Save the Little Wings!

Picture Credits: Javed Sultan

My day would start with the chirping of little creatures perched on my bedroom window. The thought of going to school would sadden me, but these little angels brought a toothy smile on my face. My petite legs would rush to the window and my eyes would search for the winged beings.  I would wave to them, and they would fly away, searching for a branch or a window.

Wondering what am I talking about? Sparrows…those birds which are hardly seen nowadays. Growing up in Nasik, a bird-friendly city in Maharashtra, sparrows were a part of my childhood.  Watching them was a regular thing. I remember them flying onto the ceiling fan of my room, and to my surprise, as a little kid, I never dreaded them. Shifting to Delhi has made me lose a handful of things. And surely, sparrows have only become a part of my memories. Because the capital city of Delhi has no sparrows. The only sparrows I see are on postcard stamps or notebook covers. The once-so-familiar sparrows are now endangered species, and I found it hard to believe the fact. This is mainly because of the infrastructure we have built. Mobile towers, spike son high rise buildings, less number of trees, etc, are some of the factors contributing to the reduction in the number of sparrows. 

It is our fault that the sparrows are nowhere to be seen, and it is our duty to restore them. Keeping this in mind, the students of Development Communication 2013-15, AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, have created a call-to-action ‘Save the Sparrows' campaign, in collaboration with Nature Forever Society. The initiative involves building bird houses, setting up bird feeders and putting around insect-friendly plants. Spreading awareness is a part of their agenda. They're confident this move will bring out great results, even though it is only a drop in the ocean. Jyoti Mehra, the student who initiated the campaign, says, "We have heard a lot about environment issues like pollution, global warming etc. But, unfortunately, house sparrows have been completely forgotten. Many of us don't even know that it is the State Bird of Delhi. So, as a project of Social Marketing and Media Advocacy, our mentor - Mr. Dharam Arora encouraged me to initiate a campaign in AJK MCRC, Jamia, wherein we can create awareness about sparrow's endangerment and take steps to make the campus environment as sparrow friendly as we can. So, what can we do to bring sparrows back? Steps are easy and not economically taxing. Keep some water and bajra on your terrace/balcony. Plant insect-friendly flowers. Luckily, I got the support of Mohd. Dilawar - also known as ‘the sparrow man' - to give a defined direction to this campaign. We plan to celebrate 20th March - ‘The World Sparrow Day' with zest and love for this bird. Let's do our bit to save this bird from extinction and bring it back to our gardens." 

They've also started a Facebook page called ‘Let's Save Sparrows' (Link: https://www.facebook.com/letscoaxsparrowsjamiawallon) as a tool to spread awareness about the campaign. Ankita Kumari and Snigdha Jindal, members of the campaign, have made it a part of their already popular Facebook page ‘The Invisibles'. As each and every student is involved in making the campaign a success, the common aim is to make the dream come true….save the sparrows!