The green strips of inspiration

I was standing in the balcony of my room in the evening enjoying the beauty of the nature. The sky appeared to be splattered with blue and white blotches and the hill far away in the horizon with green and brown blotches. It was drizzling outside. The sound of silence echoed. As I stood there admiring the beauty of the lush green patches brought alive by the recent summer showers, two small birds  flying with strips of green grass caught my attention. I watched them with curiosity, as they landed in the window of the locked room. They were making a nest!!! Magnificent!!  I called my friend who was sitting on the bed and playing games on her laptop. She exclaimed, ‘Ooh…. Nice!!’ .They flew back and forth carrying twigs and dry grass to construct their ‘Home Sweet Home’. They went out again. I waited for long to see them returning, but I finally gave up and went inside.

            After a few days I saw them again. They had completed constructing their home. It was a tangled mass of green grass and dry sticks, but still it looked endearing. But, I couldn't see the birds.

              The entire bird episode had taken a backstage in my mind until one day when I found that room open. So, I decided to go and find the nest. I was shocked to see that the nest was crushed into pieces by the window. I felt sorry for the birds. When they return back in the evening, the scene that awaited them was pitiable. I searched inside the nest to see if there were any eggs or fledglings. It was empty. I felt relieved that no life was harmed. I went back to the room and updated everyone with my recent findings. All of them shared my feelings.

         Some days later, I went into the balcony and stood gazing around. I searched the window where the nest existed. They have cleared everything. No birds.  I kept an eye on that place for few days in a hope to see those birds. They were never seen.

           As is said, out of sight out of mind, I had forgotten about the birds and nest. On one lazy day, my friend spotted the birds flying with the green strips towards the same room. She pointed them to me and shouted with joy ’Hey the birds are re-building the nest’. I looked at the birds in astonishment. I couldn't believe my eyes. They were building their new home! I thought for a while- Are they risking their life again? There is no guarantee that their nest will be safe. But, thankfully it didn't happen because I saw them flying in and out nearly everyday.    

[Article from the annual magazine, Kalpa 2012, of IISER Pune]