My memorable  pets.

    Any childhood is incomplete without animals and pets. I had a lovely time with my pets. Sometimes my pets were not traditional pets like dogs and cats. I used to enjoy the company of any animal that came to stay with us. Later on I made plants my friends. Let me give you an account of my association with animals and pets.

 When I was very very small I remember we had a hen. I used to feed it with grains. After some months I saw the hen sitting in a corner of a shed and refusing anybody’s company including me. One early morning there was a great excitement in the house. My mother, my brothers and I watched the eggs that the hen laid, crack one by one and small fluffy chicks emerge out of those eggs. I observed how all the chicks looked alike. As the chicks grew I watched the way they followed their mother and how their mother fed them. I too used to feed them and try finding out how one chick is different from the other. The smartest chick outwitted the others in grabbing the food.

   As I grew up we had a dog-named Tikki. I had lovely time with Tikki. It used to follow me wherever I go. We used to go to the park. I used to hide behind the bushes and Tikki would search for me. Whenever I gave him a bath it would run and run and cover itself with dust so that I have to bathe it again. It was his way of getting dried up. It was very naughty too and once ate up the meat, which was kept to cook. I also had a baby rabbit and a kitten as a pet for a short period. They were given away because they failed to learn toilet manners and chose to relieve themselves on my parent’s bed.

 Along with Tikki we had pigeons, which ate grains from my hand. One New Year I got a gift of small tortoise from my mother. I loved to watch it walk and swim in our water tank. Then we had a wonderful parrot Mittu. Mittu was very smart and learned many words. Sometimes it would call me by my name and I would think that my mother is calling me. I would feed it with red chillies and gram. Whenever my mother locked the house it would flap its wings vigorously showing its displeasure. It also flapped its wings when it saw other parrots flying in the distant sky.

   As my father got transfers I had to limit my number of pets. I also became busy with my studies and so we did not have permanent pets. I would make the animals and birds that lived in our garden my friends. I would watch them from afar and keep a note of their behavior and habits. In this way I could recognize the crows and sparrows that frequented our house. There was also a long non-poisonous snake, which roamed around in the hedge plants of our garden. It was fascinating to see the gliding movements of the snake from branch to branch. I kept the presence of the snake a secret from my neighbors who were terrified by the very mention of the name of snake.

   At present we stay in a flat where pets are not allowed. I feel sorry for my son who doesn’t have any associations with the animal life. I found out a way. I made him make friends with Mr. Current, the big wasp that lays eggs in the hole of the plug socket. I have kept potted plants, which produce beautiful flowers from time to time. My son keeps a watch on the growth and flowering of the plants. He also identifies the different birds, bees and butterflies that frequent the potted plants in our balcony. We go for nature walks where we encounter birds like kingfisher, koel and animals like squirrel and lizards. These animals inhabit the big graveyard adjacent to our path undisturbed by living people.

  Now I feel it is not necessary that we can enjoy the company of animals only as pets. In fact it is cruel to keep animals as pets except dogs and cats. We should be friends with animals in their natural environs and not disturb them. We should help them in times of distress. I always remember the incident, which occurred many years back. It rained continuously for a week. When the rain stopped I went into the garden to throw away some left over rice. Suddenly from nowhere a dozen crows and sparrows appeared to eat the rice. I went in and bought more rice to feed them for I understood that they were not able to go in search of food because of continuous rains.

   Recently to our delight a pair of small colorful birds came and nested in the ornamental plants that we kept in the balcony. We watch the birds fly to and fro with strands of grass in their beaks. Also the birds’ twittering is music for our ears. We respect each others boundary. I am amazed that in this concrete jungle, these two brave hearts have taken a chance to nest so close to humans, giving me a glimpse of nature.

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From,

C.Radhika.