Travel Diaries – Day 2: In Search of the King of                                       Gir

From Somnath to Sasan Gir, a family safari filled with wildlife, laughter, unexpected surprises, and a meeting with the King of the Jungle.

Travel Diaries-Day 2 

The King of the Jungle and His Home Boss 😊

Lion-King of Jungle 

Tell me one thing. Have you ever seen a lion, a gigantic one, right in front of you, just outside, playing with its family and enjoying its day?

Wait. When I say lion, I am not talking about seeing one in a zoo, where it is kept inside a closed cage. I am talking about seeing it in a forest, where it has the freedom to move around, explore and simply be what it is.

Before I take you there, let me give this story a little humorous touch.

We usually call the lion the King of the Jungle, and we all know that famous movie based on this King which has millions of followers around the world.

Some time back, while going through a few reels, I came across something funny. Though the lion may be the Nayak and King of the Jungle, somewhere there is always a lioness who seems to be the actual controller.

I think this is common in humans also. 😊

No matter how strongly you are built, how loudly you talk, or how powerful you are outside, once you are back home, you still have to listen to the home boss.

Looks like nature has followed the same rule with lions too. 😊

Among the big cats, lions are also special because they are highly social and live together in groups called prides.

This was part of the discussion happening with my kids while we were coming out of Somnath Temple and getting ready to travel towards Gir.

From Somnath to the Land of Lions

From Somnath to the land of Lions

Our journey had already been quite long.

From Bangalore to Rajkot, and from there another road journey of almost five hours had taken us to Somnath. After the darshan the next morning, it was time for an early breakfast and another road trip of around two hours towards Gir Forest.

As you cross Talala, slowly the landscape starts changing.

The Gir Forest region welcomes you with a completely different view. The dry deciduous forest starts appearing, and on both sides you can see plenty of mango farms along with resorts welcoming people travelling towards Gir.

We finally reached Sasan Gir.

Our resort was almost 1.5 km inside from the main road. To reach it, we had to cross mango farms, and once inside, this big resort slowly appeared from between the dense mango trees.

The place was Saavaj Resort.

Our check-in was around 1 PM, but our brains were already thinking about only one thing.

The next day’s safari.

The resort itself was located close to the forest landscape, and the surroundings were astonishingly beautiful. Mango trees, greenery and that feeling that somewhere beyond all this, the forest was waiting for us.

Gir: A Forest Beyond the Lions

Meet the Star-Asiatic Lions

While I will take you to the safari in a while, let me first share a little about the animal that had brought us all the way here.

The Asiatic Lion.

Gir is famous for being the heartland of the majestic Asiatic lions. What makes them even more special is that the last surviving wild population of Asiatic lions is in Gujarat, India. Gir continues to be their most famous home, though today the lions have expanded into a much wider part of the Saurashtra landscape.

And then, of course, there are African lions.

So naturally the next question from the kids was: What is the difference between an Asiatic lion and an African lion?

The easiest difference to notice is the mane. Male Asiatic lions generally have a shorter and less dense mane, so their ears are usually more visible. Another interesting feature is the fold of skin running along the belly, which is commonly seen in Asiatic lions and only rarely seen in African lions.

But is Gir only about lions?

No. Never.

Gir has a much bigger wildlife story.

The forest has rich biodiversity and provides habitat to many animals and birds. Along with the Asiatic lion, it is also home to Indian leopards, deer, jackals, vultures, peacocks and many other species. Gir is also an important habitat for marsh crocodiles.

Seven rivers flow through the Gir landscape, making water an important part of this otherwise dry forest ecosystem.

With all these discussions going on, we were sitting near the pool, sipping tea and coffee.

The kids, however, were interested in only one thing.

“When will we see the lion?”

For them, tomorrow morning was probably taking too long to arrive.

An Evening of Garba and an Unexpected African Connection

Garba & unexpected African connection

With that thought in mind, we went back to our rooms and waited for the next surprise planned around 7:30 PM.

Since it was Navaratri time, the resort team had arranged Garba and Durga Pooja. We spent some time there, witnessed the celebration and took the blessings of Goddess Durga.

After that, someone from the resort said,

“You can go to the theatre near the pool. We have African dance.”

African dance?

The moment they said that, one question came to my mind.

Where did these Africans come from?

Then immediately my connection went back to Karnataka.

In Uttara Kannada, there is a community called the Siddi. Even while crossing Talala earlier that day, I had noticed several people in shops and along the road. At first, I had wondered whether they were Africans who had come here for studies or work.

So when the resort management said there was going to be an African dance, I was curious.

“Okay, let us watch first. Then we will find out.”

