The Altruist

Mahadevappa poured water to wash his hands on the plate to remove the few grains of boiled rice doused in sambar sticking to his fingers despite his efforts to lick them clean. He burped, announcing the gratification of his stomach. His wife, Susheelamma, who was sitting across from him to serve, moved to clear away the dishes. While she was walking into the kitchen, he stepped outside the house to the courtyard and walked slowly towards the bucket filled with water. With his left hand, he lifted his lungi a bit and shoved it between his knees so that the falling water droplets wouldn’t dirty it. When he was gargling, he heard the gate open with a squeak. He spat and raised his head to see who it was. Vinod, his son, walked in through the gate. He kept the stick in the corner of the verandah and sat down beside it. Susheelamma also came to the verandah when she heard the gate open. Vinod gave his torch to his mother who handed him a big tumbler full of water to drink. He had just returned from Mahadevappa’s field after watching over it when his father was away after a day’s work. Mahadevappa wiped his wet hands and face with the end of his lungi. He walked to Vinod and sat beside him. “Appa, Sankaranna is already in his field. He said he will watch over our field till you go.” Mahadevappa’s sugarcane field, which was a kilometer away from his house, was next to Sankar’s. Sankar was their neighbour and they worked together in their respective farmlands, which was also close by.

Mahadevappa looked at his son with love and compassion. Vinod broke that gaze by getting up when he understood the meaning. Vinod had been helping his father in their farm since his exams got over. While he was in school, he used to go to his father’s farm after coming back in the evening. Now he had completed 12^th grade and wished to join an engineering college. He even got admission in a decent college in the nearby town. However, Mahadevappa didn’t have enough money to pay for the college. He was counting on his sugarcane harvest of the year but the elephants that came to his farm couple of nights ago damaged a large portion of his farm leaving him with very little crop and hope. His family has been dependent on agriculture for decades. It was never a problem as his family treated elephants as the incarnations of God. But to Mahadevappa, they were more than God. They were also creatures that shared space with him. He believed that they had right on the land as much as he did. He did not protect his farm land as diligently as his friends did. The returns from his field, despite the routine elephant damages were enough to sustain his family. In fact, he grew extra sugarcane just for the elephants to feed. The co-farmers weren’t in favour of this attitude as they thought that it was a waste of time and resources. Moreover, they believed that it would attract the humongous beast to their farm as well. But now Mahadevappa was in a critical situation and he could not afford to waste even a stem.

Mahadevappa got up to go to the field. Susheelamma went inside to get his white cotton towel that he carried while going to watch over their farm. Her face looked as miserable as his. She didn’t utter a word while handing over the towel and torch. Vinod picked up his stick to give it to his father. Mahadevappa refused however, as he didn’t find any use of carrying it again. He draped his left shoulders with the towel and held the old torch, which required a light blow to start functioning, in his right hands. When he turned around to latch the gate, he looked at his wife and son who were watching him leave and then turned around and quickly walked away.

The path that led to his farm site was dark in spite of the day being full moon along with few working street lamps. Mahadevappa walked cautiously shining his torch on the road, and also on the bushes on the sides when he heard any noise. He was lost in thoughts about his son’s future during the commute. Earlier during the week, he had approached the bank for loan application by pledging his house and field. However, the manager couldn’t assure him about the loan sanction. They were aware of his current predicament and were not convinced that he would be able to repay the loan. The manager promised Mahadevappa that he would try his best but also reminded him that it might take a while. However, Vinod had to pay the fees before that to confirm his admission to the college. Mahadevappa tried his best to raise 1.5 lakh but he couldn’t go beyond Rs.20, 000. He knew it was a big dream for Vinod, but the boy did not want to make his father anxious. For a boy who hardly demanded anything, this was the biggest and the best Mahadevappa could do for his son.

