“In the United Kingdom, all wild birds, their nests and eggs are protected by law. But in Madurai they are protected by lawyers,” is how advocate R. Gandhi described the act of his juniors having saved five eggs laid by a peahen in a vacant plot adjacent to his home-cum-office on the Lake Area adjacent to Mattuthavani Integrated Bus Stand.
The Lake Area, abutting the Vandiyur Lake, had for long been a haven for animals owing to a wild growth of plants. But, of late, many people had begun constructing houses in the locality. “Around 20 days ago, the owner of my adjacent residential plot cleared the bushes on his land. His watchman found the five eggs laid by a peahen. He alerted my juniors and they brought the eggs to our office to save them from stray dogs. We kept the eggs inside a carton and provided warmth through an incandescent light bulb. But to our surprise, the eggs hatched one after the other the very next day. My school-going daughters Akshaya and Agalya gave glucose to the peachicks with an ink filler,” he said with a smile.
After providing millets for the last 20 days, the lawyers offered ‘idli’ on Wednesday and the chicks relished the food. It had been decided to hand over the chicks to the Forest department officials because leaving them at Tirupparankundram or Agricultural College campus might not be safe, they feel.
“We’ve got attached to them so much in the last 20 days that the very thought of parting brings tears to the eyes of my juniors. These chicks will also be the only creatures to walk out of a lawyer’s office without having to discuss anything about law,” Mr. Gandhi said.
