Parakeet 2012

The neighborhood in New Delhi I used to live in, has a vita Parcours in a beautiful park. I used to go jogging there regularly. On one of the rounds there was this old house. I used to greet some stray dogs there. Friends... always happy to see me. One day i had seen an older man there and started talking to him.

He said:
‚You should come more often, because sometimes my friend comes to visit me.‘

I asked the man :
‚Which friend?’

He replied :
‚Well... he can fly but nowdays he has his family, so he only comes and visits only sometimes.‘

I said :
‚Sure‘
Then I asked him:
,Can I paint this wall?’

He said:
‚Please!‘
And asked:
‚What will you paint?‘

I said:
‚ I dont know yet but what would you think about a coat of light blue first? Blue like the sky?‘.

He said :
‚ Sure‘ .

I came back with a bucket of emulsion and some blue stainers on a very special spring day. I could smell the flowers and hear the birds. I was mesmerized by the flowers in that park on that day as if they casted a seductive spell on me. In one moment time started slowing down and i felt as if i was waking from a slumber. The warm sun with a breeze of fresh flower scent... I squint my eyes and see so many animals living in the tree next to that place and feel as if i was a part of them. Connected to these exotic colorful birds, families of squirrels and occasional butterflies and so much movement, small and big, fast and slow. I hear a bird whistle, paint the coat of sky blue with my roller and feel as if something is whistling to me. it was as if I felt something in my back that was magnetized. I turn my head slightly up slowly towards the tree with this soothing feeling and look further and deeper into it. A whole world... Behind me I hear the man talking. I look back behind me and there is that man. This time there‘s a parakeet on his shoulder and the man is feeding him. The parakeet begins to chew on him. It looked as if he was biting him.

The man says:
‚don‘t worry, he is not hurting me. He is kissing. That’s his way of showing love. Mithu! What did you do today?‘

The bird screams :
‚chai, chai‘

At first i thought i was dreaming and just stared at this parakeet and the man in complete shock of what had just happened. You should have seen my face! I mean a wild parakeet who has a human friend? One who he visits to say hello once in a while or the other way around? A human with a parakeet as friend? One that says: ‘chai’? I pinched myself....

I told him:
‚Sir, i know what i will paint‘.

He asks:
‚what?’

I said:
‚Mithu‘

He smiled...