Exactly at 7:30 PM, the performance started.

It was hardly around twenty minutes, but it was energetic and enjoyable. When I later checked about the dance, I came to know about the unique cultural identity of the local Siddi community and their traditional dance performances. Such performances are also presented for visitors staying at hotels and resorts around Gir.

Their traditional occupations include farming, cattle rearing and work connected with the forest region.

By then, it was already around 8 PM.

Dinner time.

And more importantly, time to start thinking about the early morning safari.

We finished our dinner and went to sleep early.

Actually, more than my kids and my friend’s kids, I think it was the parents who were more excited about the next morning.

5 AM, One Alarm and Plenty of Excitement

5 AM Alarm

I remember setting the alarm for 5 AM because we had to reach the safari point by around 6:45 AM.

I have this strange habit of waking up just before my alarm gets a chance to wake me.

That morning was the same.

I opened my eyes before the alarm and almost felt like telling my phone,

“Thank you. I woke up already. You can sleep now.”

That was especially important because my mobile battery was somewhere in the 30s, and I needed the phone for photography.

Not that I am some great photographer.

But whatever I capture usually has a story behind it, and later I can tell that story to you guys.

Now it was time to wake everyone else.

The adventure we had been waiting for was finally here.

By around 6:30 AM, everyone was ready, and we started towards Gir.

The Safari Confusion: Gir, Devalia or Ambardi?

Safari - gir,Devalia or Ambardi

Now, here came one confusion which even confused us while booking.

There is the Gir Jungle Safari, which takes you into the main Gir wildlife landscape through designated safari routes. Permits are limited and need to be booked in advance through the official system.

Then there is the Gir Interpretation Zone at Devalia, often called Devalia Safari Park. Think of it as a smaller representation of the Gir ecosystem. It covers around 412 hectares and offers both bus and Gypsy safari options. Because it is an interpretation zone, visitors get an opportunity to see Gir’s wildlife within a more compact area.

There is also the Ambardi Wildlife Interpretation Zone near Dhari, another interpretation area connected with the Gir landscape and Asiatic lion conservation.

So this is where our confusion gets cleared.

We could not get the permit for the main Gir Jungle Safari. Instead, we opted for the Devalia safari with a dedicated Gypsy for the family.

Everything was managed through the booking system. No long queue, no waiting and no fighting with someone suddenly entering in between and saying,

“I was already standing here…”

Bla bla bla. 😊

You get inside, they scan and confirm the booking, and then a guide and dedicated Gypsy are assigned.

The vehicle we got was well maintained and clean.

From the Gir wildlife office, the place where we were going for our safari was around 15 km away.

When Humans Entered the Cage 😊

Enter the Cage

Now we were inside the Gypsy safari jeep.

Driver and guide in front.

There was a protective grill around the vehicle, but we could clearly see the forest outside.

For a moment, it felt funny.

Humans were inside the cage.

Animals were freely roaming outside.

Maybe somewhere the animals were also watching us and saying,

“Look… here comes one more group of human species. From their noise and conversation, looks like they are from South India.” 😊

After around fifteen minutes, we were entering Devalia.

As we passed through the entrance, there were large posters of lions and lionesses.

And then the landscape slowly started changing.

The trees suddenly became fewer, and long savannah-like grasses started appearing. The early morning sunlight was falling on the grass, making it shine beautifully.

A Breakfast Party and a Conference in the Jungle

The first animals we spotted were actually not animals.

Birds.

A group of different species of birds were having their breakfast.

But when we went closer, we realised something.

It was a breakfast of someone’s breakfast.

I mean, whatever had been left behind by lions or leopards had now become breakfast for these birds.

Among them were eagles, crows and other birds waiting around.

A little further, we were able to see a Long-billed Vulture — Gyps indicus sitting high on a tree.

It looked like it had already finished its breakfast and was now sitting comfortably on top, enjoying the early morning sun.

Questions from kids are always interesting because sometimes you need to think carefully before answering them.

They started asking why these birds were eating what the bigger animals had left behind.

Instead of making it too scientific, I told them to think of these birds as the cleaning team of the forest.

When a lion finishes eating, someone has to clean up the leftovers. These birds come and do exactly that.

Suddenly something that looked unpleasant became interesting to them.

We continued moving.

A little further ahead, it looked as if some kind of round-table conference was happening near the lake.

Coming from the IT and software world, I immediately made my own connection.

During any major technology event, whether it is Microsoft Ignite, Apple events or some other big conference, you will see different companies, partners and people gathering around one central place.

Something similar was happening here.

All the birds seemed to be having their own conference near the lake.

