There’s immense satisfaction and happiness in small little things of life, and that’s no secret! The small little things that I could have always done but never did.
Evening Cuppa at the Balcony
It’s nearly evening, or should I say late afternoon. At this time the mellowed sun appears perfectly rounded and has moved to the far west. On the way, it has splattered subtle shades of yellows, oranges, and crimsons all over the western sky. Seated in my living room, I can see the familiar warm comfortable glow fill up my kitchen cabinets as some of the light trickles in through the window.
I put my laptop to sleep and walk up to the kitchen. Soon, I have two cups of hot tea. I call out to my sister, who’s working in the guest room. She just happened to be with me during the lockdown. We leave our laptops and phones behind and for the next one hour settle down in the balcony with tea and biscuits.
The softening yellow ball of fire can be seen from one side. And, it’s time for the birds to go home. There’s the bunch of eagles soaring high up in the sky, the flock of tiny birds that glide a few feet below as if competing with the eagles, the squawking parrots that fly in small gangs one after the other, the unseen cuckoo that sings into the evening whose nest must be somewhere nearby, the cute little tiny sunbirds that perch here and there, the odd bulbul and the kingfisher that comes by sometimes, those few noisy mynas, a couple of ravens, and the irritating pigeons.
Amid admiring the birds and enjoying the changing hues of sunset, we talk about a hundred things – family, friends, books, movies, social media, our anxieties and worries, our travels, our jobs, Covid 19, lockdown, and anything and everything under the sun.
Now, we eagerly look forward to the evenings every single day. My home happens to be in a quiet corner of the apartment. The balcony was always there, so were the birds, so was the sunset but never did we spend time in the balcony. We were too busy, you see!
Mornings of Squirrel Cuteness
It’s about 9.00 AM. Breakfast time. Not just for us but for the squirrel family too.
A squirrel family has been visiting my home for the past 2-3 years. There are 3-4 of them and all of them look alike except for some minor differences mostly in their sizes. For the sake of convenience, all of them have been christened with the same name – TUNTUNI. They live in the tree that spreads across one side of my house through the balcony, the kitchen, and the guest bedroom.
It’s the common Indian Palm Squirrel, grey-brown in colour with a bushy tail, and characterized by three conspicuous white stripes that run from head to tail. Hyperactive and superfast, they had thwarted all my attempts of clicking them. I had since given up and just enjoyed their company. Not just me, they would entertain my guests too.
My sister had never paid attention to them before. Now she can be found chasing the squirrels and filming every act of squirrel cuteness. The renewed focus resulted in new-found adulation. I got a bag of peanuts for them even in the lockdown. Every morning we feed them in return for some unparalleled adorable and magical squirrel moments.
The Myna Nest
Talking about the squirrels, it’ll be gross injustice if I leave out the Myna couple. For the past few weeks, in fact even before the lockdown had started, we had spotted a Myna couple in and around my home.
It’s the common house Myna, which is sometimes identified as a pest in certain parts of the world. Little did we know that the couple had built a nest in my kitchen chimney exhaust pipe.
We had been noticing some noise in the pipe for a while now but did not pay much heed as this happens sometimes. We always thought the tiny sunbirds made their way into the chimney pipe. Recently, the activities in the chimney was nothing less than a ruckus. The Myna couple were seen busy with various activities through the day. Once they even angrily chased the squirrel and we could never figure out what what had happened. Two days back the babies flew off and the Myna couple have since disappeared – probably enjoying the graduation of their kids.
And, I can’t help but wonder that these are certain things that I could have always done but I never did. It had to take a Covid-19 lockdown or else I would have missed it all.
Seasons of Life! 
We too are enjoying small things we formerly passed by. But I hadn’t given it much thought, just enjoyed. Thanks to you, now I am wondering not if but how we will continue to do this after the current situation is behind us.
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I think we must find some way to continue doing these things even after the current situation is left behind. I do hope we stick on to these little things that give us joy, those that we have now discovered.
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Little pleasures of life! I’m reminded on the poem ‘Leisure’ What is this life, if full of care, We have no time to stand n stare…. lovely! Here is the link –
http://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=100
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This is just the perfect poem for now and for always. Thank you so much for sharing it with me. It says so much in so little 🙂
Thank you so much for reading, Rita!
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My pleasure 😊
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Oh I read this poem when I was in my fourth standard and it has left an impact ever since. I keep quoting it always.
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A blessing in disguise for you I should say, Neelanjana, the lockdown. I loved the lucid description of the evening tea. You are blessed to have a balcony, which once ubiquitous for us here, is a sorely missed lost part of our childhood. Adorable Tuntuni is the proverbial icing on the cake! I hope now you will keep a closer eye on the exhaust chimney for the next round of Myna nesting. I should add that sis is an amazing artist – thus say the detailing in her deft touch. Good that you have her around in these capricious times. I hope Shillong is better placed now and news from home is good.
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Yes Narendra, these little things have led me to sometimes wish for the lockdown to continue longer. The balcony truly makes us so happy and serves as the best outdoors for now. The birds and trees and the squirrels make it even more interesting. There are butterflies and bees too. I had never noticed that we had such colourful butterflies, been biased in associating them only with Shillong. I am so glad you liked Tuntuni and it’s been a pleasure to share such stories with you. I will pass on the compliment to sis, she’ll be delighted to hear am sure.
Shillong’s been alright so far. Things did not go out of hand as we had anticipated after the doctor’s death in terms of the spread of infection. Hopefully it remains the same in the coming days.
And, thank you for reading this long post 🙂
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I so echo with all the minute observations through your eyes Neel. In the hustle-bustle of our daily lives, we tend to overlook many beautiful things around us. This Pandemic gave a due pause to look for stuff going around us and embrace it in a way that was never done before. I live amidst a mini canopy of a forest in my neighborhood, the birds chirping, flocks of them, the murmuration, I can write on and on about it. Thanks for writing this. While I dearly miss my daily mundane routine(early morning runs, meeting friends, hanging out with them post-run). But I’m surely utilising this forced break or lockdown.
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Thanks Asif for reading this post and leaving behind your thoughts. I am waiting to read your post on the forest around your home, the birds and all such things. Your runs will be back soon but till then make the most of all that you have now, it will not come again 🙂
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Interestingly, even though all of us are sitting at home, I find that the blogs are so full of content. We are seeing more things around us for sure. I like your sister’s sketches.
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That is so true! I will pass on the message to sis…she’ll be very happy. She’s just started doing this so some motivation would do good 🙂
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May be it took a lock-down which I prefer calling nesting period to force us to look at the small things in life, of birds creating a ruckus, of squirrels jumping about, of the sun softly bidding adieu until it appears again the next morning. But I cannot help think will we appreciate all of this when we are back to our new normal or will we be back to being our selves, immerse ourselves in the thrill and speed of life?
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That’s precisely the discussion my sister and I often have. I will still be home so perhaps can do it but she wouldn’t be around. And, certain things are more fun when done with someone than alone.
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That is true. 🙂
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Very nice write up. I am happy to note that your balcony serving as a window of another world that you never explored so far. Thanks to the lock-down. Your sister’s drawings are awesome. Yeah this is the time we all supposed to know the other world which is more exciting and invigorating than the existing one !
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Yes indeed. The lockdown has enabled several things that we never had the time to do before. These small things make the very essence of life. Hope you have been doing something different too.
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Lots of joy from small things
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