KOCHI: A flight of pigeons and flock of crows follow Sathyaseelan Nair as soon as he enters the premises of Napier Museum for a morning walk. Seeing the birds fly over his shoulders and around him is in itself a breathtaking sight. People curiously watch Sathyaseelan as pigeons hover around him. As soon as he reaches the fish pond on the west side of the museum, the birds settle down.
“They are smart enough to identify the time I come. They wait for me at the entrance of the museum complex and as soon as I reach the premises they follow me till the pond,” says Sathyaseelan who is a retired government employee.
Spending time with the birds and animals at the museum in the mornings between 7 and 7:30 am has been his routine for the past 16 years. He reaches the fish pond to feed crumbs to fishes, biscuits to squirrels followed by wheat and chocolates to the crows and pigeons.
Narrating how his love for feeding birds and animals began, Sathyaseelan says, “I used to come for a walk to the museum in the evenings with a pack of peanuts. Once it fell from my hands and I saw a few pigeons feeding on the peanuts. The very next day I brought more peanuts to feed them and the birds began to eat off my hands. This fascinated me. Thus I began to feed them regularly.”
Sathyaseelan now recognises the pigeons enough to know which one should be fed more or which is one is mischievous. He also talks to them and chides them on occasions. He avoids talking long trips away from the city. “The birds wait for me so I don’t go away for a long period. But when I come back after a long trip, they come to me and sit on my hand to be fed as usual,” he says.
The children who accompany their parents for a walk at the museum on Sundays call him ‘Praavu Appoppan’. For most of them, he is an inspiration. A few of them wake up early morning to meet their ‘Praavu Appoppan’ and assist him. “I feel happy that I am an inspiration for the young generation who have little contact with nature. A child, whose parents work at Technopark visits every Sunday without fail. He sits on the ground with the wheat and rice he brings. Seeing him feeding the birds and pampering them brings me to tears,” says Sathyaseelan.