In South India, it’s common to see families feeding crows in the morning, and we did the same. My wife made it her daily duty and pleasure to feed them. Generally, crows are difficult to approach, but these particular ones, out of habit, would come close, collect their food, and eat it. Sadly, even these crows eventually disappeared.

One day, my wife suddenly expressed a desire to have lovebirds in the house. She’s always been enterprising and knew exactly where to find them. She went to a place near the old Moore Market and brought home a pair of colorful, chirping lovebirds in a small cage. We watched them with joy, feeding and observing them, but soon realized that the cage was too small. The birds needed more space to move around. Determined, my wife went back to the market and found a bigger cage with four distinct sections.

With a larger cage and only two birds, she decided to add more to the collection. She bought some finches, and in no time, we had a vibrant array of birds, each one a different color. She carefully installed small pots inside each section for the birds to lay eggs and added tiny swings for them to sit and play on.

Every morning, we woke up to the sweet, melodious singing of the birds, which filled our home with happiness and cheer. They brought such joy, and all our visitors would stop and watch them with fascination. It was captivating to see the birds play, fight, swing, and hop in and out of their pots. This soon became a favorite pastime for my wife, who never tired of sitting and observing them. Occasionally, we would take one bird out and let it fly freely inside the house, playing with it as it explored.

My wife took great care of these birds. Once, when an egg got stuck in a bird during laying, she rushed to a nearby veterinary doctor. The doctor, more accustomed to treating cats and dogs, was mildly surprised that someone would bring in a small bird in distress.

Every evening, exactly at sunset, the birds would sit on their swings with their heads drooping in sleep, enveloping the house in silence. We made sure to switch off all the lights outside to avoid disturbing them and covered the cages with a sheet to keep out light and protect them from any lurking cats.

Whenever the birds sensed a cat nearby, they would quickly jump into their pots and hide. The birds became so popular that some people began calling my wife “Love Birds Auntie,” and our home became known as the “Love Birds House.” It became a unique identity for our home.

We enjoyed the delightful company of these birds for about a year.

And then…

Continued in 82. Gardens, Crows, and Finches - Sound and Color - Part 3