When Sara came back home that day, she was in for a surprise. For one, Grandpa was home. Not only Grandpa, but Aunty Ratnam, Uncle Shyam, their children, and a bunch of other relatives she didn't know very well. Secondly, there was a tense mood in the air- she felt it, even though she couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. Thirdly, (though this one was not much of a surprise) her brother Adi, unaffected by the tense mood of their nest, walked in beaming into the crowd, chirping a merry hello. Amma hopped in behind her, ruffling her feathers. She stopped short when she saw everyone, though. "Welcome, welcome!" She chirped merrily. Whether she'd chosen to ignore the tense atmosphere, Sarah didn't know. "We've made ourselves welcome, Farah," boomed Tata's voice. The chattering of her cousins stopped instantly at that. Of course, living with him throughout the year, they'd probably got accustomed to his moods. Sara wished she knew him better and cherished the times they spent together. He was a learned sparrow and could speak of length about almost everything under the sun- humans, the new technology which made them get headaches, and of course, sparrow folklore. Sara loved the nights when they would fall asleep listening to tata, her mother's wing draped over herself and her five siblings. She loved falling asleep like that- she loved the warmth of it, the way she was lulled to sleep by the steady heartbeat of her mother. "Had a good day?" Uncle Shyam chirped. "Oh yes, we did," Amma replied, laughter in her voice. "A very good supply of grains." "Your children are very robust," said Aunt Ratnam, coming over to inspect them. For a fleeting minute, Sara felt envious of her brothers' bold plumage. She wished she had bold-colored feathers like the males. Hers was a dull buff color. But Aunt Ratnam quickly passed on, to Abu next, then Adi, Kasi, Ruhi and then lastly, Jaya. "Has anything happened back home?" Amma asked, not unkindly. Aunt Ratnam's face darkened. "Grandfather will tell you." Mother glanced questioningly at Tata. He nodded, then gestured for them to sit down. "What is it?" Appa asked cautiously, as Rita came and huddled next to Sara. Sara's eyes lit up immediately- Rita was her favorite cousin, who she enjoyed talking to. But she seemed a little subdued tonight. 'No worries,' Sara thought. 'I'll soon know what's happened. Then I'll comfort her and all will be well.' "Well," Tata began. He had a commanding voice, which he modulated to suit the requirements of storytelling. But tonight, it was purely authoritative. "We have been living in Vedanthangal for years. My side of the family, that is. We've lived peacefully for a long time with the farmers of the area. But you all know that. The people there were so kind as to not even burst firecrackers for fear of scaring us away. We lived in harmony, we birds, and those humans. Until that is, this factory came up." "Now this factory, it's been polluting the waters, and now that stupid government wants to give it permission to expand and occupy 40% of Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary." Sara stifled a gasp. This could not be happening. She'd been to Vedanthangal once and had seen the beautiful kinds of birds that thrived there. It was a shame to destroy their home. Vedanthangal was so beautiful- she wished she stayed there. She'd heard of factories and industries being set up, of course, and wished they didn't exist. They ruined so many homes, so many lives. But Vedanthangal- it was bird heaven. It couldn't, shouldn't be destroyed. "But wasn't that factory illegal?" Appa asked. "How can it be allowed to expand then?" Tata sighed his signature sigh. "Yes, but a new legislation has been proposed. This will allow industries who have been running without an environmental clearance eligible to request for one. That's what gave them the guts to seek permission to expand." Oh, no, no, no. Sara's heart sank. If that was allowed, Vedanthangal would never be the same again. She'd never be able to fly there, to splash in the water, and play with her cousins in their home. And then, there was the issue of where her relatives would stay. "What?!" Appa burst out. "That's so unfair! What about the farmers? What do they say? This cannot-" Tata gave him a look. The look made Appa shut up, if only for now. "But what is this new legislation?" Amma asked, ruffling the feathers on Adi's head. "Mother save us, it's only a draft as of now. But the Draft EIA 2020 dilutes environmental protection laws a lot. In a nutshell, it makes it easier for polluting factories to get away with all the wrongs they've done. If this is implemented, there will be no hope for our survival- or that of any other creature. And the humans are facing a host of issues right now-" He paused for a minute, frowning. "And so are we. This draft cannot be passed. I must take up this issue with the National Board of Bird Welfare." He walked around the nest, then bobbed his head thoughtfully. "Yes, that is what I will do." "Are you sure we can do something about this?" Amma asked. "Yes of course," Pat came the reply. "We have to do something. The NBBW has been meeting with all the welfare boards for other creatures- and even Mother Earth herself. We've been trying to make things right, but so far, it isn't working. But we have to do something about this. We will." Sara's eyes momentarily closed in prayer. She felt an ember of hope glow within her after hearing the determination in her grandfather's voice. He would make things alright. Yes, this matter was serious enough to be taken to the NBBW- for the birds, by the birds. Grandfather had contacts in many places. He could make things alright. He would make things alright. "You can stay here till things get better," Sara whispered to Rita. Rita's eyes were tinged with sadness. "Oh," She said. "Only if they didn't destroy our home. And you know what Tata said? This new legislation he talked about? This would allow construction of factories in any area- except the protected reserves. Imagine if they did that. Then all of us would die." Sara spread her left-wing over her sobbing cousin and held her for a while. "It'll be okay," She murmured into her cousin's warm feathers. "We'll make it alright. We'll do something about it." Her grandfather gave her a look then, and Sara held his gaze for a minute, trying to decipher what the flickering in his brown eyes meant. Then Rita was overcome by another bout of sobbing, and she was soon focused on comforting her cousin.
By -
Nitha Fathima
Grade 12
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