Sunday 1 January 2012

Shocker on New Year Day

The first day of January 2012. In the morning I got up to the fresh feeling of enjoying the first day of a brand-new year. Little did I know, that this day would start as a shocker. My sweet little pet Sapna, the only bird remaining with me passed away today. I can't believe it and the shock is still there. I watched her die right in front of my eyes and there was nothing I could do about it. It was such a helpless feeling and certainly I did not expect the first day of a brand-new year to start like this.Actually, it is quite cold here because December is ending, and it is the beginning of January when the winter cold is at its maximum. I had therefore covered the cage of my bird with a cloth and then put two woolen shawls over it, so that Sapna would not feel the cold. But when I uncovered the cloth in the morning, I was really shocked to find that Sapna started screeching all of a sudden, little realizing that the poor thing wanted to say her last goodbye to me. I immediately realized that she had caught a chill, and placed her cage in the sunlight but inside my room only. I then immediately switched on the heater, so that she could get the required heat she wanted. I kept chanting and praying to God to please save this innocent bird of  mine, as I did not want anything to happen to her. All her pranks and antics kept flashing in front of my eyes and I couldn't stop myself from weeping silently, as I watched her lying down helplessly on the bottom of the cage shivering with cold.
All of a sudden she opened her eyes and then flapped her wings one last time, and collapsed on the ground, falling sideways. Even in death she kept staring at me as if to communicate her undying love towards me, and I could just weep and watch her helplessly die. I kept sitting with her like that for almost half an hour, and then I prepared her for her last journey. The food which I put out for her in a bowl was also packed with her, as I carefully put her in a box to take her out and bury her in a field nearby.

She will always remain my favorite and I have yet to come across such a sensible and sensitive bird. She could sense that I was in the room and she would start calling out to me immediately. Whenever she wanted food she would start chirping early in the morning and start to call me, as if reminding me that she was waiting for her food. When she was done with food, she used to start chirping again because she wanted to be put out in the sun so that she could see the world with her own eyes and watch the birds as they played all around her. She was a very inquisitive bird and very playful. She was extremely active and used to keep performing acrobatics on the sides of the cage from where, a place had been made for her to perch on. There was also a round swing on top of the cage, and believe it or not she used to climb on top of that and start swinging herself. Even yesterday when I'd seen her in the morning and all through the afternoon, she was as chirpy and playful as ever and I never imagined that this would be her last day on this earth. Indeed God's ways are strange and one does not know when life would be snuffed out and the end would come.

Wherever you are Sapna, Farewell and remember you will always be in my heart. In fact when I was washing her cage after coming back from her burial, I thought I heard her shrill cries and immediately ran back to the room where she used to lie, but alas my ears were ringing and then I realized that I would never see her again. Even as I write this, the pain is obvious and it's difficult to control my tears. After all she was a family member, or maybe more than that. She had grown so used to me that she used to allow me to touch her and caress her because she knew that I loved her, and she in turn loved me back. What a terrible start to a brand-new year. But I'll let this pass, because this is God's way of letting you know that nothing is immortal. You have to let go when the time comes. So be it. Since the morning I've been in a very pensive mood, only attending to calls wanting to wish me a happy New Year, but making no calls myself as it was a difficult thing to do with this terrible loss, so fresh in my mind. In fact I spent the morning posting a lot of photographs of all my birds which I had earlier but don't have them now.

                                   Thats Sapna with her back towards the camera, in grey.


Here's hoping that the rest of the year is not as bad as today. Cheers!

3 comments:

  1. Hey !
    Sorry to hear about the loss of Sapna :(
    Losing a pet is the worst feeling ever !

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  2. I'am so glad you understand my pain. I had her with me for at least 2 years now, and I know for sure, she was not ready to depart yet. God bless her, wherever she is!

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  3. So sorry that Sapna left you. I can realize how painful it must be for you. I still feel the pain of losing my favorite cat Garfield more than 20 yrs ago. Many cats came after him but he was so special that nothing can erase his memories but I console myself that he is happy up there in the realm of God. Your Sapna must be happy, safe and sound there VikranJi!

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