The birds were squealing, shrieking, probably complaining about the heat.
Why is the temperature not dipping?
They were diving in the bird baths, hanging outside the apartments, tumbling in and out of them, shaking themselves, and enjoying the feel of the cool drops on their feathers.
Water tanks were stationed outside the apartments, as the overhead water tanks had gone dry.
A sprightly man with a mop of thick hair on his head jogged a few steps, huffed and puffed a few more, stopped to take a few sips of water from the community tap and then slumped down on the wall. A flock of birds came and hopped next to him on the wall.
One was valiant enough to hop on to his shoulder, one perched itself on his head, treating the strands of his hair as pieces of twigs, pulling at them. The tired man sat with a poker-faced nonchalance, keenly watched by a chameleon from a nearby shrub.
My eyes were rivetted on a tree where a sunbird family had just built a nest. This tree was just in front of our house, and the window of my daughter’ s room opened in that direction.
Suddenly a yell fell into my ears. It was coming from my daughter’s room.
“Can no one hear me?”
My neck whirled in the direction of our house and without wasting a second, I dashed towards our house and barged straight into her room.
I stood rooted to the spot at the scene that met my eyes. I don’t know whether it was a comic scene or a surreal one, but it was definitely an intriguing one .
Daughter dear was standing on the bed. No, not standing, but hopping on the bed, arms flailing in all directions, fire darting from eyes and words spewing from mouth.
“I have a call at nine and there is a lizard in my room and no one seems to be bothered. Dad is having his bath in a lizard-free washroom. I had seen it in his washroom, yesterday, and also seen how you removed it from the washroom. You were a warrior then, brandishing your broom like the sword. Today, the reptile is slithering merrily around in my room and my braveheart parents are nowhere to be found!” She rattled off at a speed that needed no punctuation. I tried in vain to open my mouth to get a word in, without success.
“When I was in Mumbai, a friend of mine, who is paranoid about lizards called her friend from Chembur to Bandra to get rid of a lizard from her house. The poor chap came all the way by Uber, removed the lizard from her house and went back to his Chembur apartment, with a happy glow on his face. I am not even asking you to Uber, mom. Remove the lizard, mom. Quick!”
“But, where…?” I muttered, spinning my head around to locate the trespasser.
“May be it fell down from the ceiling.”
“Because it got petrified by your screams?”
“Mom, see! Its on the cushion!” Amid squeals and rapid hops on the bed, she pointed a shaking finger towards the colourful cushions on the settee near the window.
“But I cannot see it!” I yelled. All that hopping was so infectious, I had to stop myself from hopping back.
“There! Did you not see the tail?” She out-yelled me.
Yes, I could now see the lizard on a cushion, fully camouflaged against a brown cushion cover, its tail moving like an accusatory finger.
I drew myself into my warrior mood in a nano second, picked up the cushion carefully, flung open the window and hurled it out of the window – cushion, lizard and nearly myself too.
“Now go out and get the cushion back! Your room is a zero-lizard zone now!” I shrieked. I don’t know whether there was a glow on my face, but there sure was one on my daughter’s face.
“Mom, you really are very versatile. Sorry for having underestimated you,” she chirped, dashing out to retrieve the cushion from the grip of the lizard.
From the window, I saw her gingerly picking up the cushion, carefully looking for any sign of the lizard, and then walking back with the cushion raised just as a batsman walks back with a raised bat after hitting a century!
“Throw the cushion in the washroom. You can take it back after I have washed it.” She obediently followed my advice and went back to her room.
I peeped out of the window, for a final inspection of the trespasser’s whereabouts. But the clouds rumbled and soon the pitter-patter of rain merged with the excited chirping of birds. New musical notes had filled the surroundings, and now there was a well-earned glow on my face, the kind that emerges on a warrior’s face after winning a hard fought war.
Before I could pat myself on the back, another shriek rent the air. This time it was a man.
“There is a lizard in my washroom! Come and remove it!”
Like the superhero, who changes his getup in less than 3 seconds, my cape and hat and broom emerged from air, and I rushed to my husband’s rescue.
Click here to read all episodes of Morning Meanderings Season 2
