Birds' Gotta Drink!

These two events may seem to be a figment of my imagination, and I wouldn't even blame you for thinking so. After all, being confined to my hostel for three continuous weeks, would you blame me if I started seeing things that weren’t actually there? But let me assure you, I witnessed these with my own two eyes. And my fellow hostel-ites can vouch for at least one of these, if not both.

            I was compelled to chronicle the sights I saw, because it shows the sheer ingenuity present in the so called “dumb” animals all around us. Sure sometimes they may do stupid and hilarious things, because that’s just what their instincts tell them. But sometimes it’s astounding to see the level of smarts they display to adapt to their ever changing environment. Like Darwin said, it’s truly ‘survival of the fittest’ out there. Fittest brain, to be exact.

            So, one day, I was washing my clothes in the hostel courtyard. It was a hot afternoon, despite it being January. Global warming is real folks, don’t you forget it. Anyway, for the uninitiated, girls wash their clothes and their vessels at the same tap in the hostel (mercifully not with the same soap!). The tiles around are never dry. And the plain shahabadi has been slowly eroded away to leave irregularly shaped puddles around them. Water, scummy things, soap dregs, foam and a whole lot of nasty things collect in these puddles. Man, if you ever accidentally step in them, I’d recommend bathing your feet five times.

Back to the point. It was a hot day and I washing my clothes. Just then, I noticed a pigeon flutter down pretty close to me. The pigeons in my hostel are not exactly tame, but they’re not completely feral anymore. They’re very vexing pests. They make nests in unlikely places, shower the corridors with a lot of pigeon poop and their chicks have a grating squeal that could rouse zombies from the ground. The worst part is that nothing intimidates them. No matter how hard we try to scare them away, they just sit resolutely and give us the evil eye, in a manner which strongly reminds me of Nigel the cockatoo from the movie Rio.

This particular pigeon, on that particular afternoon, was a thirsty bird. He waddled about and a puddle of cholera attracted his attention. He dipped his beak in it and just as quick, withdrew it, evident disgust apparent on his face. Then the still-dripping tap caught his eye. He fluttered to the tap handle and tried getting upside down to get to the water. All this while, I was crouching on the ground, motionless, wanting to see what the pigeon would do. A part of me marveled at his acrobatic ability even as most of me was transfixed by his efforts. Then he became upright and unmistakably, he gave me the evil eye. A haughty, villainous look which clearly said ‘Minion. I want water. I expect you to give me water’. For a moment I just looked at the pigeon. And the pigeon looked back at me first from one eye and then from the other in that odd way that only birds can. I got up and walked to the tap. And quicker than blinking the bugger flew away. Minion, my foot. Nevertheless, since I felt bad for the bird, I turned the tap ever so slightly so that a light trickle of water started falling. No sooner did I turn back to my clothes, that the pigeon returned and started drinking. After that, till my chore was completed, I kept the tap turned to a slight trickle, which may seem wasteful to some of you, but a score of sparrows and a few more pigeons deigned to visit and have their full of water. Normally, I’m a person who takes the extra effort to secure a dripping tap. But as I sat there that afternoon, I couldn’t help but marvel at a mere pigeon’s instinct of self preservation. I’ve seen doofus dogs merrily lap at puddles of water which could be containing just about any lethal thing, and then they lop away like nothing ever happened. But that pigeon blew my mind.

The second and more unbelievable thing that I witnessed leaves this pigeon thing in the dust. About a week ago, I happened to be in the hostel garden. The trees were filled with great black crows, cawing in their hoarse voices. Suddenly, one crow flew down to the tap in the garden and before my shocked eyes, he turned the tap! With his claws! Water started gushing out, and cool as a cucumber, the crow gladly helped himself and flew away, before I could pick up my jaw from the ground. But no! Wait! He was followed by two more of his brethren in rapid succession, one that simply drank and flew away, and one that drank to his fill and turned the water off before flying away. For a few seconds I could not find my voice. Then I proceeded to run in and inform my friends of my discovery. The joke was on me. I was the last person to come to know of this! Everyone in my hostel had seen the dexterous ingenious crows before. I couldn’t believe I that a trio of such astute animals lived in such close proximity to me and I had never noticed. Man, I should be given dibs to the next Kit Kat ad!

            When one thinks about it, what have we not taken away from the birds? We’ve taken away the trees in which they make their homes. We’ve taken away the sprawling fields where they got their food. We’ve taken away their clean lakes, ponds and rivers. We’ve taken away their clean, pure air. We bombard them with airwaves twenty-four-seven. We dump rubbish and chemicals everywhere. We’re choking them slowly. But their resilience must be saluted. They are thriving, not just coping, with all the inadequacies.

