Snippet of Lockdown: An Urban Nest

DHAKA, BANGLADESH: Nobody imagined the year 2020 would start with some ominous signs. Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) literally infected the entire world. Our everyday life is unprecedentedly disrupted. Though the genesis of the virus was in a second-tier Chinese city called Wuhan, apparently it was nobody’s bet that the virus would spread in Italy, Spain, Britain, Germany, France, Iran and USA in such a large scale, and the death bell of the virus would be reverberated in more than hundred of countries across all the continents (except Antarctica probably) on planet earth. Some other day someone was saying that COVID-19 is egalitarian in nature—from state heads to street sweepers nobody is immune to it. Almost half of the seven billion people is kept under lockdown by national governments to rein spread of the virus. Social distancing is the new norm among inherently social human beings to protect themselves from the silent contagion of this deadly virus. They say every cloud has a silver lining, and this time the silver line illuminates for the natural world as its most despicable enemy human beings are now leading sedentary life at home. As human beings are not habituated to this immobile lifestyle, that’s why may be to lessen their frustrations domestic violence from East to West is surging at an alarming rate. We, human beings, almost forgot to live a quietude life at home, didn’t we? The heydays come for the natural world as it gets a rare opportunity to regain its deteriorating health thanks to the absence of disturbing human touch. Pristine beauty of nature is coming back. When crisis hits, disparate traits of human character come to the front—some are becoming altruistic, some are opportunistic, some are selflessly putting their lives at stake to treat others, some are becoming violent out of frustration and some are abhorrently abandoning their virus-infected near and dear ones for their own safety. Gosh, unimaginable development of so many poignant events!

Beauty of Nature 

Amid all these atrocities, animosities, benevolence, altruism, frustration and depression in the time of lethal COVID-19, a red-crested bulbul (বুলবুলি পাখি) couple has chosen to nest on an iron-grill cornice in the smaller balcony of our south-facing apartment. My wife and I are passing some curious time to observe all the movements of the bulbul birds—how they are collecting stuffs to build their nest, how much time they stay at the nest, who is contributing how much to build the nest, when they fly out for foraging etc. We are just amazed to see how from some small dry-leaf stems and cotton-like soft materials they have built a circular, artistic and cozy nest for their forthcoming chicks! Yes, the mother bird laid three brown eggs immediate after building the nest and we are a bit concerned whether the space inside the nest will be sufficient for the chicks to accommodate properly. We resigned the matter to the bulbul couple to judge, as it’s not our business, about the accommodation of the chicks. Let the parental instinct decide the future of their offspring. After construction, the father bird doesn’t frequent the nest that much—probably to ensure comfort for the mother bulbul. It’s summer in the city right now. Sometimes gusty winds day and night disturb the urban bulbuls—it’s somewhat troublesome particularly for the mother bird when it remains busy to hatch the eggs. We are wondering how judicious the birds are as they have chosen a place which is quite protected from the calamity outside. It’s so thought provoking to observe that the judgment of parents seems identical both in the natural and material worlds. Now we are eagerly waiting for the chicks to come out (it usually takes approximately fourteen days of regular hatching). By the time the chicks become mature birds, able to fly, probably the world would get rid of the curse of COVID-19.


There are myriad of statements out there regarding the invention of COVID-19 vaccine, which is the best possible means to get our life back to normalcy. However, the time it will take to invent an effective vaccine is uncertain; nobody knows the exact time it will take to come up with a permanent remedy. And this uncertainty has put the global community in infinite tribulations. Isn’t is heart-wrenching to think that even after so much advancement in every sphere of life, we are nakedly unprepared to face-off a dreadful pandemic like COVID-19. Let's wish for a time when we will be able to win our fight against this frightening virus, start to socialize again, human spirit will be back to its peak, we will realize to let the natural world as it is and of course, the bulbul chicks nested in our place will sprout their wings to enjoy gentle breeze in the heart of the blue sky.  

By:
Md Azzajur Rahman
Date: 15 April 2020 @05:14 pm