Three green buckets filled with soaked rice sit in the courtyard of an old home in Chintadripet in Chennai. As the clock nears 4.30 pm, there is a quiet flurry of activity. Sudarson Sah, 53, strains the water from the rice while his wife, Vithya, brings out bottles of groundnuts. As people stream in, Sah welcomes them with a smile and guides them up a narrow staircase. Long wooden planks have already been laid out on the rooftop. Vithya, 49, scoops the soaked rice onto large platters and passes it around. The visitors get to work. One spreads out the rice on the planks, while another places small mounds of groundnuts among the grains. Then everyone moves silently to the benches at the back of the terrace. Sah scans the skies.
Ten minutes later, the first birds appear. Then, suddenly, the sky comes alive as rose-ringed parakeets descend in waves, their green wings slicing the air, red beaks vivid against the blue of the sky. As they feast, others wait on wires strung across the terrace, ready for their turn. Once the food is gone, Sah and his team replenish it, and the cycle begins again.
It’s a truly spectacular sight, a daily ritual that has earned Sah the title, ‘Birdman of Chennai’. His home on Iyya Mudali Street attracts bird lovers and tourists. Ask any local for directions, and they’ll point you to “Kili” (bird) Sudarson’s house. Step inside, and a wind chime with tiny green parrots greets you. The walls of the living room are adorned with paintings and sketches of birds. A green origami parrot lies on the table.
Sah began feeding birds 16 years ago, when he lost his father, Venku Sah. “I was struggling with the loss when I saw my neighbour feeding crows,” he recalls. “In Hindu tradition, we feed crows as it is one way of honouring our ancestors.” Inspired, Sah began leaving rice and grains on his terrace. Over time, he noticed the feeding preferences of different birds—crows ate almost anything, sparrows liked multigrain, pigeons preferred wheat, and parakeets loved groundnuts.
Sah became fascinated by the rose-ringed parakeets. “It’s become a ritual that gives us peace,” says Vithya. They wake up at 4 am, soak the rice for an hour and then strain it. Often, they add seasonal fruits along with the groundnuts. Feeding the birds costs around `3,000 daily, and during winter, he uses nearly 60 kg of rice each day.
Sah’s story has inspired even filmmakers. Arvind Swamy’s character, Arulmozhi Varman, in the Tamil film Meiyazhagan (2024), was inspired by Sah. “Director C Prem Kumar visited me in 2023 after following my work on social media for a year,” says Sah. “Later, Arvind Swamy came and I taught him how to lay out the food.” On the day of the shoot, 500 people gathered in the house. “To avoid startling the birds, only five people were allowed on the terrace, all dressed in light-coloured clothing,” says Sah. All visitors have to abide by Sah’s rules. “They help lay out the food, but must sit silently on the benches. Even we stay away,” says Sah.
Though he initially faced resistance from neighbours, the local community now supports him and donates rice and grains. What he does is a commitment not everyone can undertake, Sah warns. “You will drain your bank account. You can’t go anywhere. Years ago, I left the city for a couple of days and neighbours said the birds kept circling my house,” says Sah. And he circles back to them, each day.