In short, moral of the story, the next time you are tempted to call someone a ‘bird-brain’, re-think that. They’re secretly plotting to take over the world. One human appliance at a time.

~ Inquisitive I

Just Your (A)typical Love Story

This is my birthday gift to my boyfriend. Happy birthday love :* (It mostly sicks to the facts. Mostly)

            In a typically stereotypical fashion, their story started out with antagonism. He was a jock; she was a geek. They were destined to clash. She hated him outwardly; sighed inwardly at every corny joke. She catcalled outwardly; swooned inwardly at every bike stunt he displayed or every goal he scored in gulley football. He was intrigued by her; he knew he couldn’t observe her without losing his status quo among his friends, so he sneaked sidelong looks at her and tried to learn all he could about her. She was partial to kohl; he liked how it made her eyes shine. He was prone to styling his hair with obscene amounts of hair gel; she liked how it accentuated his distinctly feline features. They never shared their admissions with their friends.

            She could never understand his compulsion to make every serious statement a joke. Every time she make a scornful noise at one of his (in his mind) excellent quips, he mentally vowed to rile her up all the more. She always went into raptures of delight when Desi Girl played. When she heard him admit “kadak gaana hai yaar!” about that very song, she made it a point to loudly proclaim how much the song got on her nerves. He smirked openly; inwardly he was confused. He was hoping she would soften towards him on learning they liked the same song.

            They went for Marathi tuitions together, but they weren’t in the same batch. She always pretended to be disgruntled on the days their batches were combined. He did all he could to get her attention. She sneaked glances at him over her textbook. He was riveted every time it was her turn to read a passage. She was glad for all the jokes he made, it gave her an excuse to stare at him legitimately. However, she never graced his efforts by laughing.

            His friends told him that she was a prude. Privately, he never agreed. Her friends told her that he was bad news. Privately, she agreed whole heartedly. She had heard him exchange words with people he didn’t like. He made no bones about going up against girls too. The scars that marred his face only heightened the aura of danger surrounding him. But which girl didn’t feel viciously attracted to a bad boy?

            One day he crossed the line. He razzed on about her friend’s boyfriend. She hated confrontations but she couldn’t bear to see her friends being picked on. She said a great many things to him; which she began to regret almost immediately. He said nothing. He defiantly met her eyes but his uncharacteristic silence unnerved her as she left.

            When her guilt wouldn’t let her sleep, she got his number from a friend who owed her. She composed an apology. He brushed it aside and extended the olive branch. From then on, they were friends.

            The day she chose to tell her friends, they immediately told her what a bad idea it was; fraternizing with someone who was obviously not good company. She refused to take their advice. The day he chose to tell his friends, they all told him it was because she liked him. He did not want to believe it just then.

            In a time when message packs did not exist and each message and minute cost a rupee apiece, their friendship blossomed. She learnt that his favorite clubs were Liverpool and Arsenal. He learnt that she loved dogs. They learnt that they both loved Linkin Park. Their previous misconceptions melted away. In the troubled times of tenth standard, he gladly took all her study tips. She always gave him a missed call at 4.30 am in lieu of an alarm, so that he could wake up and study.

            When her school bus was late, she’d see his pass by her house. They always waved to one another. When he started getting his first vestiges of stubble, she told him that she liked it. He kept it and faced a reprimand at school for it, but he didn’t care.

            She invited him to her school fete. When he came, she was busy manning the DJ stall. He gave a small smile every time her voice declared the next song and the message it conveyed. He found her once stall duty ended. Even before she could declare that she was parched, he offered her a glass of 7 Up. He would not let her pay. She blushed into her glass as she took a sip.

            Her friends would not let up the teasing. She claimed that he would never reciprocate her feelings, chunky and bespectacled that she was. She hastened to clarify that she would never jeopardize their friendship. His friends would not let up the teasing. He remained stoic; not because he didn’t like her, but because she kept insisting they were nothing more than friends, so he did not want to be the one to break her illusion.

            She asked him to be her Valentine. He wondered if it were a proposition in disguise. She told him that even friends could be Valentines. He was exasperated; at the end of his tether. He couldn’t believe she was still stringing on this charade. Still, he played along, for her.

