Feeding the crows

As a custom it is mandatory for us to feed the crows on the day of the rituals that are held for the departed soul. How such a practice came about is not known but it is being followed. Since I am not very clear about why something like this is done, I wouldn’t want to comment on the reasons.

Over the last few months we’ve had to feed the crows. Whatever is made for lunch that day, a little bit of all the items are laid out on a leaf & kept on the terrace for the crows to eat. People are supposed to eat only after feeding the crows. Since it is believed that feeding the crows is equivalent to feeding the ancestors or the departed souls, it is a ritual that is taken very seriously & done with due respect. However the superstitions attached to these things can sometimes get very annoying. And since it is part of the ritual that is being held for a departed soul, no questions are encouraged. If it is done, it is considered as no respect shown to the departed soul.

Once no crow turned up to eat the food offered. All the relatives had gathered around and looked up at the sky anxiously. Every moment was a nerve racking as no crow coming to eat the food is interpreted as the ancestors being angry. Someone shouted at the youngsters to start calling the crows. Next moment the ‘kaw’, ‘kaw’, ‘kaw’ were reverberating all around. Still no crow was in sight. Much later a crow came by & picked up a little food & flew away. Shortly thereafter an uncle revealed that the crow finally came by only because an aunt (his wife) apologized to the crows & begged for forgiveness. What for? No answers were provided. It was left to the people to either accept it or reject it. Nobody was willing to accept that the food was offered at a time when the sun was high up in the sky & very hot and it is very possible that the birds stay under the shade of the trees at such hour.

In another instance, we kept the food on the terrace & waited for a long time. Once again there was no crow in sight. After much effort & thought & persuasion we concluded to proceed with eating. (remember we are not supposed to eat until the crows eat). After we had just begun to eat, somebody announced that a crow had come by & picked up some food. The honorable elders revealed that may be the crow didn’t like the idea of us starving & wanted us to eat first before it could eat. Trust our elders to give befitting replies to all such things.

Even small things sometimes are made big. Like if there are too many people & too close to the food, then there is someone commenting that it is because of that that the crows are not stopping by. What about those times then, when one can see many crows feasting on the roadside, when there is heavy traffic & a lot of people passing by? How is it that they can comfortably eat then?

Something to think about is what people do when there are absolutely no crows around. Like in many countries outside India that is the state. Or for all you know what will happen if the crows disappear like the way sparrows have.

Good questions you said, but we are not supposed to ask questions.