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Cover Story |
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Title |
Is this the only way to bring out the best in others? |
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Abstract |
Once we approach the summer, cool breeze will set in. The moist breeze compels the male weaver birds to build nests over wells and in the branches of dry tall trees, like the goddess Durga, the female weaver bird will come and inspect the nest; if not to her taste, she will destroy it and the male bird has to build the nest all over again. No matter how many colours he adorns himself with to lure her to his nest, it is not just his dress that she pays attention to.
All the male birds are keen to have the most amiable she-bird to choose their nest. But one weaver bird, Nee Baya, was not sure how to make Noo, the most beautiful of them, happy
He feared that Noo would prefer others since she had very high standards. So far she had destroyed his nest every time he had built it, if not for any other reason than to test his endurance. And thus he wondered how many more times he might have to build it over and over again. Why does she do it? He wondered while laying out the twigs and the grass. Why would she push him so much? Why did he have to try harder and better than others?
Noo knew that she would have to examine the inner linings of the nest so that the journey of the eggs from the day they were laid to the day the new ones would hatch out, could be safe, comfortable and cozy. For that the nest had to be strong so that it would not fall by the weight of eggs and the hatchlings, no matter how strong the winds might decide to blow. But in a cluster of nests in a dark deep well, under the shadow of a tall acacia tree, this tradeoff between security and serenity, subtlety and substance, his silence and the echo of her voice were not easy.
Nee Baya’s nest was almost ready. He was holding his breath waiting for Noo to come and make it ready before the rains. Knowing that she again might not accept it, deep inside his heart he wished that this time she would. Baya had embellished colourful threads to make the nest look more elegant.
What did Noo decide?
Does it matter if some friends try to bring out the best in us, even if it means making us try harder, suffer severely? Is it the only way to bring out the best in others?
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Volume No. |
Honey Bee 24(4) 2, 2014 |