The hidden factor

I remember the day, I actually saw a koel. I was on my morning walk on the terrace of my apartment when I heard the koel call— its deep plaintive voice calling to the skies for rain.

Your immediate reaction would surely be: "What's so great about that?" People have been sighting rare species of plants, animals and insects. I recently read that the three-banded rose finch had been sighted in Arunachal Pradesh. And, butterfly lovers have been thrilled at the sighting of species like the Branded Royal seen in the Nilgiris after 130 years. The sightings of the Blue Mormon, Spotted Angle and Liliac Silver line have been sending entomologists in a tizzy. Space scientists have, of course, been trying to sight new galaxies, stars and planets. So, compared to these, my excitement at the sighting of a koel may look a little over the board.

Romanticised in poetry, legend and myth, the koel has always fascinated me. Growing up in the concrete jungle of Mumbai, I used to look forward to the call of the various birds during our annual summer vacations to Palakkad, Kerala. The day usually began with the song of the bulbul outside the room I slept in. The flash of blue as the kingfisher dived for a fish in the pool in my grandmother's house was an awesome sight.

There were other birds as well, but the koel was the ever-elusive one. No matter how much I tried, I could not see it. It would call from the treetops for the rain to come, but kept itself well hidden among the foliage.

And, thinking about this, I realised that many of us tend to look for the hidden wonder rather than the beauty before us. While travelling on a train or even by road, how many of us have ignored the beautiful vista on either side and looked out of the window eagerly waiting to see what would come beyond the curve on the track or road.

Or, instead of enjoying the company of the spouse, friend, neighbour or colleague with whom you interact every day, you fondly remember the cousin, college friend or colleague you left behind at some stage in life and who is now far away.

There is a saying in Hindi: "Ghar ki murgi dal barabar". This means we don't value the things closest to us and glamorise what is far away or unattainable. That extremely expensive ala carte menu at a five-star restaurant is what we all hanker after, although it may be the same food that has been made lovingly at home.

We travel all the way to a remote resort to enjoy peace and quiet, go swimming in the pool and be one with nature. But how many of us would want to restore the ancestral home (those who have one, of course), and spend the vacation there?

And, so, instead of enjoying the song of the bulbuls as they build a nest in my balcony, or the chattering of the parrots on the peepal tree outside or the little pee peeps of the magpie Robins, I am thrilled that I finally got to see a koel. And, felt my day has been made.