ALL ABOUT THE COMMMON BIRD - Crows are Our Ancestors

According to hindu mythology , there is a belief that ancestors come in the form of crows.

They are known for their unity in sharing the food.The crows link the dead and the living people.Once the crow pecks your food and flies from right to left it means the ancestors have accepted your offering and is happy.But if no crow is spotted it  means our ancestors are not happy with us .

Feeding the crows is also a way of developing a relationship with the planet Saturn 

The Crows has ability to make tools and use it, raise their children in systematic manners and  live in social environment and mourn the death of their loved ones like humans. 

I read in a blog,  an author had written this . I was amazed with this piece of information that I came to know.

It said - "   My mother, before she passed away in March of 2002, had begun complaining that too many crows were sitting on our rooflines. She also had told me that when so many Crows gathered on our rooftop, according to Hindu mythologies, it is a sign of someone dying. I did not believe in her theory then but after she passed away, I begin to understand her theory. Watching last night episode - (A MURDER OF CROWS 2010 WNPT SHOW)was an eye opening enlightment to her theory. I was shocked and stunned to find out that Crows are the most intelligent animals in the world."

Over the years, women have resorted to new ways to entice crows. Long, long ago only cooked rice was offered. Later on, cooked dhal and a dash of ghee were added to the rice to pep up the flavour. A separate area, be it the garden/ terrace/ compound wall, is earmarked for the food to be placed for the crow. Women keep a strict watch for cats and chase them away as cats are considered inauspicious. I remember grandmothers hiding behind a tree with a stick and peeping to make sure the crow had the first bite and not the cat. Even the location where the food is kept was changed often to deceive the cat. These days however, crows do not appear as quickly as before. Fear of the lurking cat and the sound of vehicle horns scare them away or perhaps the modern crow is seeking a change in diet - rotis, phulkas and subzis or noodles and pizzas!!

Come January and it is festival time for crows. A lavish spread is laid out for the birds during Kanum Pongal festival. Women of the family place different kinds of coloured rice, cooked vegetables, banana and sweet pongal on a plantain leaf and invite the crows, which descend in hordes to share and enjoy the "Kaka pidi, Kanu pidi" feast. Women offer prayers in the hope that the brother-sister ties may remain forever strong like the family of crows.

Ever witnessed what happens when a crow dies? Scores of crows come flying in from all directions, crying out in shrill voices expressing their sorrow. To ensure that the dead crow is not separated from the clan, the crows themselves peck at the body and devour it.

With pollution on the rise, it is quite surprising that crows continue to haunt our cities though their numbers may have dwindled. "Without the call of the bird in the morning, the day does not seem quite right", says an NRI nostalgically.

The black coloured, much maligned bird is so much a part and parcel of the everyday scene. A group of crows flying home high up in the sky is a common sight at sunset.