He started mental calculations, about the expenses and the amount required to complete the course, while he was walking. He finally arrived at a figure of 4-5 lakhs. Mahadevappa stopped walking. He didn’t know what to do to raise that lump sum. He could see his field, which was few hundred meters away, from where he was standing as well as Sankar who was shining his torch while sitting on the machan. Mahadevappa started walking towards the machan. Sankar, who saw the approaching Mahadevappa, shouted his name cheerfully. He then shone the torch on the ladder made of wood and rope to help Mahadevappa climb up. Sankar moved aside so that Mahadevappa could sit and then they started talking. When Vinod’s topic came up, Sankar asked Mahadevappa, “The loan didn’t get sanctioned is it?” Mahadevappa just nodded in response. Sankar looked into distance and said, “These animals destroy our lives and hopes along with our crops. But, we cannot hurt them because we will be sent to jail. And the compensation, it will take forever, may or may not get and we never get back what we invested”. He turned towards Mahadevappa again, “So the officer said the remuneration for the raid will take time? What are you going to do?” Mahadevappa just sighed. He had gone to the authorities to report the damage the previous day and they had said that there will be delay in compensating the loss as they had just used the funds for few human death cases. Ever since he heard that, he had played with the idea in his head. The human death caused by wild animals was being compensated in large sum of cash immediately after the incident, to the family of the deceased as the loss is grievous and villagers never tolerated such losses. Mahadevappa wanted to live a little longer to see his son reach a good position before closing his eyes forever. But if that has to happen, he wasn’t left with much choice at present other than sacrificing his own life. Suddenly, Sankar gently patted Mahadevappa’s shoulder and pointed in the direction where he saw movement. A herd of elephants were coming for their routine visit. While Sankar turned to get his weapon to chase the elephants, Mahadevappa started to descend down the ladder. The elephants were approaching his field to feast on the remaining cane. While Sankar was shouting at him to get back, he moved towards them leaving behind his torch.         

Living with non-human neighbours in a concrete jungle

I was skimming through the newspaper while I was drinking hot chai when an article titled ‘Watching birds near home eases sadness and worries’ caught my attention. It was a study on the effect of neighbourhood environmental characteristics on mental health of urban dwellers.  They reported a negative association between anxiety, depression, stress and bird abundance and vegetation cover in the neighbourhood. I was intrigued by their findings as I had been experiencing the above in the past few months myself. I have been living in a city for about 6 years now, and had underestimated the bird diversity supported by these concrete jungles. My appreciation of nature was limited to a few early morning birdwatching sessions, which happened once in a blue moon. But then something changed my life in the metro.  

On a Friday morning in October 2016, I was getting ready for the office when I heard a bird calling. I looked through the window and found a myna sitting on the African tulip tree that has reddish-orange flowers. I looked at my watch and convinced myself that I could afford a few minutes for admiring nature. So I rushed to the terrace with my brand new DSLR and got a decent snap of the myna. Then, to my surprise I spotted a white-cheeked barbet on the same tree few branches below. For some reason, I couldn’t believe that I would find a barbet! I thought I would see them only in the suburbs or near forests. Busy life in the city had clearly made me oblivious to the surrounding beings. Inspired by my success that morning at spotting my non-human neighbours, I decided to give birdwatching a more frequent shot.

I was awakened the following morning by the call of parakeets as opposed to the whistling and shouting of the Raddhiwala who visits early in the morning. It was 6.30AM and I jumped out of the bed eagerly to see what nature had for me for the day. I was on the terrace again with my camera. To my pleasant surprise, within  an hour, I had seen a shikra (that was being chased by few crows), rose-ringed parakeets, male and female Asian koel (the female was constantly being chased by the crows and the male was always “under cover”), pale billed flower pecker, scaly-breasted munia (which was perched at the highest point of the fig tree singing to its heart's content, head swaying from side to side), a flock of birds that looked like little swiftlets along with the usual hovering black and brahminy kites, and the resident blue rock (feral) pigeons. Not only did I get to see many different kinds of birds, but also I was fascinated by the behavioural idiosyncrasies of the different species. The crows, for example, were quite territorial and it didn’t matter whether it was a parakeet, koel or a raptor, they would chase it. But the icing on the cake was an unexpected winter visitor, black-naped oriole that was perched on the top-most branch of the peepal tree. That early morning encounter was nothing but encouraging, and motivated me even further to start documenting the birds that I see every day. I uploaded some of the exciting sightings on a website, ebird.org, which allows people to record their bird sightings in a meticulous way. 

