Warbler

 In the year 2020, during the month of October, the picturesque hill town of Vaalpaarai, a place close to Pollachi in Coimbatore district saw something unique. The walls were full of posters. No, there was no byelection nor was the town being visited by a political dignitary or any Big Boss (pun intended!). The posters had a picture of a bird (yes, you read it right) with wordings which read ’Thanks for travelling all the way from the Himalayas to our Vaalpaarai to feed on insects and to protect our ecosystem.’

This bird which goes by the name Grey Wagtail (scientific name- Motacilla cinerea) travels from the upper Himalyan Region during the month of September and goes back to the Himalayas when summer sets in. It has a long tail, which it keeps wagging. While the tail is yellow in colour, its body is greyish giving it the name Grey Wagtail. It is also beautiful to look at. It feeds on insects and therefore is a dear friend of people in general and farmers in particular. It is said that it works with clockwork precision and has site fidelity-that is it knows the geography like the back of the palm, oh sorry, like the back of its tail!

Though there are some avid birdwatchers, the fact of the matter is a majority of us do not pay attention to the birds around us. It is a fallacy that birds are found only in villages. The recent pandemic has come as a blessing in disguise to the mankind in general. If you think I am crude and heartless, so be it. Rather than cursing nature or god or even that poor number 2020, it will be wiser on our part to try and understand what the Universe is teaching us. We get to listen to silence and we get to see birds now, birds whose existence we would have never got to know. For that matter, even the Vaalpaarai posters happened because of the pandemic.

Recently, I also read a very interesting article in The Hindu in which a reader describes about a bird being caught on the window pane, as to how its mate arrives listening to the plaintive cries and as to how the little bird manages to extricate itself after seeing its beloved.

These are life lessons for humans!

Talking about lessons, music is a lesson too-rather a series of never ending lesson- and in the hands of an expert musician, it teaches us a lot about life just like how a bird teaches us naturally.

The most beautiful thing about ‘KaNdo KaNdo’ from ‘Innathe Chintha Vishayam’(2008) is the bird call. The sound of the birds keep occurring through the song and one can even call this the leitmotif.

It is not that this alone is responsible for the song sounding nice. The folksy tune in the different voice of M.G.Srikumar, the orchestration in which the synth melodic instruments meld with the folksy percussion make it a classy song.

The twin-violin backed by the synth instruments in the beginning gives a sleek silhouette and if you get instantly transported to a forest in the Western Ghats, you are not to be blamed.

The Pallavi starts after the ‘welcome music’ by the birds and it takes a different turn in the second half. Poignancy is not bad after all!

The flute mimics the birds in the first interlude but what is different here is the ‘call and response’. Generally, ‘call and response’ happens between two different instruments. But here is the case where a flute responds to another flute. Symbolism perhaps!

What happens after this is interesting as well. The synth melody (strings) moves with poise and with an unmatched elegance. There is a profusion of synth sound but this time it is backed by Jaalra. I can guarantee that if only Edward de Bono were to listen to this, he would give a charming smile.

The different bird calls follow in the CharaNams as well. So do the synth melodic instruments. The sudden entry of the tavil in the second half is yet another example of lateral thinking.

The melody picks up pace in the second interlude giving even shades of jazz. Rich and imaginative indeed!

Ah yes, aren’t birds rich without knowing what money is?