⁃ You feel free to land on a fellow bird and knock it off. The ‘lander’ and the ‘landee’ both continue feasting unruffled.

⁃ You love to invite your neighbours and their in-laws to the feast.

⁃ Your quarrels are quibbles, resolved swiftly with a quick peck or a silent face-off. The one that can stand taller wins.

⁃ There is no pecking order, so you go figure your own spot. You set off, shoving and trampling, with zero compunction about crashing into others’ behinds, risking asphyxiation from unmentionable causes.

⁃ Even if your dhaba has enough food and is unoccupied, you go try the other dhabas, knowing fully well that the entire chain serves the same cuisine.

⁃ Your mating dance is uncomplicated: bouncing in the same spot like a lazy ball.

⁃ You never get fat.

~*~