I stood in the balcony of my home in quietude, watching the drowsy monochrome of night fade away. Summer had almost set in Dubai and a bright day was awakening de novo. The birds serenaded their lullaby in fusion with the notes of water sprinklers in my garden, and the water droplets shyly scattered the nascent rays of rising sun. Watching this nature’s ballade in amusement, I tried to consolidate my thoughts to the hectic day schedule ahead of me, yet was distracted by multiple flocks of birds that flew through the ever-developing canvas of the dawn; as if their feathers were the fine quills painting those remarkable hues in the vast expanse of blue sky.
The morning view in sublime nature was a frisson of joy in one sensory palette. The shrubberies of my garden boundary swayed their ruffled leaves softly in the dewy morning breeze and suddenly my attention was drawn to a bird-nest in the making, neatly hung over the robust leaves. I took a pause to observe this wonderful craftsmanship underway by some gregarious architect of avian world. My inquisitive focus on this prolific handy-work was interrupted by the quintessential chirpy notes of an extremely energetic, sparrow-sized and rotund in appearance, brownish-grey birds – the ‘white cheek Bulbul’ who were the weavers of this visual design in nature’s domain. Oblivious of my presence in their vicinity, they continued their task as if it was a designated mission. One enthusiast amongst them ascended jerkily, hitching around in multiple directions as if gravity had no effect on him. Fluffing up his feathers, he landed on the shrub and paused to chisel loose a bit of leaf-straw and draw it into a thin stripe.
By now I had realized that I was at the right place in the right moments. Yes, I was witnessing the process of ‘home-making’; which is one of the most significant life-event of any living creature. Exclusively engineered, their masterpiece cup shaped nests made with thin twigs, grass stems, leaves and moss are the pivot of their life-scape and love story too; where they choose to raise their progeny; hence signifying new life, growth and abundance. I had quietly seated myself in the balcony with my eyes peeled out of lazy slumber, to witness the tiny Bulbul in pursuit of constructing the signature ‘home sweet home’. Meticulously, he was tying leaf-strips around the base of a sturdy leaf-blade which served as the anchor-point to secure the nest in green kingdom of the boundary shrub. Without a blink I watched him make a loop here, a tuck there, twisting knots and shaping it into a nest that initially resembled a pixie-hat. It transformed later into an intricately woven, gravity-defying elliptical bowl of his comfort. My prominently focused ‘hero Bulbul’ had bonded with another buddy through the process. One quick swoop, and they both landed on a large bladed leaf and chiseled it in unison. However, they soon sparred over their crafted straw and drifted apart from the ‘camaraderie’ they displayed initially.
As the feat of dedication and meticulousness continued, the Bulbul’s confident calling and feather fluttering had gained momentum too. Every few seconds he chirped, chittered and chattered towards the direction of bird-bath in the garden where a group of many other birds had congregated for their morning ritual. The buzzy calls intensified from both ends as the work progressed. My Bulbul made sure that every listener in his audience heard his chirruping and saw his nest. Although I was a member of his audience too, his performance was surely not for me. However, I did utilize my presence to freeze in my camera the sublime grandeur, astounding strangeness and profusely aesthetic creation of Bulbul’s endurance.
Having enjoyed the on-going phenomenal bird-play of The Bulbul, I silently wished him luck to attain his purposeful. I gathered my thoughts to my day’s calling, while wondering that the world of nature is much greater than the realms of human mind & understanding; and a blade of leaf is much more than it appears.
Dr. Richa Walia
[Parent of Mahira Walia]