The Blind Pigeon

The blind pigeon?

It fluttered through the bedroom window grill , and having thus entered the bedroom , it sat on the window sill with its head hung down.?

I saw it for the first time towards the evening when the windows are normally shut to avoid mosquitos. It seemed to be in trouble. I looked closer and realized that it was a grown bird but just ready to be launched from the nest, but that, it was blind in both the eyes,?and hence the parents had stopped feeding the same. I was ignorant about how to deal with the situation, especially considering that I had never handled birds in trouble. But having observed the emaciated bird with its head hanging low, I realized that it needed my assistance and not my ignorance. I had seen too many "thrown out from nest handicapped birds" and within a few days, they died at the very spot , hungry and neglected. But this bird was literally asking me to save it. Fate or God had pushed this handicapped bird through the grills into my sphere of responsibility.?Surely there was a grand purpose which we puny human beings do not understand. What I understood was that I had to learn fast on my feet failing which I would have a dead bird in my hands.?

I rushed into the commercial center in front of our cluster of apartments, from one grocery outlet owner to another. "How does one save a blind pigeon for tonight?" They suggested I feed it with powdered rice or maize mixed in water. With a spoon. That is what they all suggested. I began to ring up the dog lovers in my cluster. "We feed and care for only dogs. Sorry Anida". Fair enough. So I rung up bird care Vets in Delhi. This is when the true solution came into my hands - sorry, ears! "To keep it alive, feed it with electral energizer mixed in water. After a day of same, feed it mashed rice cooked with dal." So, I bought a dropper,?forced open its mouth and fed it with electral energizer fluid. Within one hour it was prancing around but continued to be blind. Rung up the same bird Vet. " Buy Ciplox eye drop, keep salt water ready. Force open its eyes and administer salt mixed in water using a cotton swab. Then one drop of Ciplox per eye every one hour for two hours tonight. Tomorrow same drop three times only. Same the next day after that. It should be able to open its eyes and see following this process of treatment." The next day, it was prancing around but could see with one eye. The other eye had pus. The treatment continued with (1) Salt water cleaning (2) Ciplox (3) Electral followed by?Khichdi that is, mix of rice plus dal. In that order.

The above exercise worked like magic. By the second day, it had the strength to open both its eyes, and fly all around the room to avoid being administered the above treatment.?

On the third day afternoon, I went to the commercial center and on seeing several pigeons there , released my patient amongst them. It flew out of my hands and landed in the central courtyard of the commercial center. I realized then that my patient was a female. A male flew in and landed just next to her, pompously blew up its chest and began to trumpet its mating call. But the moment the verile male approached my energetic patient, it received a hard peck on the head. I knew then, that my job was done well and when I looked up to ask the lord above, it rained, as if to confirm "My dear human child. I am so happy that I cannot stop crying".

So I walked back home in the rain. Wet, but satisfied and happy!