Maybe someone had announced the launch of a new variety of animal flesh and everyone had come for the product launch. 😊

Our guide started pointing them out.

Different eagles.

Vultures, including Long-billed Vulture and White-rumped Vulture.

Peacocks.

Squirrels.

And further away, almost like spectators standing outside the conference hall, were deer.

They looked calm, but somewhere you could imagine them always being alert about when and where an attack could come from.

Finally, We Found the Lions!

Gir Lion Photography_KG

Gir Lion Photography_KG1

But we had come here for one main reason.

The Asiatic lion.

And until now, we had not seen one.

Slowly, people inside our vehicle were becoming restless.

I finally asked the guide,

“By any chance, will we be able to see lions today?”

The answer came immediately.

“Your luck, Sir. We will try to show you. If you are lucky, you will see them.”

Hmm.

That was not exactly the answer we were hoping for.

As we continued talking, suddenly our driver turned towards us.

“Keep your voice low.”

Something had changed.

A few safari vehicles were standing ahead.

Looks like something was there.

Lion?

Lioness?

We slowly moved closer.

Breathe…

Breathe…

Uffff…!!

Finally.

There they were.

A group of lions out in the open grassland.

Some were sleeping peacefully while a few younger ones were playing around. The smaller ones were moving around a tree, and suddenly one of them did something that surprised us.

It started climbing the tree.

How come?

That was immediately my question to the guide.

She explained that when lions are young, they can climb a little, though they are not professional climbers like leopards.

For almost ten minutes, we simply stayed there and watched them.

The mother was nearby, keeping an eye on the cubs while they played. A few of the grown-ups were resting or moving around close to the group.

There was no cage between us and them.

No artificial setup.

They were simply doing what they normally do.

Living.

Playing.

Sleeping.

One thing was missing though.

A wild boar.

That would have completed our movie connection.

And somewhere in my head that iconic “Simba…” connection had already started playing. 😊

The kids enjoyed every second.

After plenty of photos and enough staring at the lions, it was finally time to say goodbye.

The Leopards and a Question That Stayed With Me

Our next stop was near what looked like an open enclosure.

Immediately the question came.

“Why are we stopping near a cage when this is supposed to be a forest?”

The guide had an interesting way of explaining it.

“When someone commits a serious mistake, where do we put them?”

Jail.

“Exactly.”

The animals we were looking at were not lions.

They were Indian leopards.

According to the guide, these were animals that had repeatedly attacked humans and could no longer be allowed to move freely in areas where they might come into contact with people. So they were kept inside a large enclosure with the required facilities.

Hmm…

That answer stayed in my head.

Because another question immediately came.

Are we also not committing a mistake?

We have eaten into the jungle.

Forests have slowly become agricultural lands, villages, cities, roads and resorts.

Then where exactly are these animals supposed to go?

That thought was still running inside my mind when our Gypsy had already moved ahead.

We entered a long straight stretch where we could see hundreds of deer.

Then came peacocks.

Jackals.

More birds.

More deer.

Goodbye, Jungle Lions. Hello, Home Lionesses! 😊

And slowly, our safari started coming to an end.

By the time we crossed the gate, the sun was already in full swing and the temperature was moving towards 36°C.

I looked back once more and silently said goodbye to the forest and its residents.

Then I turned towards the family sitting inside our Gypsy.

The jungle lions were done.

Now there was another challenge waiting.

“Okay guys… now we have to tackle our home lionesses and cubs.”

😊

Few important informations

Till you see the next travel diary story, keep waiting and bless me if you like the way the story is narrated!!

 

One Red Bus, One Movie, and a Journey Back                                 in Time

                                   Sometimes, days are like never before or after.

One Red Bus(KSRTC) Journey

Just when you think you are finally going to have a day without much stress, somehow you end up having more. One of those days was today.

The original plan was simple. I was supposed to travel to my hometown, but work had other plans and the whole idea came to a full stop. Finally, I decided, Okay, let me travel tomorrow early morning.

You know how it is when you work in IT. What you plan and what actually happens are usually two different things.

So, the next day—that is today—I started with a very optimistic plan. Leave early, reach early.

With that confidence, I travelled all the way from Whitefield to Satellite Bus Stand. In my mind, everything was already planned. I would reach there, get an Airavata or one of those luxury KSRTC buses, sit comfortably and travel to my hometown.

But destiny had a slightly different idea.

The moment I reached Satellite Bus Stand, I could see the crowd. Actually, I had already got a small hint while waiting for the auto itself. There were too many people heading in the same direction, and somewhere in my mind I thought, Okay… today may not be that easy.