            Most of my bird sightings were on 5 tree species namely, African tulip (Spathodea campanulata), jamun (Syzygium cumini), Indian rosewood (Dalbergia sissoo), fig (Ficus racemosa) and peepal (Ficus religiosa). To share my findings and excitement, I created an album titled ‘My Non-Human Neighbours’ on Facebook and starting sharing images of all the bird species that I spotted. I hoped that it would encourage my friends to also take up this activity and add more colour to their lives.

From top left: Rose-ringed parakeet on peepal, purple-rumped sunbird on jamun, Asian koel, Shikra

From bottom left: Cinereous tit, black-naped oriole on fig, pond heron on African tulip, white-cheeked barbet

            Towards the end of October, my bird-watching was hindered by the fireworks that were a part of Diwali. The number of bird species that visited, reduced during the subsequent days of celebration. I lost interest in my newfound hobby and started to slack off a bit. On a cold winter morning, as I was contemplating whether to get up or not while still tucked inside a warm blanket, I heard a shrill call, and I immediately got out of bed to investigate the source. I saw a golden oriole calling from behind the leaves of the peepal tree. This felt like the universe was telling me to get back to bird-watching. The oriole became a regular visitor thereafter.

             I did not just limit the bird watching sessions to morning hours. Whenever I was on the terrace, I kept an eye out for our non-human neighbours. One night, while I was on the phone talking to my parents, I saw a spotted owlet perched on the electric wires on the opposite side of the road. In my excitement, I said good night to my parents in haste, and phoned my friend who was residing in the floor beneath to share my discovery.

             I haven’t been as lucky with mammals. One morning my housemate complained that she was woken up by ‘noisy birds’, but I later realized that she was referring to squirrel calls. They keep running and hopping on the trees and the wires. On rare occasions, I have spotted fruit bats, but mostly at dusk. The diversity in this city never ceases to amaze me but more importantly, has motivated me to be more perceptive of the other organisms we share our space with. One day when I was watching the birds, I saw ‘someone’ walking on four limbs on the parapet. It was a bonnet macaque!

             In the past 6 months, I have spotted 27 bird species just from my terrace. With time, it grew into a healthy obsession of wanting to see new species and experience the immense joy that comes with it. While I cannot deny that we are unfortunate residents of this concrete jungle, with limited time and opportunities to spend admiring nature, it is our responsibility to make the best of what we have.  I have realized that one doesn’t have to go far in search of happiness when might be just outside your abode. All you have to do is spend some time, even if it is few minutes, exploring your neighbourhood and look out for your non-human friends. 

It kept getting hotter and standing in the bus shelter, which had a roof equivalent to not having one as there were thousands of holes in it, became more exhausting for her. She had been waiting there for a while now but neither buses nor taxis approached her. She was terribly hungry as she had skipped the breakfast and moreover she had a hectic morning. She was frustrated by the poor state of transportation in the country and the fact that she was hungry, only made the situation worse. Suddenly some noise caught her attention. She looked to her left and found few of the families living by the road side being given meal packets by a bunch of youngsters. It was a pleasant and gratifying view. She watched them for a while. A smile appeared on her face. She forgot about her hunger and bus in that moment. And the next thing she realized was that there was a bus, an archaic property of the corporation, honking loudly and unnecessarily. She boarded the bus while continuing to appreciate the act of compassion witnessed with a smile on her face. 

