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And thereby hangs a tail

Go wild and explore the great outdoors with some irresistibly funny people who write on Nature

AVIAN FRIENDS Initiate kids into watching and reading about neighbourhood birds

Six babblers that entered the garden,

Saw me and their frowns then did harden.

I was laughing, you know,

At their untidy show,

And never even said, “Beg pardon!”

Ranjit Lal at his poetic best in “Birds From My Window”

Here is a cool idea for summer — something you and your kids can do together. There are some great animal books out there just begging to be read. If the brats are really young, you could start them off on some ‘Nonsense Verse’. Rem ember The Owl and the Pussycat? or The Kangaroo and the Duck? In fact, anything at all by Edward Lear would be fun.

His poems are easy to learn and crazy enough to catch children’s fancy.

Since it is too hot and going outdoors is not an option, unless you are lucky enough to have a big garden with shady trees, the kids can observe birds right from their balconies.

Ranjit Lal tells you how he did it in Birds From My Window.

The book is perfect as it is easy to read, not too many big words or details, and just about enough humour to keep children hooked. And, each chapter in the book about a common bird “in big noisy cities,” comes with sketches of the birds and a funky verse in introduction.

One learns astonishing details about sparrows, babblers, bulbuls, mynas, crows, doves and so on.

All you need to do is keep your eyes and ears open.

In fact, Ranjit Lal has to sit at his desk facing the wall because if he faced the window, he’d be staring out all the time at so much bird activity outside that he would never get his writing done!

Oh yes! Grab a notebook and a pencil to record everything you observe about the birds, with sketches wherever possible. Naturalists speak at length about the eco-system and our abysmal lack of awareness.

It is important to introduce the wonders of the environment to our kids, and reacquaint ourselves too. That is if we care enough to stop our planet from hurtling towards extinction.

Nature walks, treks and film shows will help, but the simplest is to get started on books available on the subject. The best thing is a lot of animal books are rip roaring. Like those of Gerald Durrell or James Herriot.

Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals is incredibly funny. It is a tale of the author, his eccentric family and the string of animals, birds and other creatures he adopts over the years. You will fall hopelessly in love with h is books and the animals he writes about.

His books come with delightful names — Birds, Beasts and Relatives; The Drunken Forest and A Zoo In My Luggage are just three of the 36 titles he has written.

The other wonderful animal guy is Herriot, a vet, whose adventures, (and often hysterical misadventures) keep one riveted for hours.

A couple of Herriot’s must-reads are All Creatures Great And Small and All Things Bright and Beautiful.

But, before anything else, get your kids any book written by the wonderful Ruskin Bond. Again, his great poems and tales, most of them involving our feathered or furry friends, are enchanting.

Of course, there are the serious wildlife books such as Jim Corbett’s Man-Eaters of Kumaon and E.P. Gee’s Wildlife of India that are worth a dekko.

Some spectacular coffee-table books by the likes of M. Krishnan, the great wildlife photographer and naturalist, and India’s birdman Salim Ali’s treasure trove of books on birds are also a must.

A field guide called Some South Indian Butterflies will help you put a name to the butterflies that you see around you, and don’t forget Zai Whitaker’s book on Salim Ali for kids.

And, if your kids refuse to be drawn in, you sit back, take Ranjit Lal’s advice and watch as,

“They sail and they skate in the sky,

And tinkle and trill from up high,

Bee-eaters are entrancing,

And like figure dancing,

And snapping up poor dragon flies!”

PANKAJA SRINIVASAN

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