Bird watching in Kathmandu’s urban jungle: A trip down memory lane

Chirping swallows gliding in the overcast skies of the Kathmandu valley a few days ago came as a pleasant surprise after experiencing the monotony of gloomy winter days. The smog this winter was also unprecedented. The sight of the birds signalled a welcome change in the season.

The swallows also brought the memory of childhood days flooding back when we used to watch them glide in the skies. I particularly remember a ground-floor shop of an old house by the side of Hanumanthan near the Bagmati bridge at Kupandol, Lalitpur. Swallows had built a mud nest at the low wooden ceiling of the shop and the parent swallows alternately brought food for their chicks. What was surprising was the kindness and tolerance shown by the sahujee (shopkeeper) towards the birds. He seemed to be used to share the room with the birds. The swallows also appeared to be quite oblivious of the sahujee and the customers frequenting his shop.