Let us imitate Nature; conformity with Nature provides us with a formula of discipline and a standard of rectitude.—Ambrose of Milan It was mid-afternoon and the scorching Delhi summer sun made everyone, humans and beasts alike, try and escape the inferno. I was returning from a friend’s place after picking up some fruit when a flutter of excitement made me stop at my gate. A group of kids were eagerly tumbling over each other’s shoulders, trying to get a better glimpse of something that the glow in their eyes said was more precious than the treasure of Nimrud. It was a nestling that had fallen from a neighbour’s roof, which had eventually found its way under the parked Maruti of a resident. Overhead, a whole bunch of sparrows shrieked endlessly, presuming that it was the end the world for the poor bird which had not even grown its wings yet—and obviously couldn’t fly. The children then turned to me. “Uncle, uncle, can’t we put it back in its nest?” they asked. I was in a quandary over the request. On such a day, who had the energy to do this? But the possibility of the fledgling becoming a meal for the giant neighbourhood cats wrenched my heart a bit. I told the kids to stand guard over the poor thing while I went in search of a piece of cloth. There was immediate cooperation from the little army. Since I had once seen my father trying to catch an injured parrot and getting badly hurt for his pains, I didn’t want to run a similar risk. The hours spent watching programmes on the National Geographic and Animal Planet channels came in handy. I knew that while catching a bird, it was important to deploy a piece of cloth in order to avoid hurting oneself as well as the bird. So I got myself a soft piece of cloth and went back to the kids. Now began the real trial. Despite all of us having being brought to our knees, we just could not catch it. It was so tiny that every time we closed in on it, it gave us the slip. Finally, it got itself trapped under a cemented cupboard. A little more effort and it was in our hands. Once we had the little creature with us, I was scared. I told the children not to press it too hard as it could suffocate. Slowly the procession moved to the neighbour’s roof-top, where the nest was located. Gingerly we placed the bird in the nest. Our mission was accomplished. But as I looked back on the episode, I wondered what made the children so eager to save the bird. Was it because of what they were taught in school? Or was it just the instinct of children? A natural empathy for animals and birds? Perhaps it was a bit of both. But it struck me then that as long as children are around, the planet is in safe hands. They show us the way.
