What Staying At Home Taught Me

It is simply amazing how much one can see and photograph while home-bound as I have learned during these times of lockdown. One might state that living in an independent house on the New Railway Road in Gurgaon offers certain advantageous, but then, I guess any situation will provide enough for creative minds to work upon. At this time of the year I would be headed off on my bike to a wetland or a National Park, often before all the others had woken up. But then, here I am, cooped up at home with my DSLRs, lenses, Laptop and loads of books to read, TV to watch and of course online classes to take (which happen to be more tedious than regular classes).

But then, firstly, I have these trees across the road which are the favoured perching spots for parrots, Cuckoos, pigeons, and even Hornbills! Yes, you heard it right, Hornbills! Reduced human movement has emboldened wild birds to come out in the cities more often – or perhaps it is that we have become more alert and aware of our surroundings than we ever were! Sound pollution before lockdown had deafened our ears to the sounds of the world. Thankfully I get to know about the arrival of an uncommon bird in the area long before I even spot it. Hornbills, Sunbirds and Tailorbirds, all of them have distinct voices. Many days ago I heard the Hornbill make sounds similar to a Crow, and I mistook for a Crow with a bad throat. It had perched on a faraway tree and in the distance and its silhouette was that of a crow! Unfortunately, I now believe that the Hornbill has lost its mate and keeps calling out for her. Quite a few days ago I did see a pair of Hornbills in a nearby area where I go jogging in the mornings. This one might be one of the two I had seen earlier. The Cuckoo, however, is easier to hear than spot, though I did end up spotting it clinging to the branches of a dried-up Neem tree.

The photographs I have posted below are those of a Sunbird pair that visits the front yard where we have grown some creepers that are in full bloom these days. The female Sunbird has light brown-green feathers while the male has purple feathers. Both of them are very close to each other and can always be found together, feasting on the nectar in turns.

Another rather different sound that I hear from the garden is the distinct hum, the sound of thousands of bees communicating with each other. The sound itself is the sound of the universe, humming to itself, often an eerie kind of experience. And then I have seen the bees arrive to collect honey and then fly back in a particular distance with heavy sacs of honey and pollen. There is one particular bee, larger than the rest that I have never been able to photograph in flagrant. However, I’ve been able to spot, besides the bees numerous kinds of spiders (I had never known there were so many kinds).

Now when I step into my front yard, I expect to see something new. I realise how virulent and powerful Nature is. Though we have harmed our environment with our actions, Nature rebounds with increasing strength, populating our trees with birds and plants with insects, all of whom have an important role to play in the scheme of things. A lot has happened during the lockdown period, while we were indoors, the skies became clearer because of the absence of pollution making the stars more visible, the leaves have become greener, the flowers more colourful. Nature has started healing herself while we are forced to stay at home to meditate and introspect about what we could have done better. Somehow, the advent of the Corona Epidemic has forced to re-think what we could have done better. It has taught us to appreciate life more than ever. Now as we enter the second month of lockdown, we count our blessing one by one and wonder if the world will ever be the same afterwards. The lockdown has forced us to conserve our resources, to be frugal in nature, to be thoughtful about expenses and to value and cherish the freedom that we once had. Unfortunately, we had taken our freedom for granted, and now we have ended up prisoners of our own actions.