Once, on my way to a trip,
I stopped at a place for a tea break.
The place had 3 stalls
One selling steaming bowls of Maggi
While the other two, made tea and some local food.
On the opposite from where I stood was a small bunt house enveloped gracefully with green.
On its porch hung a cage with a parrot inside that added to the beauty of the house.
After a while I see an old woman hobbling out of the house with a tray in one hand and a cane in the other.
Clearly, age had taken its toll on her body, yet her blue eyes still shone bright with kindness and there was too much generosity reflecting in her smile as she gently opened the cage and placed food for the parrot to feast on.
She then slowly started walking towards the stall and placed the tray on a table. It had few prepared dosas, a bowl with the batter and chutney in another.
"I made neer dosa and coconut chutney for the breakfast today, give the batter to appa," she said and took a leave with a smile.
"What is neer dosa?" I inquired the boy, who I suppose is in his early teens.
"It's basically a water dosa made of rice, it's a speciality here."
Everytime she prepared it she saves some batter for us and we add the dish to our menu of the day.
"Would you like to taste it didi? I'm sure you'd love it." specially when Amma prepared it, said the boy. "Sure! I replied with a smile".
The young boy took one dosa out of the tray and served it to me with some chutney.
Undoubtedly, it was delicious.
Muching, I looked towards the home again and noticed that the old lady left the cage open.
"The lady left the cage open" I alerted the boy. "
Oh she does that everyday on purpose. Just so the parrot is free to fly a little everyday." replied the boy.
"But what if it flies and never returned?"
"It does, surprisingly. I see it returning everyday," maybe it loves her food too, said the boy.
"That's interesting, I replied, finishing my last piece of dosa and took a leave.
An year later, I stopped by the same place deciding to eat the yummy dosa whose taste still lingered on my taste buds.
Sipping tea, I took a first bite of dosa and instantly for some reason, I found it a lot less delicious than the one I had last year.
I took a brief look at the same house opposite, and observed that the plants grew pale and dry this time.
The cage was open and the parrot was missing.
"The parrot must have left for his routine morning flight," smiling I inquired the boy.
"No didi, the last time I fed it food it flew and never returned. "
"You fed it ?" I asked.
"Yes didi. Amma passed away a few months ago. One day, I decided on feeding it just like she used to, opening the cage, but for some reason that day, it flew and never returned eversince."
"Maybe it missed her food, and didn't like mine," the boy shrugged replying.
Or maybe, just maybe
Birds behave
like humans too,
always in search
of attachments to cling on, I thought.
