Life lessons from the Humble Crow!

I have been receiving occasional life lessons from an old crow that comes to perch on the branch of a nearby tree in the neighbouring plot overlooking my kitchen balcony from where it used to get crumbs of bread and potato chips that I keep as my morning routine.

- Chandrasekar Vaidyanathan

"You can learn a lot by observing" - Yogi Berra.

This particular bird is very choosy in picking its food and has a way of cocking its head as if to listen to me and watch what I am doing.

After noticing that it is not in the habit of calling its flock to share the food, a specific trait made famous by man by quoting it as an example for unity among brotherhood, I chided it for its selfishness. 'How come you folks have changed so much?' I asked.

The crow stopped nibbling its food and turned its gaze towards me. "We don't change," it seemed to say. "Only you folks change everyday. You can easily predict our behaviour - a crow is always docile and a fox always cunning - but not so man. As a matter of fact, one cannot assess what type of a person he is by looks alone. Even after, one cannot be sure if he will stay the same for the rest of his life."

"We always call our flock when necessary," it seemed to continue. "In the early years we did so because the human population was less and the food scarce. But, now the cities are turning into concrete jungles with one house after another being replaced by multi-storied flats. So, with increase in population, food is also available to us in plenty and there is no need to follow the old practice, that's all."