Monday 31 August 2020

How did Crows get into Fables?



Although I have observed the quirks and mannerisms of crows that we see so commonly all around us, it took me a visit tot eh Basai Wetland in Gurgaon to finally understand how the ubiquitous crow came to be in a fable known as the Thirsty Crow! It took me a moment to realise that a Crow that I spotted on one of my visits to the Basai Wetland was doing something odd and yet so familiar! 
It immediately struck me that what I was seeing was straight out of a Fable handed down generations about how a thirsty crow dropped pebbles into a jar to make the water level rise so that it could quench its thirst. Although I did not see a jar, I did spot a round object in its beak, something that looked like an over-sized pebble. Giving in to my curiosity, I decided to ignore the other, more exotic birds and instead to focus on this crow. I was able to take quite a few snaps and which I am sharing below.


Surely, those wise people of the past must have observed the intelligent behaviour of crows which is why they were added to various folktales and fables. This crow however had taken too large a bite to swallow. What it was doing with that thing in its beak is probably stuff for another table.





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