To this day, I vividly remember that  December afternoon. Test exams for our 10th boards had just finished and i desperately needed a break. And luckily, i chanced upon an article in the newspaper.It was on the places around Kolkata one could visit for a quick get-away and in them was the Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary. Gladly,my parents agreed and by 12noon,we were standing at the gates of the Sanctuary that spans over a mere 17 acres.
                For the next 2 hour as we walked around , we just came across commoners like babblers and treepies. But what followed next has affected my life in a multitude of ways. On the way to the exit,one of the guards asked us to follow him to nearby mango tree and pointed up to a branch high up. As my inexperienced eyes scanned through the foliage,  my gaze fell on a big bird perched on the branches.Staring down at me with it’s huge yellow eyes was a Brown Fish Owl, high up in the canopy As i stood in  awe and thrill, i felt an inexplicable bond with the bird and Nature in all it’s grandeur.