spotted in Gurgaon

I saw a peacock today... sitting on the branch of a bare tree....facing away from me.
His long tail hanging down like a magic carpet...a splash of color amid the brown earth and grey sky...

Had been to my friends village on the outskirts of Gurgaon, and peacocks are common there. His sister-in-law scatters grain in the courtyard of her house everyday and they come to feed. They are her friends. Today that house and courtyard are being broken down to make way for a new house. I had gone along with my friend to take a look and give my views on how the new house should be. We sat discussing while in the background were the dug-up courtyard, a few scattered household possessions and the thud thud of the workmens tools. The family had gone off to stay in a small new house nearby while this one is rebuilt. An old village house, with mud walls, roofs of wooden beams supporting stone slabs and a brick lined courtyard would soon be no more. In its place, a modern house would come up, with hot running water and modular kitchens and air-conditioning. What would happen to the peacocks I wondered.


And then on my way back, I saw the peacock on the tree, its tail of blue green gold and red, sitting on the branch, waiting for us to hurry up and build the house, so his friend could return and scatter grain and the peacock club could hold its regular afternoon meetings again.