The moment I entered the KSRTC Satellite Bus Stand, for a few seconds, I felt like I had gone many years back.

Back to Those Red Bus Days

There was a time when this red KSRTC bus was almost my weekend partner.

Friday night, start from Bengaluru and reach Hassan. Spend the weekend there. Monday morning, catch one of the first buses, sometimes around 4 AM, and come back to Bengaluru.

That was the routine.

And festival days? That was a completely different experience.

Bus stands would look like some mass public gathering. People everywhere. Bags, families, children, shouting, conductors calling destinations and everyone waiting for that one bus.

The moment the bus arrived, getting a seat itself was an achievement.

You had to judge where the bus would stop, move along with the crowd, somehow get inside and capture a seat. Sometimes just entering the bus itself would make you feel you had won something.

I was also one among them.

Standing there today after so many years brought all those memories back.

Of course, I have travelled in KSRTC buses many times after that, but slowly it had become mostly Airavata, Sleeper bus, Ambari  and other luxury buses. The normal red bus had almost disappeared from my travel routine.

But today, after all my attempts to find a luxury bus failed, there I was again, standing in a queue for the red KSRTC bus.

And what a queue it was.

It felt almost a kilometre long.

Still, I stood there thinking, Okay, somehow let me get into the bus first.

By the time I finally got the ticket and settled down, almost one hour had gone just standing in the queue.

The bus would not start until everyone was issued tickets, so there was nothing much to do except sit and wait.

That is when OTT came to my rescue.

A Movie I Was Not Planning to Watch

While scrolling through the recent releases, I came across a Malayalam movie that had been getting quite a lot of attention—Bethlehem Kudumba Unit.

I have always liked Nivin Pauly.

There is something about his acting that connects naturally. Especially in these simple, feel-good movies, he somehow carries a special vibe. He doesn’t always need those larger-than-life scenes. Even a normal conversation or expression works for him.

His previous movie had also worked well for me, so I thought, Fine, anyway I am stuck here. Let me use this time.

And the movie started.

What a movie.

The story itself is actually quite simple. Ashley moves into a new neighbourhood and slowly gets to know Justin, an older unmarried neighbour. From those slightly awkward meetings, conversations, family members and people around them, a relationship slowly begins to take shape. The age difference between them becomes part of the story, but the movie doesn’t try to turn everything into some huge drama. It just lets these people talk, react, misunderstand, laugh and slowly understand each other.

That is where the writing worked for me.

Sometimes you don’t need a story with ten twists. Give a simple story to the right people, write the screenplay well and allow the characters to behave naturally—that itself can become such a good movie.

And then I realised it is from Girish A.D., the director behind Premalu. Fahadh Faasil, Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran are among the producers through Bhavana Studios, and the movie has already gone beyond ₹300 crore worldwide.

Then I understood why there was so much talk about it.

But there was one particular scene I simply loved.

There is a point where the heroine proposes, and Justin is this kind of character who doesn’t always immediately say everything running in his mind.

He goes away.

Then he comes back in his red car and asks her to get inside.

And now the conversation starts.

Hold on…

I am not going to tell you what happens.

Go and watch it.

But watch that scene carefully.

The proposal, the silence, the conversation inside the car, those expressions, that small smile…and somewhere in between, the car gives that small jerk towards the right and becomes steady again.

Such a tiny thing.

But I loved it.

Nothing overdone. No unnecessary buildup. The conversation, expressions, awkwardness, small smile and love—all packed into one scene.

For me, that was one of the best moments in the movie.

Meanwhile, I Was Still on the Road

By the time the movie finished, I looked at the time.

11:30 AM.

And I was still somewhere on the Mysuru Expressway.

That itself tells you what kind of traffic it was.

This is an expressway where vehicles normally fly at 90, 100 or even more. But today there was this long line of cars moving somewhere in their 30s and 40s.

For everyone sitting in those cars, I am sure it was frustrating.

Strangely, for me, something nice happened.

After a long time, I was sitting inside a red KSRTC bus, next to the window.

And maybe because the bus wasn’t zooming, I actually started looking outside.

The World Outside the Expressway

World outside the Expressway

Most of the time when I travel on this road by car, the focus is different.

Road.

Traffic.

Speed.

Overtake.

Reach quickly.

At 90 or 100 kmph, everything outside the expressway just passes like a background.

Today, at 30 or 40, that background became visible.

There was actually a world outside this expressway.

Small roads running alongside it. Houses that I had probably crossed many times without noticing. Fields. Shops. Trees. People standing outside. Villages sitting quietly while thousands of vehicles rushed past them.

