They splash about in a pool of water, spraying friends while they are at it. They eye newcomers with suspicion; these newcomers annoy them and they chase them away. At the birdbath Roshni Rose and Ajosh Parackan installed for their then four-and-a-half year old son, Jerome (Appu), they see bird life play out in all its glory. “They have all our emotions, even anger, jealousy and love!” says Roshni Rose.
The goings-on at their birdbath got so interesting that the couple decided to film the activity. Appunte Lokam, a 10-minute short film, gives us a glimpse of the ecosystem the birds have created within the concrete jungle. Roshni, a short film and documentary filmmaker and her photographer husband, Ajosh, relocated to Kochi from Kottayam with their young son. At home, in Kottayam, Appu had a lot of Nature to watch, play and learn. Once in Kochi, within the confines of their apartment, there was no Nature save glimpses of a mango tree across the building. Entertainment came from the bird life on it.
He came up with the idea of a bowl of water for the birds. Roshni filled a mud bowl, in which she had earlier planted herbs, with water and left it on the balcony for the birds to come. For 10 days the bowl sat there, untouched by the birds. “Everyday we’d wait expectantly for the birds to come, for any bird to come. It was a no-show. They’d just not come,” Roshni recollects. Just as she was planning to take the bowl in, Appu insisted that it be left there. And as if on cue the first birds came to bathe in the bowl.
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A few days into the ‘project’ the couple decided to film the birds, which they continued to do for more than a year-and-a-half. Everyday was a new adventure, with new ‘guests’, some friendly and others not so. The film captures the antics of the birds as they bathe. The couple found a space near the balcony from where Ajosh could film the birds on a Canon 5D camera and a full high definition Sony handycam. Ajosh has won several State awards for photography.
Roshni says most of the birds come to the birdbath in pairs and she would have to change the water thrice a day. Proximity to the mango tree attracted more birds as they need a perch to dry after bathing since they cannot fly with wet feathers. Soon the bowl of water became a bath for at least 14 to 15 different kinds of birds, all of whom visit it almost daily. Among the birds at the birdbath are various kinds of sunbirds, bulbuls and munia, babbler, flycatcher, barbet, coucal, koel, flycatcher, magpie robins and others.
A birdbath, says Dr. R. Sugathan, renowned ornithologist, is ideal when temperatures soar. “Birds do not have sweat glands to cool themselves. They have feathers with which they can fan themselves, but often that is not enough for them to regulate their body temperature. In the old days there used to be some leaking tap or pipe which would provide birds with water to cool off. In these times of acute water shortage it is unlikely that birds get water.” Therefore, a birdbath with a tree close by is an instant draw for birds. Some birds, like the bulbul, are known to ‘bathe’ more than twice a day. They even ‘wet’ the eggs when they brood because too much heat would harm the egg and high body temperature also reduces the capacity of birds to lay viable eggs, Sugathan adds. In simplistic terms a birdbath ensures breeding success of birds thereby increasing the number of birds in our cities.
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With the footage in hand, nature lovers Ajosh and Roshni decided to put it in film form. The scripting was moulded around the footage, and then came the music, which is apt for the goings on in a birdbath. Anamika scripted the film, the music is by Rajesh Das (who composed for Cr. No. 89 ) and the editing by Sunesh Sebastian. The film has garnered much appreciation from those who have seen it. The couple values the appreciation from seniors in the industry such as cinematographer Venu and his wife, Beena Paul. Roshni says she would like to take the film to schools and colleges.
The film is currently in the festival circuit, but at some point Roshni hopes to upload the film online.