Readers' Forum
Vultures
The vultures are here,
The vultures are here,
To delight the minds
Of the Parsis in the plains
Who fear the birds are extinct,
Impossible to find
Worldwide.
In Matheran,
Louisa Point is as lovely
A spot as you may hope to see,
To view a wide expanse
Of valley, rock and hill.
It is still a place to glory in,
But the wonder of it is
The vultures which frequent it.
Stand quietly and watch
Them rise from below,
Magnificent in width of wing.
Their scraggy necks
Confirm the truth,
They are not extinct.
There they go!
One swoops into the clouds,
Then a second, then a third,
To gladden the hearts of Parsi men.
Reject thoughts of aviaries and such,
Come straight along to Louisa Point.
They are there, they are there.
Nurture and encourage them,
These friends of the dead,
Therefore the friends
Of living men.
Perhaps the need of the hour.
Vultures on the towers of
Our Garden on the Hill
Can be met on the Matheran hills.
We must swell the breeding numbers
By somehow nurturing them,
In their natural habitat,
For they are on our doorstep,
In the hills so near Mumbai,
In the skies around Louisa Point.
Come on, follow the path.
FEROZA H. SEERVAI
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