DURING A RECENT visit to the Tate Britain art gallery in London, we stopped to view a room that contained paintings of birds. All the paintings except one contained depictions of at least one bird. The exception, in which there was no bird to be seen, was painted by Richard Wilson (1713-1782).
The painting is called “Lake Avernus and the Island of Capri”, and was painted in about 1760. Lake Avernus is near Naples (Napoli). In Roman mythology, it was believed by to be the mouth of Hades, the hellish underworld described in the “Aeneid” by the Roman author Virgil (70 BC – 19 BC). This evil place was believed to emit fumes that killed any birds flying over it.
The name Averna is derived from the Greek word ‘aornos’, which translates as ‘without birds’. Hence the absence of birds in Wilson’s painting.
Here is a brief excerpt from my book “88 DAYS IN INDIA: A JOURNEY OF MEMORY AND DISCOVERY”, In this sample, I am writing about pigeons in Jaipur (Rajasthan) and elsewhere:
“While we were being driven around the city, we passed areas where food and water were being distributed to some of the city’s many pigeons. The provision of food for pigeons (as well as street dogs and other animals) is commonly found in many other cities and villages we have visited in India. In Jaipur, we saw vendors selling passersby seeds for the birds. Earlier in 2024, when we were in Istanbul, we saw similar vendors at an area (near the Spice Bazaar) where pigeons were plentiful. As a child during the early 1960s, my parents used to buy me cones full of corn for feeding the pigeons in the Piazza Signoria in Florence (Italy). Long ago, I remember pigeon feed being sold in London’s Trafalgar Square. However, now Londoners regard pigeons as pests, which should not be fed. One of London’s former Mayors, Ken Livingstone, who ended selling of pigeon food in the square in 2001, called pigeons: “rats with wings”.
Although feeding pigeons has caused India’s population of these creatures to increase to alarmingly high levels, Shreemoyee Chakraborty (quoted in an article published by theprint.in in November 2024) noted: “In India feeding pigeons is not just a habit; it has a religious and cultural significance as well.”
In an online article about Vastu Shastra (published on vastulabh.com), it was pointed out that: “Pigeons have long been associated with Goddess Lakshmi, the deity of wealth and prosperity. According to Vastu Shastra, pigeons are believed to bring positive energy and good fortune into the home. However, there are differing opinions and specific guidelines on how to interpret their presence.”
So, it is likely that feeding these winged creatures in India has a good chance of continuing despite the occasional attempts of some municipal authorities, including in Jaipur, to reduce their population.“
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LONDON’S HOLLAND PARK contains a lovely area – the Kyoto Garden. It is a well-maintained Japanese-style garden. I visit it frequently. Each time, I see something different there.
The garden is planted around a small pond in which there are several rocks, which look like miniature islands. Today, I saw a heron perched on the summit of one of these rocks. It stood still, moving its head slowly every now and then. It showed little interest in the many fish that swim in the pond. My wife noticed that there was a nest containing eggs just below the bird’s feet. The creature stood like a sentinel, guarding its future offspring.
I could see four eggs in the nest – there might have been more. In general, so I learned from Wikipedia, the various species of heron are monogamous and lay between three and five eggs. I have no idea what species I saw in the Kyoto Garden, but it is the first time I have seen a heron’s nest with eggs anywhere in Holland Park.
THE TEMPERATURE HAS dropped. Fear of the Omicron variant of the covid19 virus has meant that less people are out and about in London. This was the case in Kensington Gardens today, the winter solstice. The wildfowl that gather around its not so round Round Pond wait eagerly for visitors to distribute tasty morsels. Today, I saw a lady feeding the birds. So many were attracted to her that sometimes her head seemed lost in a cloud of noisy gulls. In front of her, swans extended their necks, attempting to reach her hands. Undaunted, this animal lover continued carrying out her kind gesture.
yamey 