WFH friends

A pair of parrots sit pretty in a Versova window. Pic/Tania Dey

Darshak Chavarkar makes a soft murmuring sound to an Alexandrine parakeet. Another parrot begins purring as Vijayshree plays a music video on her phone. "They love to dance," the Maharashtrian couple tells us. Interestingly, it was music that aided Vijayshree in breaking the ice with a parrot that first visited her five years ago. "I had a parrot as a pet when I was a child, and I was too attached to it. I have never had a pet since. A few years ago, when I was looking out of the window, I sighted a similar Alexandrine bird sitting on a tree. I whistled and called out to him for four hours, but he wouldn't budge. The next day, he returned to the same tree. Just then, a troupe of dhol tasha played music in our colony, and he began swaying to the tunes," remembers Vijayshree. She knew only the pulsating beats of traditional drums could relieve the tension between them. "So I turned to YouTube and played non-stop music. He gazed at me, clicking its tongue. I knew then we were going to be friends."

Today, about 500 parrots are fed by the Chavarkars every day. The couple, who has been researching on their new friends for a while now, believes that the flock comes from somewhere near Aarey or Sanjay Gandhi National Park. "Our house in Vile Parle is surrounded by large and luscious trees, which the birds like. So they fly here every morning around 6 and sit till 10 am. They again return at 4.30 pm and finally leave around 7 pm. This has been their routine for half a decade now. They are our family," says Darshak, 50.

Darshak Chavarkar and his wife Vijayshree began feeding parrots five years ago and consider these avian guests a part of their family. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

The number of parrots seen around their window is ever-increasing in the lockdown. But this is not an isolated case. These serendipitous moments are being experienced by many people in the COVID-19 pandemic. When people were compelled to stay indoors 24x7 last year, Radhika Sonawane, a 27-year-old finance professional, saw many birds visiting her Pune home daily. Slowly, the number of parrots taking refuge increased. So, she designed open spaces and set up bird feeders and swings to ensure her avian guests were safe and comfortable. Similarly, Udayan and his family residing in Janakiveedu at Palluruthy in Kerala have been feeding the birds since the lockdown. The rare friendship, which started after the arrival of one parrot, has now grown into a full-fledged family comprising hundreds of birds.

In India, what we commonly see are parakeets. Most common ones seen in urban settings are Alexandrine and rose ringed parakeets. Parrots are social and very friendly creatures, say avian experts. But why are they suddenly getting closer to us humans? Nitya Aggarwal of Wildnest Travel and Photography, which organises nature trips in the country, explains, "The lockdown has led people to become more aware about their natural surroundings and pay more attention to its inhabitants. Parakeets, like other birds and animals, have been regular visitors to homes/places where they get food easily. According to my observation and my interaction with a couple of my friends who have these parakeets as daily visitors, there has not been any major shift in their numbers during this lockdown. They have anyway adapted to the urban environment. The best way to attract them daily is to put bird feeders to give them easy access to food."

There are nearly 500 parrots visiting Chavarkars' home in the lockdown. Pic/Ashish Rane

Darshak, on the other hand, feels lesser traffic and air pollution have turned out to be favourable conditions for parrots in urban settings. "I agree we saw hundreds of parrots before the pandemic as well. But now they are breeding a lot more. The numbers are fast-increasing. There is less noise in the city, lesser movement of vehicles, and these reasons are encouraging parrots into our homes," Darshak shares, adding how it is rare for parakeets to fly to homes situated at lower levels. "We live on the first floor, and usually parrots go to high rises and specifically to flats on a higher floors. My wife and I feel that these birds come to us because they can sense empathy. Long ago, we decided not to have children. Today, we know why God made us take that decision. We were sent to look after these 500-odd parrots instead," he smiles.

Aggarwal agrees that parrots can sense feelings. "Some species can perceive these in more enhanced ways. Parrots are one of them. So they tend to get attracted to those who are more kind and empathetic towards them. Therefore, many a times hand feeding is not encouraged as their increased trust towards humans can lead them into problems as they could be trapped by other humans with bad intent," she adds.

Tania Dey, Rohit Kandoth and Nitya Aggarwal

Animal lover Rohit Kandoth, who lives in a verdant neighbourhood in King Circle, had bred Australian love birds in the past, but had not interacted with parrots extensively. "At least, not after I had one in my home for a short while. These birds sit on the trees near my house almost every day. Being a full-time father takes up a lot of my time, but in the lockdown, I began doing my bit by feeding parrots. They like nuts and seeds and are very friendly creatures," says Kandoth, 49, adding that some are even his muses as he captures them on a professional camera.

Capturing the birds on camera is something Tania Dey, a 34-year-old advertising professional from Versova, enjoys. "I think they have been coming since the last four years. But I have noticed them only in the lockdown. Work from home does that to you; you observe nature more than ever. There is a female parrot who used to come by my 17th floor window before the pandemic. But now, she brings along a male friend with her. She counts on me to keep the pigeons away while they are pecking. They even call out to me as soon as they arrive in the morning. I think these ring-necked parrots come from Madh Island, where there is greenery in abundance. It's nice to have their company," Dey shares.

As wild fruits are not feasible options, grains are most suitable, according to Aggarwal. "But one has to make sure that they are properly washed before offering to remove all toxic pesticides that have been sprayed on them. One should refrain from feeding birds junk food that is salty or sweet since it's toxic for them and does more harm than good."

The Chavarkars spend close to Rs 25,000 on bird feed every month. "I own a marble shop in Vile Parle. While the lockdown impacted our business, I ensured that I ordered bird food in advance and in bulk. I don't want them to starve," Darshak smiles.