“Taka Chor Taka Chor!” I heard a familiar voice behind me, as I was heading home, leaving my walk mid-stride as dark clouds were raising war cries.
“Kisney chori kar li?” I whirled back and asked.
An excited Kanchan was pointing towards a russet-colored bird in the neem tree.
Ah, Rufous Treepie! I had always found its slate-grey hood and long black-tipped silver-grey tail very fascinating. It was sitting on a branch, and the moment, it heard the shrieks, it took off with jerky, flapping movements.
“It brings bad luck,” Kanchan intoned with a funereal expression.
“No bird brings bad luck. Don’t be silly.”
“That is what they used to say back in the village,” she reiterated.
I looked at the flying bird. It was very smoothly gliding, flaunting its dull orange underparts. What bad luck could such a petite beauty bring?
My attention was diverted by some flowers swaying in the breeze, and trees rustling merrily.
Some maids, clutching onto their umbrellas, were racing towards their destination, casting apprehensive looks at the overcast sky.
“Where is your umbrella?”
Just as I asked her this question, it started raining heavily, and Kanchan dashed towards the nearest house.
“Didn’t I tell you, Didi, that this Taka Chor brings bad luck! Now, I am all wet.”
“You are a scatterbrain. All the others are carrying umbrellas, you are the only one without it. Whose fault is it?”
“I told you it is the Taka Chor,” she remarked with a robust conviction, waiting for the rain to stop.
She broke into a litany of giggles when a man in shorts slipped and tumbled into a rain puddle.
“I told you, Didi, it is the Taka Chor,“ she said, giggling anew, this time with a sort of perverse triumph that her stand had been vindicated.
But I kept thinking, why on earth did the harmless, innocent Rufous Treepie have to carry the burden of such a weird name as Taka Chor without ever stealing any taka (money)?
My query made Kanchan burst into another round of uncontrollable giggles. “It is also called Handi Chancha, Didi!”
Oh well, now what has handi (pot) got to do with a bird!
What a refreshing read ! Love the analogy of bird’s chirping to “Taka chor” . 😊