Maybe I had seen all of this before.

But I don’t think I had noticed it.

I was also surprised by how much had changed around this route in the last seven years. Places which once looked empty now had buildings. New shops had appeared. Roads had changed. Some familiar stretches were almost unrecognisable.

Funny thing is, sometimes travelling slowly shows you more than travelling fast.

And somewhere in between all this, I also started observing the bus itself.

Even the Red Bus Has Changed

A lot has changed in Karnataka Sarige too.

The red bus I remembered from years ago was much more basic.

Now there are better doors, CCTV cameras, speed monitoring, SOS switches and several other safety improvements.

The bus has moved forward.

Technology has moved forward.

Infrastructure has moved forward.

But one thing, unfortunately, still needs some improvement.

Us.

The way we keep public transport.

You could still see people leaving wrappers, bottles and other waste inside the bus. Some things were simply thrown around without a second thought.

And that made me think.

These buses, trains and public facilities don’t come from somewhere else. It is finally our own tax money coming back to us in another form.

We complain when buses are dirty.

We complain when trains are not maintained.

We complain when public places don’t look like the ones we see in some other countries.

But somewhere, we also have to ask ourselves a very small question.

How are we treating what we already have?

Maybe the government can provide a better bus.

They can install CCTV.

They can add SOS buttons.

They can improve safety.

They can build expressways where we can travel at 100 kmph.

But keeping the seat clean, putting a wrapper into a dustbin instead of below the seat, and treating a public bus like something that belongs to us—that part cannot come through technology.

That has to come from us.

What started as a frustrating travel day somehow became a little different.

A cancelled plan.

A long journey from Whitefield.

A crowded bus stand.

A red KSRTC bus that brought back memories.

A surprisingly good Malayalam movie.

And a slow journey on a road where I usually travel fast.

Maybe everything did not go according to my plan today.

But because it didn’t, after many years, I travelled again in that familiar red bus…and noticed a few things that I had been passing without seeing.

Note: The movie references in this story are based purely on my personal viewing experience and opinion. I have kept the discussion mostly spoiler-free. Movie names and characters belong to their respective owners.

 

The Hero Who Lived Next Door

The Hero Who Lived Next Door

Sometimes, we search for heroes in movies and books. We watch their stories, get inspired by their courage, and think heroes are people who do extraordinary things.

But many times, we don’t realise that some heroes are already living among us.

They don’t wear a uniform. They don’t have background music playing when they arrive. Nobody may even know what they have done.

They are just ordinary people who become extraordinary when someone needs them.

This is one such real story. A story that may take a little time to digest, because when everything is over and you think about what could have happened, you realise how differently that day could have ended.

To keep the people and relationships private, I am taking you to a place that may resemble somewhere you know, but you will probably never find it on a map.

Now, if you like to hear stories in my way, hop in and put your seat belt on.

Let us take a small drive before we reach the story.

Imagine an evening somewhere in the middle of the Western Ghats. There is a light rain outside. The road is wet, surrounded by green, and every few kilometres another curve is waiting for you. You are driving slowly, maybe around 40 or 50 kmph, while some beautiful old melodies are playing on the car stereo.

Keep the window half open.

Every now and then, tiny rain droplets splash onto your face. The air coming through the window is cool and fresh, carrying that smell which comes only when rain touches trees and soil.

Now relax.

Visualise it in your own way.

Come, let us go to the story. 

A Normal Family, A Normal Morning

There lived a family in a fairly big city. Not as big or heavily populated as Bengaluru, but still busy enough with concrete buildings, traffic and people always running behind something.

The husband had his own CA firm.

He was a busy man. For him, work was almost like worship. He spent a lot of time working, probably because when you have struggled through life and built something without shortcuts, you somehow become very attached to it. Hard work becomes part of your daily routine.

His wife was a homemaker. Her world mostly revolved around their two little children, aged around five and two.

His mother was also staying with them, but around this time she had gone to visit her elder son’s family in another city.

That morning started like any other day.

The husband left for his office. Their elder child went to school.

At home, it was just the mother and the younger daughter.

Nothing about that morning gave any indication that, within a few minutes, this family would be facing something none of them had expected.

“Amma, Let’s Go Down”

Amma, Lets Go Down

The little girl had her own routine.

Like many small children, she loved going to the terrace. That was her little playground. Usually, mother and daughter would spend some time there between around 9:00 and 10:30 in the morning.

That day also, they went upstairs and played as usual.

Around 10:30 AM, the little girl had enough.

She told her mother that she wanted to go back home and play inside.

So both of them started walking down the staircase.

For some reason, the daughter went a little ahead of her mother.

