IDUKKI: A grocery shop would normally have a shopkeeper and perhaps a CCTV camera to keep an eye out for potential shoplifters or unruly customers.
At Raju Kuttappan’s shop in Idukki’s Pannimattom, there is also Ponnu, a crow who has become its unofficial second owner and caretaker. Anyone attempting to sneak away with groceries or vegetables will have to reckon with the sharp-eyed bird, which closely watches every movement and is quick to dole out a dose of ‘beak justice’ to those she finds suspicious.
A two-term local body member of Velliyamattam panchayat, Raju rescued Ponnu four months ago after a huge mango tree near his house was chopped down, bringing down a crow’s nest with it.
While her parents managed to fly away, Ponnu, then a newborn, got stuck beneath the fallen tree. Raju spotted her and brought her to his shop.
“I put her in a cage and fed her milk and water. She later grew healthy enough to eat vegetables, snacks and fish,” he said.
Every morning, once Raju lets Ponnu out of her cage, she feasts on her favourite biscuits or some tomatoes and flies around the premises for about half an hour before returning to the shop. Then, perched on a corner, she keeps a watch on who comes to the shop and what they are doing.
Over time, Ponnu developed her own way of communicating with Raju. If she is hungry, she taps his shoulder with her beak. If she wants water, she pecks at the bottle. She even offers him a kiss when asked, Raju says. And having earlier sold fish, Raju soon learned that Ponnu expected her daily share. If he forgets, Ponnu reminds him by sitting on his shoulder and giving him a peck.
Though Raju’s wife often fills on for him, Ponnu waits for Raju and enters only when he arrives.
Anyone who she feels is creating trouble or is arguing gets the earlier mentioned ‘beak justice’. At times she turns rebel and flies away with currency notes from the open cash box, but always returns them before evening. By 7pm, when Raju closes the shop, Ponnu returns to her cage and stays there until the next morning.
Raju has always cared for animals. He once raised a Asian palm civet that wandered into his house for nearly one-and-a-half years, until it was unfortunately run over by a vehicle while crossing the road near his home. “People now know abandoned animals will find care at my doorstep. So, often, they leave kitten, cats and puppies outside my house,” says Raju.
Ponnu and her bond with Raju have many fans. Many visit the shop just to see their unusual friendship. And if she finds a visitor friendly, she happily settles on their shoulder.
‘Beak justice’
At Raju Kuttappan’s shop in Idukki’s Pannimattom is Ponnu, whom Raju had rescued four months ago after a huge mango tree near his house was chopped down, bringing down a crow’s nest with it. Anyone attempting to sneak away with groceries or vegetables will have to reckon with the sharp-eyed bird, which closely watches every movement and is quick to dole out a dose of ‘beak justice’ to those she finds suspicious.