They all were unique, spectacular in their own way!.. never had to use an alarm clock when they were around.. assured wake up call during morning transmissions! Just towards the left of the main entrance of akashwani jaipur.. there stands a huge neem tree.. the canopy is home to about dozen peacocks, who have their branches reserved as per their pecking order!! The most senior of them, whom i fondly called the grandpa peacock napped on the highest branch. M sure he loved the birds eye view of the pink city from his nest! At 4:20 am in the morning when we marked our attendance, the first call came from grand pa(the alpha male)!The second to reciprocate his call, used to nestle itself on a kikar tree right across the parking area of the office, (extreme right from the main entrance to be precise! )
And soon after others joined the chorus. The radio transmitter that stood tall right in the middle of the office complex also lent room to perhaps 20 other peafowls and their families.. the chorus lead by the grand pa slowly got transmitted up the transmitter and in no time they were all ON AIR!! The grand pa flew down from his abode around 5:55 am, just in time to balance his own vocal chords with the veteran musician Bismillah Khan's shehnai! The divine rendition by Khan Sahab and the natural orchestra started brewing energy to begin the day aftesh! Not much of a tea drinker, I often walked with my transistor set out into the parking lot whilst others were thoroughly enjoying there morning chay, trying to soothe their irked body and mind!!The one storey old studio bulding built in quintessential rajputana flavour looked rather enigmatic and at times haunted! By the time the dawn broke, about a dozen peacocks are on their morning spree..using their neatly chiseled beaks to gather their meal.. they also got to feast on nonvege course around the monsoon.. when snakes and other slithering chordates came out from their hideouts!
And that also used to be the time when the office premises witnessed some of the spectacular dance performances by these regal creatures! Almost everyday during the monsoon, post afternoon shower, we could see from the terrace of our office, a polkadot arrangement of peacocks dancing. Choreographed in unfathomable synchrony and natural rhythm, they were a visual treat which only few get lucky to enjoy, that too during office hours! But let me also tell you that its not easy to get a closer frontal view of them! They will intelligently turn around and lure you to death!
Its always better to wait at one place, till they choose to appease us. Once they face us, we can see a galaxy in green and bronze emblazed with thousand haloed suns. This is the time when the spectator usually goes silent! But its not all that harmonious from the peacock's point of view! The alpha male will always try to keep away other males off his territory, when he is exhibiting! During monsoon they can turn out to be quite feisty and will not mind attacking any male who advances in his vicinity inorder to win a partner with most desirable traits! Somewhere in the studios raag jayjaiwanti on the mohan veena was being played.. dancing has stopped and suddenly i was restored to consciousness when a vehicle sped across the parking lot... the alpha male had flew back to his perch and happily gazing at the setting sun, moistened by the midsummer rains! My eyes scaled down from the top of the neem tree to the ground..littered all over the place were streaks of emeralds, golds and sapphires, gleaming in the sun!