Children do that.

One moment they are beside you, and the next moment their tiny legs have already taken them several steps ahead.

Within seconds, she had reached near the front door.

Then she stopped.

She noticed something close to the entrance.

In her own little words, she started describing it to her mother.

Her mother was still coming down the stairs and didn’t think much about it. From whatever the child was describing, she thought it might be a small snail or some little creature near the door.

After all, this was a house close to the main road, surrounded mostly by a concrete jungle. There were not many trees or gardens around where you would expect much wildlife.

Her mother came closer.

Another few seconds passed.

Then she looked properly.

That was not a snail.

It was a snake.

The First Thought Was Her Daughter

There was hardly any time to think.

Her first instinct was simple.

Protect the child.

The mother tried to open the door, thinking that if they moved inside, perhaps the snake would get disturbed and move away in another direction.

But sometimes, when we try to solve one problem quickly, the situation takes a completely different turn.

The door opened.

And instead of moving away, the snake entered the house.

In seconds, it disappeared into the hall and went below the TV stand.

Now imagine the situation.

A mother standing there with her two-year-old daughter.

A snake somewhere under the TV stand.

No one else at home.

And you don’t even know what kind of snake it is.

Initially, she thought it could be a small rat snake or some harmless young snake. It was tiny, after all.

Still, she knew she could not take any chance.

Very carefully, she tried moving the TV stand slightly to see where it had gone.

That was when the situation changed.

The little snake raised its head.

Its hood opened.

And it hissed.

Only then did she realise what she was looking at.

A very young spectacled cobra.

Small in size, yes.

But definitely not something anyone would want to handle casually.

For a few seconds, fear completely took over.

A Phone Call That Changed Everything

When something like this happens, sometimes you don’t even know whom to call first.

She called her mother-in-law.

Her mother-in-law was in another city. There was no way she could physically come and help.

But sometimes, even from hundreds of kilometres away, one person can still change what happens next.

The mother-in-law listened to her.

She understood the situation.

And instead of panicking, she started thinking.

That presence of mind made the difference.

She immediately called the neighbour living just behind their house.

At the same time, she asked her daughter-in-law to call the nearby aunty and simply ask her to send uncle over because they needed urgent help.

Interestingly, she didn’t explain the whole snake story.

Probably there was no time for a long conversation.

Just one message.

“Ask uncle to come once. It is urgent.”

And sometimes, when there is a real need, help comes from a place very close to us.

In this case, literally from the house next door.

Uncle Arrived

The neighbour whom everyone called “uncle” was an animal lover.

A die-hard one.

They had two beautiful dogs who were like family to them, and he was also someone who loved nature and animals. More importantly, he was the kind of person who would come when somebody needed help.

Only a compound wall separated the two houses.

He understood that this was not a normal call.

And when he came, he didn’t come empty-handed.

He walked in carrying a bag and a snake-handling tool.

That itself gave the family some confidence.

By then, the mother-in-law had also informed her son.

The moment he heard what was happening at home, everything else became secondary.

He left his work and rushed back.

By the time he reached, uncle was already preparing to handle the snake.

Everyone knew one thing.

If that small cobra managed to enter one of the bedrooms, hide behind a cupboard, or disappear into some corner of the house, finding it again would become much more difficult.

So they needed to act carefully.

Not fast.

Carefully.

A Few Very Long Minutes

A Few Very Long Minutes

Uncle asked them to bring a small bucket with a proper lid.

Then he slowly approached the cobra.

What followed probably lasted only a few minutes.

But for the family watching it, those few minutes must have felt much longer.

The cobra was small, alert and defensive.

Uncle was equally alert.

There was no intention to hit it or hurt it. His aim was to control the situation, protect the family, and also make sure the snake came out safely.

He knew he was dealing with a living creature that was probably frightened too.

Slowly, using the snake-handling tool, he guided it away from the TV stand.

The snake resisted.

It raised itself again.

There was hissing.

There was tension inside the room.

Everyone stayed at a distance.

Uncle remained focused.

One wrong movement could create a completely different situation.

Finally, he managed to guide the little cobra towards the bucket.

For one moment, everybody watched.

Then it went inside.

The lid was closed.

That was it.

The hall suddenly became quiet.

The same house that, a few minutes earlier, had been filled with fear and confusion was now silent.

I can imagine everybody looking at one another and slowly realising that the danger had passed.

The little daughter probably didn’t understand the seriousness of what had just happened.

Maybe that was better.

The Journey Was Not Over

The Journey Was Not Over 

But for uncle, catching the snake was only half the work.

The intention was never to kill it.

