Love is a powerful force; with love everything can be won, and even wild birds come to people who show it. Bird lover Moniur Rana has set just such an example in Jibannagar, Chuadanga. Every day at a fixed time hungry birds rush to him, and he feeds the mynas with care and affection.

Rana has now struck up a friendship with 200 mynas, and his bond with them has won the hearts of local people too. He has been feeding countless mynas for three years, and since the start of the coronavirus pandemic he has not missed a single day. At first 15 to 20 mynas came regularly to eat; now the number has reached about 200.

Every day, almost by rule, at around 11am the mynas line up on power lines and shop cornices in front of the Jibannagar Upazila Health Complex and start chirping. Rana understands they are hungry. He scatters chanachur, biscuits, bread, puffed rice and pieces of paratha in front of his business, and flocks of mynas fly down from the wires and cornices to eat happily.

The birds eat without fear and then leave. They look as if they know Rana well and feel at home with him. For three years he has fed them from part of his own earnings, and local people often gather to watch the bond between Rana and the birds.

Moniur Rana's home is in Daulatdiar para of Chuadanga municipality. For 20 years he has run a business called Rana X-Ray in front of the Jibannagar Upazila Health Complex.

He said that three years ago, during the pandemic, five to seven mynas were chirping and searching for food in front of his business at midday. "I gave the birds some puffed rice and chanachur. They ate and flew away. That night at home I lay thinking: because of the lockdown nobody was leaving home, and with fewer people in the markets most shops were closed. So the birds were short of food. I decided then to feed them as much as I could."

"The next morning I came to my shop and bought chanachur, biscuits, bread, puffed rice and paratha from a hotel. I cut the parathas into pieces and mixed them with the rest to make food for the birds. The next day I noticed many more mynas gathered at the same time, hoping for food. After I fed them they ate happily and left. Since then feeding them has not stopped for a single day."

"At first six or seven birds came, but as the days passed their number grew slowly. Gradually I came to love them. Now hundreds of mynas come to eat. Even if it costs a little money, I can't explain the joy their chatter gives me. I really like their chirping, and it brings me a lot of peace. I love these birds like my own children. As long as I can, I will keep feeding them and keep this bond."

He added that if for some reason he cannot sit at the shop for a day or two, the birds come close chirping when he returns, and when he scatters food they eat and go their own way.

Majedur Rahman Liton, owner of a neighbouring business, said Rana has proved that much can be won in exchange for love, and has built a bridge with the birds. "When the birds eat at midday it is lovely to watch. Their chirping fills the heart. Everyone should stand by birds like this to protect the balance of nature," he said.

Jibannagar upazila agriculture officer Sharmin Akhter said the myna is a crop-friendly bird. Especially in the Aman season it eats harmful insects in paddy fields, which greatly reduces farmers' pesticide costs, so mynas need to be protected. Everyone should have such love for birds as Rana does, she said; birds benefit the environment in many ways, so all of us should show them kindness.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.