The Love Story of Koels

There once lived a pair of Koels in an old banyan tree, on the outskirts of the city. Both the male and female pair were remarkably close and loved each other very dearly.

One day a bird-catcher was frantically looking out for new birds to catch. When he neared the wood apple tree close to the Old banyan tree, he could hear the Male Koel’s call.

The crow perched nearby warned the lovebirds to be careful. When the bird-catcher’s eyes fell upon the three some, he immediately set fly the stone from his sling. The bird escaped the attack, the male Koel asked his mate to hid behind the thicket of the leaves.

He then flew out into the open to distract the catcher. The catcher lured and picked up the male Koel and caged him. But female bird followed the bird catcher and didn’t give up her pursuit. She continued to follow the bird-catcher until he reached the banks of the river Cauvery.

At the bank of the river Cauvery, the bird-catcher got into a boat and crossed the river. The Female Koel was unable to cross the river and perched on the neem tree close to the bank, she cried in lamentation of the loss of her mate.

That day forth female Koel called out to the river in the hope of hearing a reply from her mate. Many days passed and then, one day there was a reply.
Her mate called out and lamented the separation from the opposite bank of the river. Both were overjoyed to be able to communicate with each other.

The female Koel promised her mate that she would find some help and rescue him from his prison. Female Koel went to each bird that resided by the bank and begged them to help her.

She kept asking the birds how to cross the river and all they told her was that only large birds can cross the river. Dejected, she returned to the neem tree and waited. Meanwhile, the male Koel sang her a sad ballad in the hope that someone will help them.

Hearing the sad song, the birds around the area got together to discuss how to help both the birds in love with each other. One day a wise old Owl heard their sad song.

He came to female Koel, told her not to lose her belief in setting her mate free.

The Owl advised her to question her mate about his whereabouts.

Female Koel took the advice of the Wise Owl and asked her mate, “Where are you now? Can you describe the place to me?”

Her mate lamented, “I’m imprisoned in a golden cage and my wings are clipped. The head of the house begs me to sing for her.”

His mate listened carefully and then, reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to set you free.”

The female Koel went to the Owl and told him about what her mate had communicated with her. The Owl said, “Don’t be disheartened my friend, remember to keep up your spirit high and that of your mate.”

“How can I do that,” asked the female Koel.

“Let us ask the help of the Eagle King,” said the Owl. When the Eagle King heard their sad story of separation. He called his team and assigned a rotational flight from one bank to the garden where the male Koel was caged.

Soon female Koel would send trivial things are a reminder to him to keep motivated and to not lose hope.

The male Koel during his imprisonment gathered as much information as he could gather about his surround from the birds and creatures around him. He sent this information to the eagles and sang a spring song for his mate so she would be hopeful of their reunion.

After thanking the owl and eagle, many days passed and spring moved to summer then to monsoon, still her mate was imprisoned in a golden cage since his clipped wings were growing slowly.

She tried to keep his spirits high from afar. Soon the mate’s song was no longer so sad. It became more reassuring and supporting. The male Koel as per his mate’s suggestion sang only when the head of the house took her afternoon nap.

Soon the lady’s dreams were filled with sadness and sorrow of separation. It spoke about being parted from her dear ones and the suffering of being isolated from all. Slowly, the lady felt the sadness of the ballad being reflected on her heart.

She ordered that the male Koel be let out of his golden cage. Many days passed, both the Koel pairs kept communicating their messages about their surroundings and happenings in their life with the help of the eagle relay team. At the same time, the male Koel sending notes of love for his beloved.

Soon the monsoon season came and by this time male Koel’s feather had grown and healed. He was given permission to be let out of the cage more often. One day, the dark rain bearing clouds covered the sky making the female Koel to think of her mate’s dark plumes.

The female Koel immediately sent out a message to her mate through the eagle. She asked him, “if I should try to fly across the river and rescue him from the prison.

But the eagle advised them not to cross the river during monsoon as the rain would flood up the river. The Owl suggested that she should wait until the monsoon was over and then try to cross the river. Both the lovers waited until the monsoon season had passed before their reunion.

When the monsoon had passed the male Koel looked out for a chance to escape and soon found one. One day, when all in the house were busy with the visit from the royal family, the male Koel was let out of his cage. He took flight from the garden where he was kept in confinement.

Soon he reached the river and tried to cross it. But the river was too wide for him to cross. The tired and desperate male Koel nearly fell into the river where a crocodile was waiting to gulp him down.

Luckily, there were a few logs floating downstream and the male Koel travelled towards the lower river. On the other side of the bank, the female Koel was worriedly following her mate’s journey downstream.

After resting for a while, the male Koel tried to cross the river again, but he could only reach three-fourth of the river. On the other side of the river, the female Koel watched her mate struggling and tiredly flapping his wings. The female Koel flew towards her mate to help him out.

She just saw that there was a boat floating towards the bank. The traders traveling in the boat could clearly see the struggle of the Koel pairs. On the boat, there was a kind-hearted tamarind seller. The seller stretched over and picked up the tired male Koel on to the boat.

Everyone noticed the male Koel getting into the basket and in this way, he was able to travel across the river Cauvery. Everyone there witnessed the reunion of the sad reunion of the pair of Koel.

The Koel Lovers had much to thank for their good fortune and their struggle being separated from each other. This incident reached the ears of the King and the Queen who were benevolent rulers. The King proclaimed the pair of Koel as the bird of their kingdom for being persistent and loving pair.

Reason Behind the Story

The Koels Call