Welcome home: Where there is a hope, there is a sunrise…

It’s the several years of hard work which made Irene Roberts realise that birds, animals, and insects have a lot of influence in her life.

Subiksha Ramakrishnan

Bengaluru, Karnataka

“Nature is to be protected, and animals are bliss,” says Irene Roberts, an ex-bank employee, and one of the few people who strongly believe in protecting the flora and fauna. She recalls with a lot of exhilaration that when she started feeding stray dogs a couple of years ago, it was then her attention turned towards nature and she discovered that many migrant birds have been crossing her home. She empathized with them and felt that they might have traveled far and it was important to keep them hydrated and this vision sowed the seed for her current mission.

Tucked away from the buzzing city lanes of Bengaluru and set in a serene atmosphere, Irene Aunty’s small but cozy house garden provides an excellent abode for the birds and squirrels to rest and enjoy. “Welcome home,” the bright white and red colour signboard near her plant collection, has been embellishing her garden for years portraying her pleasant and affectionate nature to provide a congenial atmosphere to the flora and fauna that has been fondly visiting her. Adding to the decor of her beautiful and small but cozy terrace garden is a swathe of beautiful toys like dogs, rabbits, and tortoise made of plaster of Paris and clay, which greets the birds, pets, and insects and makes them stay there with ease and comfort.

A quick peek behind-the-scene, Irene aunty has a child-like nature with a doe-eyed excitement that resembles an excited 10-year-old, showing a lot of enthusiasm in everything she does. Highly emotional in nature, she displays a lot of emotions and sentiments while recollecting her days spent with her mother and her dog. Losing the best and two most loved comrades of her life pushed her into loneliness. This situation made her attention peep towards nature, birds, and pets. It was then she discovered her compassion and companionship towards them. She found the soul of her mother, and her loving pet dog, in all the creatures that passed by her house and started feeding them. Later it turned into pleasure and a source of inspiration for her to move on in this journey of providing shelter to the birds and animals.

Irene remarks, “I wake up early in the morning, even before the sunrise, just to make sure that water and food are made available for the birds, monkeys, and squirrels that pass by my home,” This may look like a simple task, but to practice this every day, which she believes was a herculean task for one who is a novice in this field. From a busy life as a banker to an entirely different lifestyle felt so different in the beginning, but she believes that this keeps her even busier.

Throwing back into the reminiscent of her childhood days, she speaks with excitement about her father “when I was young, my father used to collect stamps and told me, someday it will be useful for you” and today I realise its value. Be it stamp collection or protecting the environment it needs a lot of enthusiasm and dedication. She adds “today when I try to teach my grandchild with what my father taught me when I was young, she finds it way too boring.” Irene feels that maybe she is too young to understand, and when she grows older, she will realise and learn the importance of every small things.

Being a true lover of animals and birds, Irene becomes furious when she comes across news on animal cruelty. She believes that there are ample ways to help the poor little stray dogs and many helpless animals but people still refuse to help them. She says “to create an awareness and interest in animals and birds protection, I update my status every day on WhatsApp. Sometimes against animal cruelty, and many a times on the beauty and special characteristics each animal holds.” One can say that Irene’s hospitality nature is something to be admired and followed by each individual.

Speaking emphatically about the role that Irene plays every day in introducing us to a seemingly-positive culture within her household that is energising. Squirrels running around her balcony and her windows create positivity around her. Every day visits from birds and insects may be a representation of thanksgiving to the passionate and promising side of her. “Life is simple when everything around is happy,” says Irene. In a similar vein, Irene hopes that people will change someday and will see the idea of taking care of animals, and birds as a gateway from the toxic fast life led by many.