Supersinger R E T U R N S

Note: This is not a spoof cocktail of Airtel Super-singer and Superman Returns.

My knowledge in ornithology is almost -Nil-. But, I can definitely differentiate between the common species like crow, koel, hen, peacock, owl, swan, duck, crane, parrot, pelican, penguin, pigeon, woodpecker and kingfisher (Excuse the childish list. I started to list them assuming I'll have only about 4 to 5! Continued at one shot and this is impressive!). I can also identify some of their calls.

In this city so famous for its crows, encountering a bird of a different kind always makes me happy. Be it a pigeon, sparrow or parrot I have always loved to sight them! I haven't seen a koel at close quarters, but, when I heard her koo from the mango tree in our apartment, right outside my room, I was thrilled.

She does have a mellifluous voice - high pitched, sharp, loud, smooth and clean! No wonder 'Kuyil Paatu' (Koel's song) is honored in so many cinema songs! Her sincerity and whole-heartedness shows out in her early morning 'saadhagams'(singing practice). The only itch being, she starts out her Saadhagams quite early..say about 4.00 AM! Well, her voice definitely does not wake me up in spite of having the window facing the mango tree open, but for my uncle, who lives in the 2nd floor, 2 floors above my room, she serves as the morning alarm.

We first heard her sing last June (2005). Couple of weeks went by and everybody in the apartment had noticed her and heard her voice..My uncle once sighed 'En ippadi kathudhu nu thrialai...adhoda jodi ya tholaichudthu pola irukku!!(meaning: Not sure why she is giving those desperate calls, may be she lost her pair)

2 year old Sneha in the first floor, once stood in the balcony and yelled back 'Enna Venum ka-ka(She probably thought all birds are ka-ka) unakku?(meaning: Ms. Crow, what do you want?) Sometimes, when the squirrels are discussing aloud about their mango stock and deciding on territories of the tree, it is a complete concert!

By the way, did I tell you, it is only of late, I discovered that a koel can koo in 2 different ways! Crow says kaa-kaa, duck says quack-quack, parrot says kee-kee. But the koel is multi-faceted! She can either sing 'ku-ku-ku-ku-ku', monotonous short koo's or long loud ones like 'koo-ooo', 'koo-ooo' ('oo' as in 'boot'). The first kind is quite heart warming and makes one feel brisk and cheerful in the morning just like hearing 'chinna kuyil paadum paatu kaetkudha? ku,ku,ku,koo,ku..'. But the latter, grips you up. It always makes you feel, the koel is calling out to someone, wants something or singing a pathos - 'kuyilai pudichu koondil adaichu..'. Even 2 year old Sneha can feel it!

Getting to the reason for this post.. This koel in my mango tree, suddenly disappeared in 2 months time. I used to wonder if it was because of the insult by Sneha! May be the koel thought 'How dare this little one calls me ka-ka?'! Or, may be, she found her partner. So, since September 2005, the mango tree was just housing squirrels and crows.

But now, much to the joy and wonder of everybody in the apartment, She is back..the Supersinger is back to her mango tree! Looking forward to more saadhagams and kutcheries for the next 2 months!