Rescuing a Birdie and a Reminiscence of My Dearest Bellu

It was Navratri. Mother asked me to visit a nearby temple, that of Gram Devta. I usually don't do it just because I am told, but that day I felt the instinct to go. I walked with flowers, camphor tablets, and some sweet offerings for the Devi. I had read somewhere - if you want to please a female goddess, you need to woo her with offerings. I am sure this is not how it works. And it is certainly not the reason I took all the offerings along. We are blessed with plenty of it - flowers and food, and so I took them along to express my gratitude.

On the way back home, I observed a bird on the side of the road. It was limping, trying to take off, but its feet and wings didn't help. I was hurt looking at its helplessness. I asked a fruit vendor what had happened and found out that the bird had fallen off a tall tree. I didn't know what to do. It was no small birdie. It was big and looked like a crane. The colour was grey. I knew I wanted to help. How? I didn't know. Plus, I had work that day and I knew rescuing it would not be an easy task.

So I started home to get my phone and take some videos of the hurt bird so I could circulate them among animal rescue groups and request them to help me save it. When I went back to the spot to take some videos of the bird, it bird had fallen off into a gutter. I managed to record some videos and forwarded them to the concerned groups. But I was in no luck.

A few didn't reply, and one of them said they had too many injury cases to take on another.

And just like that, my first ray of hope vanished.

On asking one of them how I could help the bird, they said I could put the bird in a box and hand it over to the forest department.

"I can do this", I thought to myself.

I rushed back home and found a box, and took it to the spot. By now, the bird had managed to hide under a huge tile that covered the gutter. There was no way I could move the tile and simply pull out the bird.

Curious passersby asked what was happening. And I explained the situation. No one offered help. One warned me, "I appreciate your courage but have you seen the bird's beak? One peck is enough to hurt you." And it was true. But in my heart, I knew I couldn't let go. So I replied, "I understand the risk. But I can't let this helpless bird stay in the gutter". What actually worried me was that the bird could catch a cold as the gutter wasn't dry. And I don't want to say any further, you are intuitive enough to understand.

The first thing that came to my mind on seeing the bird was my dearest pet, who had suffered, but in a different way. We couldn't save her. And I couldn't let that happen to this birdie.

Bellu - my sweet, sweet baby

In the previous month, I had lost my dearest pet Belli to an illness. Bellu (her nickname) was a white-coloured hamster with black ears. Such an adorable combination, isn't it? She was just about the size of my palm. But the joy she brought into my life was massive. My life literally revolved around her - she was the centre of my world.

Just a photo shoot with Bellu

We had seen and nursed her through a week-long of suffering. She had all the care that my family had to offer, but still, she couldn't make it. For days, I saw her in pain, fighting for her life. She tried to walk and run, but could only drag herself around. She sat silently, in pain. She mostly retrieved in a corner of her house. Several trips to the vet also didn't help. Towards the end, she couldn't even drink water on her own. Her mouth was jammed. We fed her using a syringe.

Hamsters are tiny creatures, and there's only so much that you can do to help them recover.

On her last few days, I remember, all signs of recovery had vanished. Just like how hope does in dire times. My lovely baby had to go to free herself from all the suffering. I knew it and it pained me. It was as if an arrow was stuck in my chest, and I couldn't pull it off. I used to take her in my palm and hold her close to my chest. And I told her how grateful we were for her and how much we loved her. And all the joy and happiness she had given us. I told her how strong she was and that I will always remember her for all the good things she was - active, beautiful, playful, willful, determined, and a fighter.

Little Bellu who lit my world

In the end, her breathing slowed down, she couldn't open her eyes. And she lay there, till the last minute, trying to get up on her feet. Hamsters don't like to be bothered, and we wanted her to have whatever peace she could have. We made her a bed and let her be by herself for a while.

In about half an hour, we checked on her. Her soul had left and her body lay there, still as never before. For me, it was not the body, she was my baby, who had left, rather too soon. I was devastated, but I knew it was coming. My brother and mother, who loved her just as much, were devastated too. We wrapped her in clean, soft tissues. And she lay in her home. That night, I tossed and turned in bed but couldn't get a wink of sleep.

The next morning, it was raining heavily. Maybe the skies reflected what was going on in our hearts.

We had to cremate her. We waited for the rains to stop, and when they did, we left.

We took her to the countryside and found a big tree, which gave shelter to many birds. We thought it would be a perfect place for Bellu to rest. We dug a tiny piece of land and unwrapped her. The very sight of her laying still on her back, with her tiny, very tiny hands, close to her chest, eyes closed, mouth open with yellow, sharp teeth peeking out, formed a lump in my throat. Her black ears stood out like always. It felt like someone stabbed my chest over and over and over again. But Bellu looked calm, she was delivered from pain and suffering, and so I tried to calm myself. We buried our beloved Bellu and asked the good God to keep her safe and happy wherever she would be.

The next few days weren't easy for me. Not having her around, not being able to play with her, watch her eat, run, drink water, yawn, and stretch her body gave me a feeling I can't put in words. Every move of hers is still registered in my subconscious.

Hamsters don't get emotionally attached to you. They don't have the ability. But with Bellu, I felt she trusted us. And that's how I knew, a hamster's love language is trust. For instance, there were times when she would be stressed because of the tiniest of things. She would fill her mouth and leg pouches with food as if she felt threatened. We had to sit her on our lap and stroke her with love. And only after some time did she calm down.

Back to the birdie. With no luck, I asked if my cousin could help me out in rescuing the bird. And to my relief, she did. We arranged for a few long branches and ripped off the leaves. But the herculean task was still ahead. Did the birdie trust us with her life?

I marched to the gutter, still unclear as to what to do next. And miraculously, I saw a municipal van parked right next to the gutter. I requested them to help me and was counting on them for it. They agreed. We tried gently nudging the bird with a branch to the other side of the gutter. It was scared and refused to move where we intended her to. But after a few more attempts, it moved at last.

Now the task was to pull it out of the gutter and put it in the box. The municipality men first tried to see how the crane would react to human contact. They tried putting their leg down near the bird's beak. Damn, it felt threatened and so it attacked them with its beak. Thankfully, the man's shoe dodged any harm. But we sure were convinced that picking up the bird with bare hands meant danger. I had little hope now. We needed a miracle. Thankfully, the men bent the long branches in a triangular shape at the end and tried picking up the birdie. The first two attempts didn't work. But the third time was the charm. They were able to pick it up.

Birdie rescued!

The birdie was safe at last! I thanked the men, my cousin, and the heavens. I carried the box with the birdie home and then rode to the forest department. My heart felt at peace, it was full of gratitude. A few lessons I learned that day:

1. Where there is a will, there is mostly a way

2. God helps those who don't give up

3. Sometimes, you don't need to have a plan, you just have to act, and things will align