As a kid who grew up in Delhi, I have seen my mother feed the crows before the domestic consumption of food which has remained an unsolved mystery and puzzle in my mind till date. It is said that crows represent our forefathers and sometimes I shudder to even think that our forefathers wore the look of a crow!! I have seen our south Indian neighbours doing the same almost everyday! In most of the Punjabi households in Delhi, they have at least one sonu or pappu or kaka as their nick names! I have watched my father doing Shradh ceremony for his parents and during this time, me and my sister were just pushed into a room and not allowed to eat anything until the ceremony was over!! At one point of my father went up to the terrace and yelled out "KA-KA" which brought smiles in us signalling that we are going to eat soon and address those musical sounds of enzymes within our stomach waiting to be food ed!!
As the loud yell of KA-KA went up the air, my padosi little boy, my friend, came to the open varandah to look for my dad as the boy was nick named KA-Ka!!!! We tried our best to control our laughter and that was fun!!
The Pooja Park in 15 A block near Ajmalkhan road was the centre of avenue for all religious festivals that the south Indians celebrated every year. It was during one of the festivals a priest conducting the Pooja went into some kind of trance and was yelling Muruga-Muruga.... when one of my sardar friends living in the corner of the park suggested to me as to why we are not giving him Murga when he is wanting it so much?? It took quite a few days to explain to him that it was a divine call and a blessing since I myself did not know the matter so well during those times!!(not that I am well versed now!)
In Chennai, the custom of feeding the crows is so rampant that it is difficult for anyone to sleep after 6 am with the windows open as there is always an army of crows flying around and crowing!! The feeding has rejuvenated the population growth of the crows to such an extent that the crow stares at you from the edge of the kitchen and daring you! I think the time is not far off when the crows will come into your living room and share your meal right on the dining table? Quite a few years back, the Malaysian government invited many enthusiasts to bring as many dead crows possible and be rewarded @RM 10 each! This step was taken after the citizens complained to the authorities of crow droppings all over their cars because of which they were put to hardships!! It will take lot more years for our government to listen to the citizens and their grievances like this.
There are numerous people on the road who feed the stray dogs every day. I am not able to understand this concept as I feel the food could be given to people who can not afford a meal. The stray dogs feeding has gained so much of popularity that every street in the colony has at least half a dozen stray dogs running here and there and sometimes darting towards people who carry some bags thinking it to be food. I have seen persons running in fear when the dogs come charging at them and result in their falling on the roads and carrying pleasant memories of bruises that occurred due to the dog menace! My next door neighbour goes wild when he sees one particular dog answering the nature's call every morning at a specified time only on his gate and in front of his house. It may bring lots of humour to those on lookers but hear of hearts, i must say it is not done. with due respects to all the dog lovers and animal lovers, can I start this debate whether feeding of dogs and crows is necessary for bettering our living conditions?? In what way is this going to help the economy or even those stray animals which are encouraged to increase the population by virtue of abundance in food that they are able to get every day!! I want my friends who read this blog to respond and contribute their thinking? I would beg to apologise to all the dog lovers for being so open in my views. surely, I don't mean to hurt them?
