My Tipu

written for www.msn.co.in

My mother had given me a pet bird on my eighth birthday. A bright green parrot he was and I was overjoyed to get him. After returning from school, my first action was to run towards his cage and look at him. Taking immense pleasure in feeding him, I would watch with awe as he frantically climbed up and down the almost-circular wall of his cage. Never would I be able to climb up the walls in my room, I told my cousin and together, we burst out laughing.

However, as we were laughing, something happened in my mind and I started thinking why my parrot (I had named him Tipu) was so frantic in climbing. That evening, after finishing my homework, I started thinking about Tipu’s behaviour again. Why was my bird so restless?

In the morning, I got the answer to my question as I saw a pigeon come and sit on my window-sill. Birds are supposed to fly in the sky and make nests in trees! My Tipu was locked in his cage just for my amusement. I decided to do something about it although the decision broke my heart.

As my mother was having her afternoon-siesta, I decided to put my plan into action. Surreptitiously, as if I was a criminal, I opened my Tipu’s cage and gently nudged him out of it. Then, as he was fluttering his wings, I took him to the garden and set him free.

With aching joy filling up my heart, I saw Tipu fly, a flash of bright green against the soft blue of the sky and soon he alighted at the nearby guava tree. The green of my parrot merged with the green of the tree and there were tears in my eyes.

“If you love someone, set him free…”

ayeshacgs@hotmail.com