On a routine field visit to Khandeshwar village in Paranda Block, I came across a middle-aged man refilling water and feeding grains to sparrows in the scorching dry heat of the drought-prone region of Marathwada. Ayub Badshah Pathan’s underlying Mohabbat; love for nature has been his motivation. (Photo by Shirish Lawoo Ghadi)
A motor mechanic by profession and folk song (gondhal) singer by passion, the villagers say he has fed the birds for the past 30-35 years. He has built a DIY cardboard and wooden birdhouse for the sparrows, a safe house for them to stay and even lay their eggs and nurture their young ones. (Photo by Shirish Lawoo Ghadi)
When Ayub and his family relocated to this village. This modest villager spends almost 1000 rupees per month to feed the birds. (Photo by Shirish Lawoo Ghadi)
When he started feeding the sparrows, many would also enter his house and start nesting within the house. The sparrows would sometimes get caught in the running fan and die or injure themselves. (Photo by Shirish Lawoo Ghadi)
Once, when Ayub and his family had gone to visit their native village and the house was locked for a month, upon return he noticed three sparrows who got locked within the house and because of no food and water had died confined within the locked house. So bereaved was Ayub, that his wife Raziya mentioned he didn’t have a morsel of food the entire day, he buried them and prayed for the departed souls and came up with the idea of building a birdhouse from the cardboard lying in the house. Subsequently, along with the cardboard birdhouse, he has a wooden one as well. (Photo by Sudhakar G)
Every morning when he wakes up, the first thing he does is feed the sparrows, around 50 sparrows are waiting for him, throughout the day other birds visit the feeding platform beside the custard apple tree in the courtyard of his house. (Photo by Shirish Lawoo Ghadi)
Inspired by his action, other villagers have also started feeding the birds. (Photo by Shirish Lawoo Ghadi)
Ayub bhai had to leave in a hurry for Gondhal and Jagran in the neighboring block to perform folk songs, but before leaving he mentioned, “I’ll keep feeding birds till the day I’m alive.” (Photo by Shirish Lawoo Ghadi)
The lead image at the top shows a thirsty sparrow drinking water inside the house. (Photo by Sudhakar G)
Shirish Lawoo Ghadi is a Specialist (Health) working in Maharashtra with Transform Rural India.
