Page 95 - English Expedition Class 6

Walk by the Sea
As in Bandra, Salim M’s day was dedicated to
his work; but post tea, the evening was spent
walking, binoculars round his neck, along the
beach or in the Kihim Backs (woods, orchards
and plantations, fi elds and marshes). Th is was
where he’d done his path-breaking study on
the nesting habits of weaver birds.
He oft en took along his walking stick,
useful as a lasso to hook the neck of a passing
niece or nephew and shout ‘Bandar ko pakda!’
(‘Caught a monkey!’). Once in a while, one of
us monkeys was invited to go along on the walk
and these were times when my bird-ignorance
came in for much ridicule and surprise. ‘What’s
that bird?’ he asked me one evening, pointing
towards a call from a casuarina tree.
‘Spotted dove?’ I said, hopefully.
His weather-beaten face broke into a delighted smile. His eyes twinkled. ‘Please remember
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that that is a bird called squirrel.’
I decided to avoid the path he took as he left home for his walk so such embarrassments were
not repeated. It was hide-and-seek time again.

Zai Whitaker grew up in Mumbai, in a family which had several naturalists and a house that was
fi lled with animals. She is a teacher and writer and part of a team that helps women of the Irula
tribe in the Nilgiri mountains. She has also worked at the Chennai Snake Park and the Madras
Crocodile Bank. She has authored several books on nature for children and teenagers, and writes
and works towards increasing awareness about nature and its conservation.

Comprehension

A. Choose the most suitable option to complete the following statements.
1. Hide-and-seek was not a popular activity with Salim Ali because

a. he couldn’t fi nd good hiding places.
b. he couldn’t tolerate being disturbed by the noise.

c. he couldn’t fi nd the hiding children.

16 weather-beaten: worn and wrinkled due to prolonged exposure to the sun, wind and rain
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