THE TALKING PARROT

Viraj was quite fond of parrots, which is why when he saw a talking parrot for the first time, he was thrilled. The bird's name was Rambo, and Viraj met him at his friend Sumit's house.

- Dr K Rani

Sumit's father Pradeep had bought it for him from the pet store. Viraj began visiting Sumit everyday to play with Rambo, and he particularly liked the parrot's mimicking skills.

One day upon returning home, Viraj told his mother, "Mom, I want a talking parrot," showing her a video of Rambo.

His mother Preeta explained, "Viraj, it is unkind to keep birds in cages. They are meant to fly free." But Viraj wasn't convinced. He became more stubborn, and he wanted a talking parrot at any cost. Preeta understood his desperation but did not change her decision.

Days went by and one evening, while returning home in the train from work, Preeta noticed a child sitting with a cage in her lap. In the cage was a small parrot, cackling away. The child was talking to the bird, who was mimicking her perfectly.

Upon closer observation, Preeta realised to her surprise that it wasn't a real parrot at all! It was a toy that seemed to have a microchip to process voices and repeat them. The child was using a remotecontrol to activate its features, and it also looked astonishingly realistic.

An idea struck Preeta. A toy parrot like this one could replace Viraj's desire for a real parrot. She ordered the toy parrot online and it arrived the following day when Viraj was at school.

Preeta hung the cage to a hook on the ceiling of their verandah. From a distance, the parrot sitting in the cage looked like a real parrot.

When Viraj came home, a voice cackled from the verandah, "Welcome home, Viraj!" Viraj looked around and spotted the parrot.

"Thank you, Mom! You made my come true!" he said excitedly, as his wish mother came out from behind the door.