“Dodo! Ever heard of it?” had questioned one of my classmates in School when I was about 11. You too are wondering as to what is it just like the way I did then? For your information, Dodo is a bird which is extinct already. I remember this so well because that was the first time I realized that there was something apart from dinosaurs that doesn’t exist anymore. Those were the days of innocence. All we wanted was to prove to each other that we knew better. It was fun even though it may now seem sillier because we had to rely to our own sources to gather information. Today it’s all thanks to Google. Information is always available at your fingertips and somewhere I guess we humans have begun taking everything for granted. Anyways, not digressing from the topic, it was only yesterday I realized that if someone were to ask anyone in India which is one species that is on the verge of extinction, everyone would have one answer. Tiger. Yes, it is but did we ever bother to think if there could be other species too? There is one smaller creature which chirps around, has tiny wings which is mostly social and sadly now awaiting its end. It’s a Sparrow!
I read somewhere that the World Sparrow Day (WSD) is being celebrated on 20th March across the globe to raise public awareness about the decline of the house sparrow and throw light on the problems faced by the species in its daily fight for survival. Frankly! I too never realized that I haven’t seen it for years now until I read this. Sparrows are one of the earliest memories I have of my childhood. The house in which I spent almost my entire childhood had a huge well behind. The burrows in the well were the home for these tiny birds. I remember standing for long hours and just gaping into the well, to see these birds flying from one end to the other and wondering why the height doesn’t frighten them. I have spent days looking at them collect straws and try and build their nest. I laugh now, remembering the days when I used to shoo away the crows who posed to be a threat to these sparrows. But as I grew up, I failed to notice them despite the fact that they were still there doing the same chores and to themselves. I wonder why but the truth is that somehow, they did not fascinate me anymore. With time, I began concentrating on different things. These changes in priorities continued so much that I had almost forgotten about this bird which has been an integral part of the memories I have of my childhood until I read about an article on WSD. It’s strange how easily our priorities change and worst is that we do not even realize the extent to which it has. It saddens me to think that generation next would never know of this bird and will have to rely on pictures. It is just like the way we were clueless of the Dodo. Anyways, I hope that this blog of mine will not be referred to or visited by any kid who searches for “What is a sparrow?” in Google years later. I wish they get to see this bird in reality.
To know more about Sparrows log onto: http://www.worldsparrowday.org/how.htmlTry and do your bit,HPK!!!