The small cobra was simply in the wrong place.

It had somehow entered a concrete neighbourhood where humans had built their homes. It was not there looking for a fight.

So the husband and uncle took the safely contained snake away from the house and ensured it was released in a suitable natural area away from the family.

Only after that was the incident really over.

The family went back home.

The house was safe.

The child was safe.

The mother was safe.

And somewhere away from all those buildings and concrete, the little cobra was also given another chance to continue its life.

Who Was the Hero?

When I think about this story, one person naturally stands out.

Uncle.

Nobody had to force him to come.

There was no big discussion about the risk.

Someone needed help, and he came.

He had only one intention—to protect the little child and the family while making sure the animal was not unnecessarily harmed.

That is why I call people like him our silent heroes.

But when you look closely, this story actually had more than one kind of courage.

There was the mother, standing inside the house with her little daughter when a cobra was under the TV stand. Fear was definitely there, but she stayed present enough to protect her child and call for help.

There was the mother-in-law, sitting in another city, unable to physically do anything, yet having the presence of mind to immediately think about who nearby could help.

There was the husband who dropped his work and rushed home when his family needed him.

And finally, there was uncle, who walked across that small compound carrying his snake-handling tool and quietly did what had to be done.

No introduction.

No applause.

No camera.

Just help.

Heroes Are Sometimes Very Close

Life is full of small fights that we face every day.

Most are ordinary.

Some arrive without warning.

And during those moments, we realise the value of the people around us.

We sometimes look towards the sky and ask God to help us.

But maybe help does not always arrive in the way we expect.

God may not personally knock on our door.

Sometimes, He sends someone who is already living next door.

Someone we simply call…

“Uncle.”

 

     The Morning the Birds Came for Breakfast

   A balcony full of birds, a three-year-old full of questions, and one Appa trying his best to answer them.

The Morning the birds came for breakfast

A Morning Concert Outside the Window

A Morning Concert Outside the Window

It was around 5:45 AM, and I was still rolling around in bed when I heard birds chirping somewhere nearby.

At first, I didn’t pay much attention. Early mornings here normally come with bird sounds. But this was a little different. They sounded so close that, for a moment, it felt as if they were sitting in the next room and having their own morning concert. One bird would start, another would answer, and somewhere in between, a few more would join.

I got up thinking this was probably the usual morning scene and that I should get on with my routine.

By then, my younger daughter was already awake and fully charged, dancing around and waiting for me. The moment I entered the room, she had only one thing to say.

“Navu hoppa!”
(Navu hogona. Let’s go.)

By then, the concert outside had become even louder. The interesting part was that different chirping sounds seemed to be coming from the same direction.

My daughter stopped for a moment and listened.

“Appa, What Is That Sound?”

“What is that sound? Where is it coming from?” she asked.

“Let’s go and see,” I told her.

It was already around 6:30 AM.

From our balcony, we could see plenty of flowering plants and trees around, a nice place for many of the birds that visit the area. We slowly walked towards the corner of the balcony, trying to figure out where all that sound was coming from.

And there they were.

Just across the road, someone had put out food grains. Birds had started gathering around them for their morning breakfast. The more we looked, the more interesting it became. They were not simply crowded in one place. There seemed to be some kind of pattern in where each group was sitting.

Of course, the moment my daughter saw so many birds, my peaceful bird-watching session was officially over.

And Then the Questions Started

The questions started.

“How many birds, Appa?”

“Why don’t we see all these in Bangalore?”

“Appa, what are those birds?”

“Where are they coming from?”

“Why are they making so much noise?”

Just imagine getting so many questions from a three-year-old at 6:30 in the morning.

What would be my condition?

I was still trying to identify half the birds myself, and here I had a small interviewer standing next to me waiting for answers to everything.

Now, I am not that great at communicating verbally. When I write, I can probably write my heart out. But when I am talking to her, especially when she is firing questions one after another, I try to explain things in a way where she can understand at least 30% of what I am saying.

That itself is an achievement.

Here is roughly how our conversation went, translated from Kannada and Havyaka Kannada into simple English.

Appa: What all do you want to know now, magale?

Magalu: Appa! I want to know why birds get up early.

For a second, I thought about how to explain this without turning it into a biology class.

Appa: Just like us, they also have to live! And for that, they have to eat. So they wake up early in the morning and search for food.

She thought about it for a few seconds.

Then came a question I was definitely not prepared for.

Why Can’t Birds Order Food Online?

Why Can't Birds order Food online?

Magalu: Hmm! Why can’t they get food delivered? Just like how we get it in Bangalore, even they can get it!

Now what answer do you give to that?

