Moved by the plight of birds and small animals left hungry in the wake of the lockdown, city resident M. Raja has been feeding them with specially cooked food and millets as a humanitarian gesture.

“The closure of restaurants due to the lockdown has hit urban fauna the most. I felt bad to see so many birds circling around their usual spots, looking for food in vain in the hot sun, so I decided to try and feed them myself,” Mr. Raja told The Hindu.

He has continued to feed the birds even after local eateries reopened for business with new safety procedures last week.

A lecturer in Department of Tamil at the Government Arts and Science College, Lalgudi, Mr. Raja resides in an apartment in Tiruchi’s Cantonment area. He scatters nearly a kilogram of millets daily in the morning and places a small quantity of cooked rice and vegetables in the afternoon on a section of his building’s rooftop terrace. Buckets of water for a refreshing dip and sip are added bonuses.

“There’s a lot of excitement among the birds when I scatter the millets on the terrace,” said Mr. Raja. “I feel they alert their other feathered friends as well, and come down to savour the grains. Of late, I have even noticed squirrels snacking on the biscuits that I add to the mix.”

Mr. Raja said he had also become a novice birdwatcher in the process. “I have noticed ‘Seven Sisters’ (Jungle Babblers), bulbuls and mynahs and crows dropping in during different times of the day. I think most of these birds were used to foraging in the eateries dotting the Court and Cantonment neighbourhoods before the lockdown,” he said.

He admits to getting strange looks from people when he goes shopping for 15-20 kilos of millets. “Some have even asked me outright why I’m buying so much, especially during lockdown,” Mr. Raja said with a laugh. He has bought over 60 kg of millets for the birds since March.

Mr. Raja cleans and washes the feeding area regularly to avoid inconveniencing the other residents of his apartment complex. “I find it really relaxing to see these birds, as they seem to chatter and enjoy the meals. There’s so much more unity in the animal kingdom than among human beings,” he said.