Four years ago, Nandu Harichandra Shirgudi was taking his customary walk on Carter Road at Bandra in suburban Mumbai when he saw a kite being knocked down by a car. Within seconds, the magnificent bird came crashing to the ground. Shirgudi, a sand-and-mortar dealer in the area, picked it up and rushed to his workshop where he gently tended to its injuries. He continued to nurse the bird for the next few days until it was ready to fly again.

PICTURE SPEAK

RARA AVIS: Shirgudi with wounded kites

The remarkable recovery of the kite was the talk of the neighbourhood with people bringing news of more injured birds to Shirgudi. Soon, what started off as a spontaneous act of kindness became a hobby, perhaps a mission too, with Shirgudi going out of his way to collect wounded birds and nurse them till they take to the skies again. "I have nursed around 200 kites so far," he says as eight big brown birds with their hooked beaks sit in a line atop a pile of sand outside his workshop.

Elaborating on the kind of kites he has nursed so far, Shirgudi says he has identified three varieties based on the colour of the feathers and feet. His own favourite was a white bird with golden wings and yellow feet which he picked up a year ago but was subsequently stolen. Initially, he would keep the birds inside the workshop at night but realised that by morning they would be totally covered with sand. "They are very intelligent birds," he says, while describing how they would walk in single file into the same room every evening.

However, tending to the birds has not always been easy. Sometimes Shirgudi treats them himself with the help of some of his assistants. If the injury is serious he calls a vet. Most birds are ready to fly within a week, thanks to his healing touch. A healthy diet of mutton and rats also helps. "Although the birds do not require constant attention, we have to make sure that people don't hurt them," he says. At times, the birds fly away during the day but come back by nightfall.

Usually, people prefer to avoid these razor-clawed birds. But Shirgudi is helping them discover that the formidable kites are as colourful, as friendly and as loving as other birds like parrots, pigeons and love birds. The choice of pets, it seems, is only expanding.

Index