Story of the Little Birdie

It was a fine golden time

Which was expected for nine months

When the tiny egg got hatched

And the little birdie came to earth.

‘Welcome,’ said mummy, with a smile on her face

And a tear of happiness rolling down her eye.

‘My daughter is a princess,’ said papa

As he took her in his lap.

She brought a glaze in every face

Who had been waiting for this day.

She cried a baby’s cry

But made a hundred faces smile.

And thus the days kept passing by.

The birdie now went to school.

She got many friends who were like her

Together, they fluttered around in joy.

She became a pet of her teachers

And was the life of her parents.

She was a darling of her brother

And a pride of her friend-circle.

The little birdie saw her mother.

Like her she wanted to fly.

She fluttered her wings, tried and tried

Fell down, got hurt, cried, and again tried.

And then one fine morning,

She could see herself fly.

She flew around and sang around

And danced around with great joy.

Her loved ones watched her from the ground

‘Our birdie has grown so big,’ they were spellbound.

The birdie, now a little bigger

Saw her father struggling so hard.

She had a wish to stand on her feet

She wanted to give her best

And be the ‘man’ of the nest.

While on other hand she had a dream

A prince birdie would marry her.

He’d take her to his kingdom,

And they’d stay happy forever.

And one evening

When she was flying happily with her friends,

Some eagles saw her from a distance.

Not her, but her feathers.

And when the birdie was alone,

They took a chance and pounced on her.

She couldn’t understand anything.

She was too innocent to get them.

And when she finally knew everything,

It was too late. Too late.

She cried. She wanted to run away.

But all her struggles went in vain.

The hungry eagles didn’t show mercy.

They bit and ate her every feather.

They crushed her body, played her innocence

And also her dreams and ambitions.

When she was found by safe people,

She was already half dead.

But still her feeble tongue said,

‘I want to live, I want to live.’

And then there were agitations around

They wanted the eagles to be slain down.

They prayed for the birdie’s recovery.

Although they knew, she couldn’t fly like before.

Back in the hospital, the little birdie

Was ignorant of all this.

She kept fighting for her life.

Her determination was always alive.

But the deities of heaven wanted her back.

They, perhaps, didn’t want her

To be with the bruises.

So they called her back to heaven,

Where she got healed, and flew once again.

Today she has no cuts, and no fears.

She’s playing with the other angels like her.

When she was born, there were a hundred smiles

And when she is gone, there are a million cries.

India has, no doubt, lost a gem.

But her martyrdom has indeed set a big flame.

(May she always Rest in Peace)