'Magic Man' Puts Out Rice Every Day – Then Waits For Thousands Of Tiny Creatures To Arrive
Connect with us

Animals

‘Magic Man’ Puts Out Rice Every Day – Then Waits For Thousands Of Tiny Creatures To Arrive

Why would a man put out millions of tiny rice grains every day?

Well, Joseph Sekhar is a big animal lover and he enjoys being around all sorts of wildlife.

One day, after India’s terrible tsunami of 2004, a couple of ring-necked parakeets showed up on Sekhar’s doorstep, and they weren’t in very good condition.

Being the kind-hearted man he is, Sekhar brought the two birds inside and nursed them back to health.

After they were better, he set them free and they took to the friendly skies once again. Sekhar figured that was the end of it.

But no…

The next day, those same parakeets returned … and they’d brought friends. The two birdies became 10, and 10 became 20, and 20 became 100…

Sekhar didn’t turn any of them away; he didn’t just throw up his hands and say, “I can’t feed you all!”

No, he loved seeing those parakeets descend on his home every day!

And so, he decided he’d start putting out rice for the birds, and this became a ritual. And really, there’s nothing else like it in the world.

It’s the sheer size of this operation that boggles the mind:

Sekhar gets up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and starts preparing pots of fresh-cooked rice for the birds.

He prepares nearly 130 pounds of rice, then the 62-year-old bird-lover lugs all that rice to the rooftop, where he carefully arranges the food on a a dozen wooden planks.

Then comes the birds … thousands of parakeets!

Nowhere will you find this many parakeets gathering at the same spot at the same time, and Sekhar loves that he’s created this wondrous phenomenon.

Even more amazingly, he makes only about $13/hour, and he spends about half his salary on the rice.

Since the story broke, however, “The Birdman of Chennai” has received lots of help from inspired neighbors and other animal lovers. Said one neighbor:

 “Watching [Sekhar] feed parrots is a majestic thing and a spectacular sight.

Many people pass this way and stand and watch for a long time.

Sadly,  however, it hasn’t been enough and Sekhar has been ordered to leave his apartment. The landlords are looking to demolish the entire lot.

But if Sekhar can raise the money himself, he could buy the plot and the parakeet legend could live on…

He has 4,500 vintage cameras to sell and that just might do it! Said Sekhar:

I’m willing to let go of [my cameras] for the sake of my birds.

After all, what’s more important than love?

And that’s true love, right there!

Here’s hoping Sekhar gets that money and the parakeets can continue to raise everyone’s spirits every day! 🙂

Source: Honest to Paws

Continue Reading

Benjamin Stephen Dutka is a journalist, writer and editor with over two decades of experience. He has worked with three newspapers and eight online publications, including the Norwich Bulletin, Hartford Courant, Booktrib.com, AskMen.com, and PoiseMedia, Inc. He also won a Connecticut short story contest entitled Art as Muse, Imaginary Realms, and has a penchant for rowing, reading, video games, and Objectivism.

More in Animals

To Top