Last night I had a dream. I was in my school and it was sports day. I was running , running trying to run fast but other people were going ahead of me. But I was still trying. People around me were cheering for me. I was trying, trying hard but somehow however fast I tried to run, other people would come from behind and get ahead of me … and the race was just not getting over. I was getting tired but I couldn’t give up … I had to run keep running … Suddenly the voices started fading. People had stopped cheering for me. May be they had realized I am no good. I was getting tired … my eyes were closing … I could not keep my eyes open I had to sleep. I just stopped running , everything went blank. I was sleeping peacefully there were no voices anymore … but somehow my bed was feeling very hard and cold. It was getting uncomfortable. I tried to move but I could not move. There was no place to move.
I opened my eyes. Hey! What is this? Where am i? This is so ridiculous! I was in a cage! I couldn’t believe it! I was bewildered! I started shouting, banging on the bars of the cage. Hey! Who put me in this cage! Get me out here! What’s happening? But people merely looked on, some were smiling, others were looking at me intently as if I was entertaining them. But none of them was interested in getting me out of the cage. I couldn’t understand anything. What was happening. I wanted to get out of that goddamn cage! I was feeling suffocated , I wanted to move but there was no place. I started crying.
Suddenly I was not inside the cage. I was looking at it from outside and my beloved parrot Chiki was inside. He was screeching loudly and flapping his wings hard on the bars of the cage. He just went on trying … he did not understand that there was no way of getting out of the cage. And I was seeing him after so many days! They had trapped him in a cage. I couldn’t see him like that! I had to do something! But I was helpless. They had tied up my hands. I wanted to help him desperately! But all I could do was helplessly watch his futile attempts to get out of the cage. I couldn’t bear it. I started crying uncontrollably.
Suddenly someone was shaking me, slapping my head. I opened my eyes and met my sister’s concerned eyes.
“Hey what happened? Are you fine?” she asked.
“ Ya I am fine! I … I guess I was dreaming. Its ok! I am fine!” I replied.
She just smiled, kissed my forehead, put her arms around me to comfort me and went to sleep again.
I got up and drank some water. Then I went to bed again. But I couldn’t sleep after that. I was thinking all night. Is this what happened to my Chiki? Was he trapped in a cage somewhere? My innocent, mischievous, playful sweetheart Chiki! Is this what they had done to him? No they cant do it! I had to go and find him! But where? He could be just anywhere! I wish I could fly. Then I could have gone looking for him. I was feeling so helpless! I just couldn’t get that dream out of my head!
He was looking at me , expecting me to help him, like the innumerable times I had helped him when he was fighting with the other parrots. He always felt secure with me because he knew the other parrots couldn’t touch him when he was with me . He was the only parrot who unconditionally trusted me more than he trusted the other parrots. The first parrot to be bold enough to come close to me and eat from my hand. The first parrot with whom I became such great friends!
I had watched him grow up from the little ugly baby that couldn’t fly properly to a beautiful full grown parrot। When he had started getting the beautiful blue and red ring around his neck, I had gone running to mom excitedly. Mom look! He’s getting a ring on his neck! He was also the most playful. When he would come and sit on the badam tree near my house and make funny chuckling and chattering sounds, I knew it was my Chiki! I could recognize his voice! And I would try to find where exactly he was on the tree. He would keep screeching and making funny chuckling sounds like he was making fun of me till I found him. And when I finally found him, I would look at him, smile and call him, “ Chiki! Aaja! “ and he would shout excitedly and come flying to my window immediately! And till I gave him his favourite ground nuts, he would hop in his place on the grill and shout. When there were other parrots around he would do this more. He loved to show off in front of them! But the other parrots would get jealous and trouble him and Chiki was a very bad fighter! He almost always lost and I would come to his rescue. That was how we became such great friends!
When it was raining heavily, mom would sometimes close the window and the parrots didn’t like it. But he was the only parrot that would actually come and knock on the window! He would scratch the window pane with his beak till we opened it. He was such a sweetheart! I could go on and on about him!!!
But one day he just did not come. When I came back from school, the first question that I always asked my mom was, “ Did Chiki come today? What did he do?”
But today mom said he didn’t come. I thought mom might not have realized when he had come. I waited for him to come again in the evening. But he did not come at the time when he usually came. Even the slightest voice of a parrot and I would go rushing to the window. All the voices seemed like Chiki’s voice today. I kept looking for him on the Badam tree. But he was nowhere … All other parrots came, had their food and went away. I kept asking each of them , “ Chiki kahaan hai??” I knew they were not understanding what I was saying. But I couldn’t help it, I was getting desperate. He didn’t come that day.
The next day I waited again and again the day after that। Everyday I did the same thing. Any parrot would shout on the badam tree and I would think it was Chiki and call out, “ Chiki aaja!” But this one wouldn’t come flying like him. But I didn’t give up. I did this all the time. I had gone mad. My mom started getting irritated because I was not paying attention to my studies. The people outside saw me doing this everyday and I’m sure they thought I was crazy. But I didn’t care … I wanted my Chiki back! But he never came back … I still hope he’ll come back someday … I miss him … really miss him …
( Readers of this blog … it is my fervent request to all of you. Never trap birds in cages. Birds are meant to fly freely in the open sky … they have a life of their own … they can’t live happily in cages. Don’t rob them of their freedom, their happiness, their life … don’t encourage the trading of birds in cages … don’t buy birds in cages … its not just illegal, its INHUMAN. And spread this message to as many as possible! Good day! )
