I’m convinced there’s a messenger network among the oriole. Together they’ve been following me where I go, looking out for me. I first noticed them in Varanasi in 2019, the black headed and the golden oriole. The brilliant flash of yellow and black teasing me once too often and turning me into a freeze mode. After a brief hide-and-seek, the bird would sit on a branch allowing me to watch at leisure. The bird seemingly did nothing other than periodically send out at call, while i stood doing nothing, looking in silence. It’s not often that I’ve seen more than one oriole in a place.
As i watched, i learnt to discern their sounds. The oriole releases a deep rounded melody from its throat. And when you least expect it, it goes into a screech, almost as if it were asking me to go away. I learnt that the screech often is associated with the time they eat, or when they sense a threat. I should have the sense to leave them eat their meal in peace — insects they assiduously dig out from barks, fruits or seeds perhaps. Their otherwise melodious sound is unmistakable once heard.
The past year was a difficult one for me, with some sudden losses, lives that were snatched away too young, and the grief often overwhelmed me.
One day as i stood in my balcony in a high-rise, lost in contemplation, i heard the sound of the oriole a beautiful fluting weela-wee-oo. In repeat mode i started hearing versions of “love-you” lifting me out of my despondency. I read that breeding pairs often sing in duets when females answer to the males’ song with a short skweeeeer.
The oriole is often hard to see, as it hides itself in dense green foliage. With my ear to the sound i turn till i think i locate where they are perched. And then the sudden flash of bright yellow, when i discern if it’s the golden oriole or the black headed cousin.
As i traveled this year from Odisha to Uttarakhand to Kerala and back, the oriole seemed to be following me around. In Odisha they consider the oriole, locally called haldi basant, to be auspicious. It always manages to make me feel better, and with its rounded notes reassures that things would be alright. As the mystics maintain “seeing an oriole indicates that you have survived the worst and you will soon experience luck”. It’s not hard for me to believe this, given that the oriole has stayed with me through my period of grief, and has soothed me with its call. It reminds me to enjoy the sweetness of life and all things that bring joy.
