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<\/a><\/p>\nIt was the middle of January. The trees stood bare like solitary sentinels guarding the temple premises. A few pigeons still roosted in the temple roof in small holes. They fluttered down and pecked at invisible seeds on the ground every morning. All the rain doves had left except for two who remained on one of the lowest branches of the maple tree. Sometimes they faced each other and yet at other times they occupied different branches. There were times when they didn\u2019t show up for a couple of days. Surprisingly, a small number of swallows built their nests at the nooks of the temple entrance, protected from cold and wind and raised their roost. They didn\u2019t migrate.<\/p>\n
Ramesh was happy. He felt if the birds could make it, braving the winter, surely, he could do so too against his illness. He realized he was unnecessarily getting agitated. As long as the birds were there, he would be alright.<\/p>\n
Two years went by. Shankar Sasri died of a heart attack. As it was customary, Ramesh and his wife visited the priest\u2019s wife, Ganga.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour husband, Sasri, was such a nice person. He always encouraged me to think positively,\u201d said Ramesh.<\/p>\n
Parvathi said, \u201cYour husband did a miracle; otherwise how could the rain doves and pigeons remain here in the middle of winter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ganga broke down and sobbed. After a few moments she recovered and said, \u201cHe was a nice man. Every morning before sunrise, he would open the temple doors, even in the winter, and sprinkle bird seeds on the ground in the back of the temple for the birds. He requested a carpenter to carve two wooden rain doves and placed them on the lowest branches and changed their positions now and then. When I asked him why he was doing all this, he said he was helping a friend. He was such a good man.\u201d Mrs. Ganga couldn\u2019t talk more and sobbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmma, Ganga. Don\u2019t cry. It is I whom he had helped. He gave me courage and confidence to face my illness. Rest assured that your husband is in heaven, happily resting in the company of God,\u201d Ramesh said.<\/p>\n
Many years passed. Ramesh got a kidney transplant. If you\u2019re driving through Richville in San Joaquin Valley, and stop by the Shiva temple at sunrise, you may see an old man sprinkling bird seeds on the temple ground. You may even catch him rearranging two wooden rain doves on a Red Maple tree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Enjoying \u201cGood to the Last Drop\u201d Maxwell House Coffee, Mr. Ramesh relaxed on the family-room sofa. From where he sat, about 200 yards away, he could see the Shiva temple and the \u201cDhwajastambham,\u201d a flagstaff with tiny bells that made a tinkling sound when the breeze tickled them. There were several Chinese pistachio and Red…<\/p>\n