‘THE ROAD NOT TAKEN’

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Looking up at the sky, Riya gazes upon the moon as it struggles to shine through the thick clouds that cover its glow. It is almost midnight and without the all city lights, she can see the stars wink and twinkle at her. Watching the struggling moon at night she is thinking of her past and future ahead filled with mixed emotions. She remembers the lines of the poem ‘ The Road Not Taken ’ by Robert Frost which she had read in her English book in her school days. She can still remember the explanation of the poem that her English teacher taught so efficiently. And remembering these lines, she realizes that her own life is similar to the poet’s life as described in the poem.

                                                                                                                                                         

[Summary: In the poem it has been described that the poet has come to a fork in the road in the woods and is unsure which way to go. He wishes that he could go both ways. Both are equally worn & equally overlaid with un-trodden leaves. He chooses one, telling himself that he will take the other another day. Yet he knows it is unlikely that he will ever have the opportunity to do so. He claims that he took the less travelled road and that has in future recreated the scene with a slight twist.]                                                                                   

Riya thinks like the poet we often face situations in our life where we have to make choices that later on carve our future. She too had once faced such a situation when she completed her high school. She was about to choose her career path and she had to make choices among a lot of courses. The poet in the poem has described the paths faced by him as equally fair. Like the poet, she too knew that all these courses had equal potential just as the paths faced by the poet. Somehow she narrowed her options to few alternatives that were medical or engineering course or some other professional courses which included Veterinary Science.

                                                                                                                                                                    For her the term ‘Veterinary Science’ wasn’t new. She was aware about it since her kindergarten. She still remembers how she became aware of it. Some girl in her class had wished to become a Veterinary doctor when she was asked about her aim. That day after coming from school out of curiosity she had ran home and asked her father what a Veterinary Doctor was. Her father explained to her that a Veterinary doctor is a doctor who treats animals when they are ill. And she has always liked that profession since then. But she had heard from her parents that it was less chosen by students and also they didn’t prefer it as a good career for her. Her parents wished her to take either Medical or Engineering courses like most students did. When she didn’t qualify entrance, her parent’s had even asked her to prepare for Medical entrance for one year. But she denied & preferred to choose Veterinary Science as her career since she had qualified its entrance test and somehow felt that she was destined to join it.

So like the poet when she faced the fork of her life, she feels that she too took a less travelled path like him and kept the Medical career for future in spite of knowing that she can never change her career and return to choose other. She too like the poet was uncertain whether her choice was perfect for her & hoped it to be better.

She has often heard that the college life is the best time in a person’s life. She agrees with it. When she joined the college, it was the first time she was exposed to the outside world away from her parents. She was left to grow up to become adult and to make her own decisions. She became responsible and learnt to understand the importance of maintaining good and healthy relations with seniors, batch mates and friends. No doubt there was fun but during her college life she has faced ocean of challenges. And sometimes like the poet, she too felt like regretting the decision she had once made. She had often hoped to come back and choose the other career, but like the poet she too felt that trying the other choice might be foolish.

                                                       

Four and a half years have already passed and she is on the verge of graduation. Sitting near the window and gazing at the sky she feels that after graduation she may have to struggle to have a better future like the moon is struggling to shine behind the clouds outside her window. Her feelings at this moment are congruent with the poet’s last stanza in the poem. Akin to the poet she too is uncertain whether she will be happy or sad for her choice in future. But still the choice remains important to her as it is to the poet in the poem.

In the last line, the poet wants to remind that the between the two paths in the wood he took the one which was rarely travelled by anyone or may be the poet was the fast to travel that path, but still the poet didn’t lose his hope and became successful and that has made difference in his life. Reminiscing these last lines of the poem, Riya too has decided to make a difference in her life by being confident about her choice & making it a success by her perseverance.

 A BIRD STORY

 

                                             

                                                      

“ Mamma, see there’s a bird’s nest hanging on the neem tree in our garden”, said Ashay to his mother. His mother nodded with a smile looking at him.

