Unexpected Visitors - Part 1

Unexpected visitors came at both timely and untimely hours into our apartment. The visitors were the phantoms of the night and day. They came in stealthily and stayed around as though they did not care about the inhabitants. My hubby and I started off amicably with the visitors, but our relationship went sour after they waged a war on our beloved things.

My significant other and I were excited about the two bedroom apartment that we rented out, in an apartment complex, in Bangalore. The city was getting crowded by the day and getting an apartment in a good locality was indeed an achievement. We had two balconies. One balcony, we reserved for the clothesline. The other balcony, was supposed to be our relaxation area. We laid out two cane chairs. We imagined sitting on the cane chairs and watching the receding sunset as we sipped our chai.

In the beginning the visitor came alone, later it brought along with it couple more friends. The visitors seemed harmless in the beginning. They perched on the black metallic rods of the balcony and flipped their grey wings lined with black stripes. It was fun to see the pigeons so close. They cooed and out of excitement, I sometimes cooed along with them. My hubby, the pigeons and I shared the balcony, in peace, until one ill fated day.

 That day was the day we bought four healthy potted plants, with pretty pink and blue flowers. We called a carpenter to create a home for the plants. He fixed a narrow plank on one side of the balcony between the rods and the wall, for the plants. My hubby watered the plants every day, as he did; he dipped into the reminiscences of the garden he cultivated in his long bygone teens. We hoped that our visitors will reciprocate loving feelings towards the harmless and vibrant plants.

One weekend, we went to our hometown. After we returned we saw, what our unexpected visitors did to the lovely potted plants. They mutilated the tender green leaves and bit off the flowers. The tiles of the balcony were covered with the withered flowers. My hubby was devastated. His mini-sized garden was bleeding to death. I was furious over the pigeon’s intrusion into our rented private property. The pigeons’ also shitted all over the balcony as though it was their private bathroom.

We were firm on retaining our ground; after all we were paying rent every month. We watered the plants hoping to rejuvenate them. The pigeons expressed their disapproval in a stronger fashion. They landed on the flimsy branches and shitted inside the potted plants. (Ha! The pigeons do not know that their shit can be used as manure, so there was a small victory for us). Two or three pigeons even got together and overthrew a small potted plant on the balcony floor. The brown earth spread on the floor and we could not save the innocent plant. One fatality happened in the war between the Goudas’ (my hubby’s surname) and the pigeons.

Coming up next…how the pigeons waged a war on my hubby…and did we savor the victory over the pigeons by making a pigeon biryani out of the shaheed in the war?

                                                              Our balcony occupied by the pigeons

To be continued on 5^th October 2013.