Chinnasamy Sekar, 56, Chennai, feeds over 5,000 parakeets every day.

Chinnasamy Sekar, popularly known as Chennai’s ‘Birdman’, admits he has more reasons than the sound of an alarm clock to wake up daily at 5 am. “I have hungry parakeets visiting my terrace every day,” says the 56 year-old, whose house is a regular food-and-water pit stop for parakeets that fly in from the woods beyond. A camera technician, Sekar has been making headlines across the globe with his avian-friendly gesture. It started with two parakeets finding refuge on his terrace during the tsunami of 2004; he ensured they had food and water. Today, their numbers have swelled to 5,000, with the result that Sekar’s third-floor house on the busy Royapettah High Road has become a tourist spot for avian enthusiasts. During the floods last year, over 7,000 parrots flew in. “As food was scarce in the city, I assume they communicated with each other and landed on my terrace,” says Sekar, who had to arrange for 75 kg of rice per day then. On normal days, he serves close to 45 kg of rice daily. “I might go without a meal, but ensure food for them,” he reveals. A few of his neighbours also pitch in with bags of rice. While the birds feed on rice that has been soaked for a few hours, Sekar stands on the ground monitoring public movement. “Children pelt stones and scare the birds away,” he rues. Now that the house where he feeds the birds is up for sale, Sekar is planning to sell his rare collection of over 4,000 vintage cameras he has collected over 35 years to buy it. Admitting his family has been supportive of his “humble” gesture, Sekar adds that as a society we need to be proactive to prevent species from going extinct. “If we don’t pitch in now, we will soon be left with a smaller animal population.”

—Jayanthi Somasundaran

Photos: Chennai Pix
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
July 2016