Cycle for Nature: Pokémon Go with nature on bikes

On the evening of September 2^nd when the riots due to Cauvery river water dispute had subsided in Bengaluru, my friend and I frantically searched for buses heading to Chikmagalur. We were advised to leave as early as possible on the first available bus, to avoid the possibility of buses getting canceled if the riots resumed later in the day. Both of us were very excited about the adventure that awaited us at Chikmagalur and wanted to reach there at all costs. Wildlife Conservation Action Team of Chikmagalur aka WildCAT-C, an active conservation group in the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka that aims to protect the forest and rights of people, was organizing a cycling rally and we offered to volunteer for the occasion. Cycle for nature is one of the edutainment activities organized for school children in the region to learn about and appreciate their surroundings. It encourages the children to cycle around and explore the places for purposes like birding, viewing wildlife etc. The event which was first held in 2005 was entering its tenth edition and was sponsored and supported by the Forest Department of the Bhadra Tiger Reserve/Wildlife Sanctuary. It was earlier conducted as an independent event, but now it is a part of the wildlife week celebration.

We reached Chikmagalur during the wee hours of 3^rd of September and were welcomed to the sleepy town by a WildCAT-C member. Realizing that it was in the best interest of the program if we were well rested, he dropped us off at our rooms for some rest. We lapsed into a mini coma soon. A couple of hours later, we were up and about and ready to begin the day. We were driven to the site where the event was to be inaugurated, by Mr. D V Girish, who is a veteran conservationist and an active member of WildCAT-C. The participants, all in their early teens were already at the school with their bikes, eagerly waiting for the event to start. After a short volunteer meeting which involved a briefing about our responsibilities for the day, we proceeded to the registration desk to kick-start the event. The participants were split into groups and each team was given a name inspired by nature. Each team had 5 members and there were 30 teams altogether. The program has seen consistent participation in the past with good numbers over the years. Registration was followed by some hot and tasty breakfast served along with the famous Chikmagalur coffee.  

By 8.30AM, participants were seated inside the school hall and Mr. Girish explained to them the rules of the rally including the 22 kilometers route they need to follow within 3 kilometer radius of the Chikmagalur town. Each team was handed a map and a set of questions for which they had to find answers during their quest. They were reminded that the rally was not about the destination but the journey to the destination. The event was inaugurated by the Conservator of Forests, Mr. Karunaakar and the local MLA, Mr. C T Ravi (from the big round of applause he received while he entered the hall I inferred that the man has a celebrity status in the area). Mr. Ravi flagged off the event and the first team set off to find the answers. Once all the teams had left, we volunteers followed them in two and four wheelers to ensure their safety. We were a total of 30-35 volunteers including a doctor and a cycle repairer, and with help from the forest department which had their personnel posted at several points, the situation was well under control. It was a beautiful drive through the countryside passing through fields, wetlands, watching birds and waving to the onlookers who were curious to find out about the event. It was very satisfying to watch the kids trying to work out answers as a group. We took a break after a 10km drive, to distribute refreshments to the tired participants and to make sure we had all the groups up to speed. It was disheartening to find out that they still thought of it as a race and yet again we reminded them that the journey is what they should relish not the destination. Once all the teams reported, we headed towards the last point, Model English School. 

At the final point, lunch was arranged for volunteers and participants. The hungry kids wolfed down the hot pulau which was served with some crispy pakhora and jilebi. Once we were satiated, we all settled down on the grass to discuss the answers they had found on their way. It was heart-warming to see the joy on their faces when they realized they had the right answers.  After a long discussion session, the event came to an end and they were advised to ride home safely.

            The event was the culmination of ten days of hard work and many more days of planning and organizing. The effort and support provided by the forest department definitely need to be applauded and the WildCAT-C’s hard work to organize the entire program is commendable. All the volunteers were grateful to the students, their parents and schools for their enthusiastic participation in the event, making it a success. I left Chikmagalur with a lot of happy memories and an inspiration to organize a similar event in a conducive environment.