It was inching towards the pavement where vehicles are being parked. It was still not out of danger of being hit by vehicles. I remembered the SPCA I learnt about as a young boy. I didn’t have the number. But I had the JustDial contact. Dialled them. Asked for SPCA. The operator couldn’t understand. It then struck me – I could ask for Blue Cross. I did and got a couple of Blue Cross hospital numbers. Atleast one of them was in Velachery and I was standing at KK Nagar (Chennai). I doubted anyone would come all the way and tend the crow – still I tried. No one to pick the phone.

I saw the bus approaching. I had to board it. The crow was still on the road and I didn’t feel like carrying it with my hands (didn’t have a way of cleaning it immediately after) to safety. Just then I decided to use the umbrella I was carrying to try and shoo the crow to the side of the road. One more good soul who came by a TVS 50, helped me.

The crow tried to pick my umbrella end but budged.

I boarded the bus, hoping for the crow to survive.

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I just remembered this while reading your post, Priya. Appreciate your concern for the guy on the street.

Its really sad that you had a similar experience. Its bad enough that we have so many homeless & mentally impaired people. Added to that is the sad fact of life – many Indians in metros are too benumbed to pay attention to these people. Adding insult to injury, even when we want to help them, the stupid system fails us.

I think we need to find worthy NGOs that do good work in major metros. We can publish that list in this BLOG. If you do know of such NGOs in Hyderabad, please let us know.

I like your idea of a school that supports the elderly. Perhaps the school & the home for elders can be close to each other. From my personal experience, having children take care of young animals & tending to gardens also helps & builds character. A life lived simply, focusing on values & others.