In the early mornings
I would find our backyard
full of peafowls surrounding
my frail Baba as he would
feed them copious amounts of Bajra.
He would then ensure the
squirrels too got their
fair share of over ripe guavas
as they sauntered up
and down the tree quickly
picking their prize
under his watchful gaze.
I would also see him sitting
on his haunches making
Alpana like patterns out of
wheat flour so that the ants
too can fill their little tummies.
And only after feeding
banana to monkeys,
Greens to the cows and
bread to street dogs,
He would sit for his breakfast,
beckoning me and my brother
as he fed us with morsels
of ghee smeared millet chapatis
and patiently answered
our questions and explained to us
the importance of our
non-human family.
Love it. Keep writing.
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