I laughed.

Appa: We have become lazy, magalu. With time, we have become even lazier. For everything, we rely on delivery! But that is not the case with birds or animals. They have to go and search for their own food.

She still looked as if she had some doubts about the whole arrangement. Maybe in her mind, somebody simply needed to create a food-delivery app for birds. But she nodded and moved on to her next question.

“Why Are All the Birds Together?”

Magalu: Why are all these birds together? And why are they fighting?

I looked down again.

The birds were hopping around, chirping loudly, moving between the grains and occasionally pushing their way into another bird’s space. To a three-year-old, I could understand why it looked like one big fight.

Appa: Good question! First of all, they are not really fighting. They are eating, and all that chirping makes it look as if they are arguing. But for why they are all together… I have to tell you a story.

She immediately became interested.

An Ajji Kathe for My Little Magalu

Now, what came next was completely imaginary. Something inspired by the kind of Ajji kathe our grandmothers used to tell us, where animals talked, forests had their own rules, and there was always something to learn at the end.

So I started.

“Long ago, in a very big forest, there lived a big bird called a vulture. He was scary and dangerous, and he used to terrorise the other birds in the forest. Whenever he came, all the smaller birds would become frightened and fly away.

“After some time, the birds became tired of living in fear. So they all prayed to God for help.

“God appeared before them and said, ‘If you want to stay alive and happy, you have to stay together. Whatever comes your way, you should face it together. Only then will you be able to defeat this evil.’

“After God disappeared, all the birds gathered and made a decision.

“‘From today, wherever we go, we will stay together. We will also eat together. We can have our own small groups, but we will never leave one another when there is danger.’

“So from that day, the birds started travelling together and sharing whatever food grains they found.

“One day, while all the birds were eating together, the vulture came hunting for them again.

“But this time, something was different.

“Instead of flying away, all the birds stayed together. The small birds, the bigger birds, everyone joined in. Together, they fought back and finally made the vulture run away from the forest.

“And from that day onwards, all the birds stayed together happily.”

She listened quietly until I finished.

Then she looked at the birds again.

Magalu: Ohhh… that is why the birds are staying together!

The Moral Arrived Faster Than Expected

At that point, I decided to test whether at least that 30% of my story had reached properly.

Appa: Okay. What is the moral of the story?

Without thinking much, she replied:

Magalu: Me and my sister should stay together and should not fight.

I smiled.

Appa: Good!

I don’t know how long that moral would remain active once both sisters were back together, but for that moment, I was happy with the answer.

While our Ajji kathe discussion was going on, the real birds below continued with their breakfast as if they had no concern about the story being created about them from the balcony.

The way they had gathered was actually quite interesting.

A few crows were sitting on the terrace and on the nearby walls where some of the grains had been scattered. The mynas seemed to have created their own circle near the gate, happily eating from the ground. A large number of sparrows were gathered just beside them.

There were a few other birds too, each moving around within their own little groups.

A Wedding Breakfast for the Birds

A Wedding Breakfast for the Birds

For some reason, looking at all of them together reminded me of a big Indian wedding function.

One group here.

Another group there.

Some already eating.

Some waiting for their chance.

Some making plenty of noise.

And everybody somehow knowing where they belonged.

It really looked as though someone had invited the entire bird community for a wedding breakfast.

My daughter and I stood there watching them for some more time.

By then, the sun was slowly coming up and seemed to be announcing, “Okay, I am also ready now. Today I am going to heat things up. No rain!”

The coolness of the early morning was already beginning to disappear.

Then Grandmother Called, “Food Is Ready!”

And then came another familiar sound from inside the house.

Grandmother called out, “Food is ready!”

Perfect timing.

We had spent all this time watching the birds enjoy their breakfast, and now our own tummies had started reminding us that we had been standing there without eating anything.

So magalu and I finally left the balcony and went inside.

A Simple Morning I Will Remember

It was such a simple morning. Nothing was planned. No outing, no special activity, nothing extraordinary.

Just some food grains across the road, a gathering of birds, and a three-year-old with more questions than I had answers.

But somehow, those are the mornings that stay with us.

I am sure many of my answers were incomplete, and I am equally sure she understood only a small part of my imaginary bird story. But for those few minutes, we stood together watching the birds, talking about food delivery, vultures, teamwork, sisters fighting, and everything else that came into her little mind.

A morning well spent with my daughter.

And knowing her, I am only waiting for the next set of questions to arrive. 😊

Some Snipts, though i was not able to capture the birds showing the place and early morning vibes!!

Balcony View!! Sun Rise

Sun Rise

View from Balcony