Ashay is a cute little boy of six years. He had often heard about birds & their nests in his books &  stories told by his mother. He had seen birds’ nest in tv too. But he was seeing it in real & so closely for the first time. So it was obviously a thing of great excitement for him.

“Mamma, see there are two birds near the nest. Are they- the Mamma bird & the Papa bird?” Looking at the nest, his mother said, “Yes”.

They were very small birds but looked very beautiful, as cute as the boy & were twittering gleefully, sitting near the nest & hopping from one branch of a tree to another. The nest was hanging on a small tree on its lowest branch & one could easily see inside the nest by standing near it.

“Don’t go near the nest & touch it. The nest may fall down & the eggs may break.” said Ashay’s mother strictly.

“What? Eggs!! Are there eggs in the nest, Mamma?” How many? Can I see them once? Please.” With these questions Ashay pleaded before his mother to see the nest. His mother agreed & took him near the neem tree. But being short the nest seemed to be a bit away from him. His mother than took him in her lap so that he could see inside the nest.

The nest was so beautifully built by the birds. Ahsay was surprised to see it. Inside the nest, there were two brown shelled eggs. The eggs were small & lovely. Ashay wished to touch it but his mother declined as she feared that the nest being fragile may break. Along with it the eggs may break & the birds being terrified may not come to their garden. So he didn’t  touch the eggs & came down from his mother’s lap.                                                  

From that day, it became a habit for Ashay to look at the nest & enquire different facts regarding the birds, their nests & their hatchlings who were yet to come out of the eggs. His mother told him that when the hatchlings would come out of the eggs, he can see the birds feeding them. She also told that after some days, when the hatchlings would grow up and have wings they will fly away with their parents.

One night there was a big storm. It rained heavily The wind blew so strongly that many trees were expected to be broken.

The next day when Ashay went into the garden, he saw that though the nest was still hanging on the branch of the neem tree but the branch was broken & was hanging on the tree somehow. So he thought that the eggs might be there inside the nest. But when he went near the tree, he saw two broken eggs on the ground. He was hurt seeing the broken eggs. He had eagerly waited for the eggs to hatch but now those eggs were broken. Moreover there was no sign of the birds in the garden to whom the nest belonged. Ashay thought his mother was right, ‘Being terrified from the storm the birds may have left.”

The whole day he was looking at  nest sadly & thinking about the birds, sitting near the window of his room. Nothing seemed to be interesting to him that day. He didn’t go to play with his friends as  he used to  everyday in the evening.

At night while he was lying on his bed to sleep, his mother sat near his bed and asked what he was thinking the whole day. He said,” Mamma, I was thinking about  the eggs that have broken due to the storm. And like you said the birds have left. I was thinking that how can we save the eggs from falling from the nest.” “Mamma, should we make houses for the birds on the trees like our own house, so that it will not break & can face the storm. This will save the eggs from breaking & the birds can have a happy family after the eggs hatch”

We may find Ashay’s idea of making houses for birds funny & immature. But infact this little boy is wiser than the people living on this earth. His concern for the birds, their nest  & eggs is commendable. Most of us on the otherhand may not even think it a matter of discussion. Increasing deforestation  has made innumerable number of common birds like sparrows homeless. A number of birds are on the verge of extinction in the country. As per the report of the scientific institutions like Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, the IUCN Red List version 2010, it indicates 14 Critically Endangered species of birds from India. According to the IUCN list, the critically endangered birds include White-rumped Vulture, Indian Vulture, Red-headed Vulture, Pink-headed Duck, White-belled Heron, Sociable Lapwing, Christmas Frigatebird, Jerdon's Courser, Siberian Crane, Bengal Florican, Himalayan Quail, Forest Owlet, Spoon-billed Sandpiper. The birds are almost extinct or facing extinction because of destruction of  their habitat, poaching, indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemicals harmful to birds etc. The nesting, feeding, and roosting areas of birds have faced a lot of disturbance from the human beings, affecting their population.

Though important steps have been taken by the Govt. of India for protecting the endangered birds of India, yet there is a great need of people like Ashay whose concern for birds can change the scenario.