Call of the koyal

Signature tunes tend to haunt us throughout our lives.  After a few days of hospital confinement when I was being wheeled into the ambulance for the journey home, I heard the koyal’s call.

It was so reassuring; because all through my growing up years this was the signature whistle at home.  Nature is the link between the living and the dead.  The koyal’s call at that moment seemed so appropriate - it seemed as if my late dad and brother were telling me that I would soon recover and everything’s going to be perfect in my world once again. 

Signature tunes are like the spinal cord, running through the entire movie or music album.  All those belonging to my generation still hum the signature tune of the movie ‘For a Few Dollars More.’ Nature has her own signature tunes – the sound of rain on parched land, the wind whistling through the trees, and the crickets chirping at night. 
Among birds, the call of the koyal is so uplifting – it heralds hope and a new beginning.

During his working years when my dad came home he whistled the koyal’s tune and so did my brother.  It was a signal that the master had come home and wanted attention! In those days it was considered unladylike to whistle, but still I learnt to whistle this tune.  Dogs in the family responded to the signature whistle; as soon as they heard it, tails wagged and they would come running to the gate.

Once we were leaving for the airport which was about 40 km away and I looked out of the car window and practiced the koyal’s whistle; 10 km later we were surprised to find that our labrador was chasing the car like a sleek black panther.  We all went different ways, but the signature tune remained and created a strong family bond.

In the hostel I tried to whistle tunes of film songs; but somehow it always sounded like the tune of the koyal. A friend once asked, “Why does everyone in your house whistle the same tune?” She thought the concept of a signature tune was so puerile. I told her that even when the family is scattered just one whistle connects us all.

My playful nephew called from Hong Kong and said ‘guess who?’ I started listing names of friends, but when he whistled I knew.   The same nephew is now a famous percussion guitarist and in a composition dedicated to his late dad the signature whistle forms a part of the tune.

Our lives have seen a lot of turbulence and changes and the only constant thread has been the koyal’s call.  Now, as I hop around with a fractured leg I wait to hear the koyal call - new tunes will come into our lives and old ones will be forgotten, but the koyal’s call will eternally remain as a harbinger of hope and happiness.