            That day, she got a phone call. A prank call. A vicious, malicious prank call that chipped away at all her self-esteem and had her sobbing at the end of it. He confessed that he was the one who supplied her number to her tormentors. She felt stung at his betrayal. He told her that he was not aware of their intentions when they has asked for her number. Her heart balked at his explanation, she wanted, so badly, to not believe him, but her mind told her that he was being sincere. In that moment, he believed her shattered heart and in a scene that was reminiscent of a few months ago, she told him things that she should not have. And he did not say a word; which was unlike the scrapper that he was. All he could do was watch her walk away.

            Sense caught up with her. It was hard to swallow her hurt and call him. He answered in the middle of the first ring. He brushed away her apology with one of his own. The last time was the beginning of a friendship. She wondered what this what the beginning of.

            She admitted that she had always in love with him. He admitted that he had always been in love with her. And that marked the beginning of something more

- Inquisitive I

           

A KNPian Speaks

My take on my college in my three years of being here. Originally written as an essay to be submitted for the college's silver jubilee celebrations.

Has anyone ever heard a glowing parent express in pride, “Mera beta bada hoke veterinarian banke apne mummy-papa ka naam roshan karega”? Honest show of hands, now. None? I thought as much. Another honest observation that I myself have made. On an average, five out of every ten people one comes across have no idea what the word “veterinarian” even means. It felt like the community of vets was invisible to almost everybody but all that changed once I finally found like minded people, here, at Krantisinsh Nana Patil College of Veterinary Science.

          KNP has stood as a proud institution for 25 years on the banks of the river Nira, on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s sacred ground. It has borne testimony to the dreams of hundreds of students who have passed through here. It is a home away from home. Scores of people have learnt valuable lessons here; not all of them academic.

          I’m sure if the walls could speak, they would divulge so many secrets. This college has seen so much that has happened. It has seen the comings and goings of so many students and staff over the years. It has seen how effective teaching practices and a strong will can mould students from being lost dreamers to strong go-getters. The students who come here, may not necessarily know why they have come or how will they get through their five years here. Not everyone has a fixed life plan at the age of 18. Our thoughts change so fast, we can barely keep up! And the more we learn, we see, we experience, the more we want to do something in life that will bring fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment for us. I’m sure everyone who has passed through the halls of this institution can confirm that while they were here, their life took a new direction.

          This college has stood testament to the interactions of students who came here from different social strata, economic backgrounds, ideologies, attitudes and personalities. I’m sure that not all interactions may have been amicable, but each and every one of us has grown and matured as a human being during our time spent here. It isn’t easy to uproot oneself from everything that is familiar and come to spend weeks at a time away from family and loved ones. But being in the hostel has taught us all the importance of responsibility, adaptability and learning to stand on our own feet.

          Many of us came here with a lot of doubts about the scope of this field. However, our opinion quickly changed. We learnt that veterinary science is not just about opening a clinic and spending the rest of our days stewed up in it. The field has immense, immeasurable scope. Students can opt for research and development or go into animal husbandry related fields just as easily as taking on a core clinical field.

          One cannot forgo a particular topic when one talks about a veterinary college. The main beneficiaries of course! Countless animals have been benefitted by the knowledge and expertise of the dedicated doctors here at KNP. Our polyclinic caters to patients as far away as Satara and Pune. Regular camps are conducted for the adopted villages. Not to mention, the numerous animals who have been benefitted by the distinguished alumni of our college.

          Everyone here at KNP is a part of a large, yet tightly knit family. This degree of closeness and the bond that keeps us all working together in harmony is a flavor unique to our college. Like every family, each and every member (whether two legged or four) has their own unique personalities. We clash, we argue, we spit fire at times but despite it all, we stay united. KNPians truly know how to multiply joy and reduce sorrow by sharing problems and happy moments with one another. While we are here, we are taught to respect seniors and the staff and to show strict adherence for rules, whether they be college rules, hostel rules or mess rules.

          The months seem to fly by here. We all grow together, study together, play together, have fun together and face the problems of life together. This college nurtures our dreams and hones our skills and ensures holistic development of every student that comes here. Our exemplary staff impart their knowledge to us in a way that is interactive and fun. Our wits and skill are tested through exams and we learn to do self study and hone a business sense for ourselves through non credit courses like tracking programs, study circles and entrepreneurship program.

          This college holds a very special place in my heart. It has taught me so many new things, let me meet so many incredible people and animals and in this process I have learnt so many things about myself. The journey has been fantastic so far and I am glad that there still is so much more road to be covered. Above all, I am grateful because I am being groomed for one of the noblest professions in the world. For, after all it was said by Henry W Longfellow,

“Among the noblest in the land

Though man may count himself the least

That man I honor and revere

Who, without favor, without fear

In the great city dares to stand

The friend of every friendless beast”

- Inquisitive I