Tuesday, April 20, 2010

I Wish I Were A Bird



I went bird watching last week. Amidst all that lush green mountains and a meandering river, I discovered my philosophical side. And it kept on saying '' Quisiera ser un pajaro." Which is Spanish for "I wish I were a bird".

The birds there did seem to have a lot of fun. Apart from clocking some serious flying miles, they sang all day, had some kind of a kitty (or was it a birdie) party and took a dip in the hotel swimming pool. It made me wonder what life would have been if I were born a bird, and not a woman. I made a list of things that would have been different...and here they are.

1. My man would not have been scared to wear pink. He would have proudly flaunted the pinks and the mauves. There would not have been any boring whites in his cupboard. Or for that matter those staid blues. He would have worn purple and no one would have snickered.



2. For a change, he would have felt the pressure to look better in the relationship. People would have looked at his chest (and not mine, thank God) and whispered in awe.



 I would have escaped all those painful waxing, threading, styling and grooming rituals.And those mud baths would have been absolutely free and not cost me a bomb. Sheer freedom.

3. He would have wooed me with gifts. And built the house. And baby sat my chicks. And would have helped bring food home.

156828576_zvoxr-S-1.jpg (399×300)

4. My babies would have gladly eaten anything I served them, even insects. There would not have been any 'boring roti-sabzi once again?' cry at my dinner table. No pressure to serve gourmet meals. No demands for Italian or Chinese. Simply organic, healthy, oil free food that they all would have eaten without fuss.



5. There would not be any worry about weight gain. No fear of blood pressure or diabetes or cholesterol. Most importantly, there would not have been any pap-smear or mammogram. Ever. Just the thought makes me want to fly. And sing.

6. To keep me from staying fit, I would not have to hit the gym or jog or twist my body at unnatural angles. No annual membership of any gym. Just fly and strengthen those muscles.



7. Lastly, I would have had the freedom to kick out of my home my recalcitrant kids without any remorse or guilt. I would not have to deal with temper, tantrums,tears, disobedience and most importantly, those horrid parent teacher meetings.

.

Go fly away kid... and let me live my own life.

All photos courtesy google images.

46 comments:

sujata sengupta said...

You actually did this!! I didnt think you were serious at all, but now that its up..I wish I were a bird too, a fat clucking happy hen!! even a goose..hahahah imagine the husbands being called cocks and ganders..totally worth it!!

The Holy Lama said...

For all you know, that little hatchlings will be complaining, "Oh! not the green worm again". Can never say which is better.

Anonymous said...

Superbly written. . I had not expected this. . Lovely. .

Unknown said...

You would have been a pretty bird, judging by your pic! Imagine what freedom - being able to take to the skies:) Great post!

Anuradha Shankar said...

Absolutely Fabulous!!! loved every single one of them!

Nona said...

Interesting perspective! :)

Kavita Saharia said...

Hahaa,Aparna,oh you seem to have really ,really enjoyed your weekend to the fullest.Fabulous post .I am glad that you are not a bird...they don't have access to blogger .What say ?

Haddock said...

Lovely pictures (and the accompanying info)

Vinita Apte said...

hahaha...what a fab description and pics too..now you have made me want to be a bird too...

Smita said...

Awesome pics!!!

Though when you said Bird Watching we will get to see some awesome hunks ;)

The Panorama said...

Lovely post, Aparna. I wish I had wings:)

eye-in-sty-in said...

thats a nice post... While reading, I was thinking .... How come one never sees a fat wild bird!


@ Sujata's - funny comment

Rajesh said...

Beautiful shots of the birds. What a lovely variety.

N said...

haha...did u seriously write some time back asking where u've lost ur humor? :P
great post. very very interesting :D

G S Pillai said...

Great Lady! I understand the feeling, when you just want to soar. At least now u know why I call myself what I call myself.

Been some time, ain't it!

A New Beginning said...

I always wanted to be a bird beacsue I love to see them fly..But thanks to you..today Ive learnt so many good things about being a bird lolz!!point 2 and 4 were out of the world ha ha!!

Aparna said...

@ Sujata, yes I was serious about this one...what did you think? And about those name calling, I also thought about dodo, henpecked and bustard. What do you think?

@ Holy Lama, looking at the picture I thought the hatchlings rather enjoyed the dinner!

@Savvy,thank you.

@ Keats the sunshine girl, thank you. Yes flying would be amazing I think.

@ Anu,thank you so much.

@ Nona, this is what happens when all blog ideas desert you!

@ Kavita, I definitely would have blogged, even as a bird!

@ Haddock,thank you, the pictures are not mine though.

@ Lazy Pineapple, come along, we will fly together!!!

@ Smita, I wish I had seen some awesome hunks, but unfortunately the place did not have them!

@ Panorama, Wish I had wings too...

@ Eye-in-sty-in, you do not see fat birds because they all eat healthy fat free food.

@ Rajesh, thank you. The pics have been taken from google images.

@ Nikita, thanks buddy!

@ Blue bird, yes it's been some time. I know you must be busy but do blog about your experiences once in a while.

@ New Beginning, thanks for appreciating point number 2. No one else commented on it. :)

Meira said...

a small nest built by us, no house hunting and haggling with brokers! Ah bliss.
What a wonderful post

Kavi said...

What a delight of a post. Where did this happen !?! this is simply fabulous !

Can you share more pics !?! I hae been trying to get myself to do this more often...! And here you go with this post !!

:)

UmaS said...

Even though I laughed away at every reason, I craved for such freedom. Its absolute bliss, na ???

Anonymous said...

