The Wind Beneath their Wings

For the past 16 years, Chennai resident Sudarson Sah has been feeding thousands of parakeets on his terrace

- By PRIYA M MENON

Three green buckets filled with soaked rice sit in the courtyard of an old home in Chintadripet in Chennai. As the clock nears 4.30 pm, there is a quiet flurry of activity. Sudarson Sah, 53, strains the water from the rice while his wife, Vithya, brings out bottles of groundnuts. As people stream in, Sah welcomes them with a smile and guides them up a narrow staircase.

Long wooden planks have already been laid out on the rooftop. Vithya, 49, scoops the soaked rice onto large platters and passes it around. The visitors get to work. One spreads out the rice on the planks, while another places small mounds of groundnuts among the grains. Then everyone moves silently to the benches at the back of the terrace. Sah scans the skies.