I thought you clicked the pics! I wouldn't want to be a bird. I am sure they have their own set of problems. Imagine not being able to hug our babies that way we do. And,

1. Men wear pink and reds now.I managed to make my hubby wear a pinkish T-shirt, and it actually looked good on him.

2.Most men's parlour price boards display more treatments than women's do nowadays. And not to mention if he has a six pack!!

3. I think men do that already.( In many houses)

4.Some insects maybe tastier than the others!!

5. Health. Hmmm. Weight gain...Hmmm...I agree...he he

6.I gave up gym already. So thats ok.

7. Kids...I am with ya...

he he....I would love to have wings though...Wonderful Post!

BK Chowla, said...

It is so beautifully written, so crisp, so clean and expressive.

Tomz said...

Happy birding, the last one was superb..

J P Joshi said...

What fabulous photographs and the accompanying text. Brilliant. Enjoyed reading the post and watching the pictures - so appropriate. Did you click them?

Shanu said...

Lol..Loved this.

First time here..will keep coming back!

Aparna said...

@ Meira, the real estate brokers...my god, don't even let me get started on that one.

@ Kavi, a tiny town on the way to Goa, that's where it happened. The birds were lovely but unfortunately I could not capture all of them with my camera. Will try to share some photos in future.

@ UmaS, yes, just the thought of flying away...sheer freedom.

@ Jyothi, my husband would rather die than wear purple or pink I think. And about baby sitting, there have been some funny incidents in my house when he tried to baby sit.

@ BK Chowla, thank you.

@ Tomz, thanks.

@ JP Joshi, thank you. The pics are not mine. I got them from Google.

@ Shanu, Thanks and welcome. I hope you will come back to read more.

Sucharita Sarkar said...

Trust you to take up a topic reserved for adolescent day-dreams and turn it into a feminist laugh-fest!!! LOL!!

ZB said...

i too wish i were a bird.... a crow may be....unwanted and unnoticed, so that i live and not get killed by some bloody poacher....nice thought Aparna.....Romba ( tamil) creative amma.TC

Blunt Edges said...

LOL...who thought parents teachers meeting would find a place in a post about birds? ;)

wonderful as always :)

Sandhya said...

Beautiful post! The pictures are beautiful and the text that accompanied them are more beautiful.

Yes, it looks so easy for the birds to bring up their children!

The last one is the top!

Thank you, Aparna!

Sandhya said...

Beautiful post! The pictures are beautiful and the text that accompanied them are more beautiful.

Yes, it looks so easy for the birds to bring up their children!

The last one is the top!

Thank you, Aparna!

Shankar.Nash said...

Tats wonderful Aparna... Just looking at ur title, thought its the same kinda JUST A feeling that people get on seeing something.. but, reading thru the content, i realised how much u hav put ur mind into it and analyzed all the options.. gud show..

BTW.. u never know wat the birds think. Probably kids complain about eating the same kinda insect regularly.. eating the pesticide infected seeds/fruits.. with the reduced number of trees, searching for a permanent and safe place to reside.. and more importantly.. having to fly all the way to meet friends/relatives rather than having a video chat/phone call..

Expecting more of 'I wish i were *****' kinda posts from u

Destiny's child... said...

This makes me want to be a bird too...this was just too good! :)

nsiyer said...

I would really like to fly and reach Heaven. This is the thought your post brought to me Sujata. Thanks.

Sorcerer said...

wow!!!
the pics are brilliant

Hmm...ya know..why every kid wants to be a pilot when they grow up till the realities of marks in phy chem math dawns on them..cuz..its amazing to fly like a bird

well written

Onkar said...

Very interestingly written. I would have been a bird for the sheer experience of flying.

wanderlust said...

Now I want to be a bird too :-)

Unknown said...

Awesome way to intro a new thought! Loved the pics!!

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Unknown said...

Hahaha.. You read my mind about all the mating rituals! :)

scarlet pimpernel said...

Hello ,

gr8 post ! initially i thought you had clicked all the pics !

Sumandebray said...

May be its a bit late to comment on this....
Well you women have the liberty to go and watch bird and write about it without any confusion about what did you really meant by birds!
I have a question for you... Are you ready for the whole package or just the selected bits?
do you mean to say that you are game to be pursued and followed by the male of the species knowing well that he will be doing the same with the remaining females of the folk and probably different set come next season!

Sai Charan said...

You've made "I Wish I Were A Bird" such a casual piece, using simple language and tagged 'feel-good' colourful photos, really a wonderful presentation indeed, feels happy to read such a comfortable post :)

At your leisure, please have a glimpse at my post "Song of a Bird..." on my blog, here's the link --> http://beyond-barriers.blogspot.com/2008/09/song-of-bird.html

As you are in a mood to turn into a "Free Flying Bird" - you will find my post "Song of a Bird..." as a worthy read :)

You have the talent & potential to keep the reader hooked to the post from the start till end, so churn out more creative ideas, come up with more such pieces of writing as this one, all your readers will rejoice to savour such good stuff :)

Cheers,
Sai :)

Aparna said...

Thanks Sucharita,
ZB,
Blunt edges,
Sandhya,
Shankar,
Destiny's child,
Ns iyer,
Sorcerer,
Onkar,
Booklover,
Wanderlust,
Purnima,
Republicofchic,
Scarlet Pimpernel,
Suman
Sai charan,

Your comments were extremely precious to me.

I generally try to reply each one of my readers. But this time I was a bit easy and could not do that. Sorry. Next time I promise to reply to each one of you.

Anonymous said...

Gosh what a masterpiece of a post. totally smitten by it. I think only Johnny Depp so far has made me feel like this before ;)

can't stop chuckling to Sujata's comment...what a delight it totally would be.

loved every single point but point two takes the cake!!!

Anonymous said...

Nice post. Good selection of pictures.