The Koha-bird’s Song

The Koha-bird also known as Cuckoo-bird is known for the melodious songs he sings during the Avurudu time. Long ago in a village far-away there once was a Koha-bird with a very lovely voice. Those days the people in this village waited anxiously for the Koha’s Avurudu message to get ready to celebrate the New Year in grand style. As the months drew closer to Avurudu the Koha-bird went into the jungle to practice his songs. He sat on a branch and started to sing. Soon there gathered an audience of different birds. They all listened to the melodious voice of the Koha-bird.

All the birds started to compliment the Koha-bird’s voice. “Such a lovely voice!” “His voice sounds like a silver bell!”“I could listen to him all day!” The Koha-bird heard all these comments and felt very proud.
“I must show them what I’ve got!” he thought. So he tried hard to impress the birds by singing at a very high pitch. “Ah! How beautiful. He truly sounds amazing!” said the birds. Koha-bird’s heart was swelling with pride. He kept on singing as loud as he could till the sun went down. All the birds applauded and said that they had never heard anything so beautiful.

The next morning the Koha-bird didn’t feel too good. His throat was aching and he felt ill. The birds came and asked him to get ready to fly to the village to convey the Avurudu message. But poor Koha could hardly talk and when he tried to sing his voice sounded hoarse and weak. “Oh dear!” said the Owl who came to examine him. “You have tired yourself too much! Let’s wait a few more days and see if you’d get any better.” But even after a couple of days, there still was no change in his voice. He still couldn’t sing. All the birds started to panic. The time was right to spread the Avurudu message across the village. But the poor Koha was not well.

“Let’s appoint someone else, just for this year,” said the Owl. “But whom shall we send to the village?” asked the other birds. “What about the Parrot? He can mimic others well,” suggested one bird. “No, that won’t do. He loves to talk. If we send him, he will end up talking with everyone for hours. He wouldn’t have time to sing the Avurudu message!” said the Owl. “What about the Crow? He does look a lot like our Koha,” said another bird. “People will ‘shoo’ him away!” the Owl replied. “He has annoyed the villagers by always asking for food.” A few other names were suggested. But there was no one else to do the Koha-bird’s job. “Looks like there won’t be any Avurudu celebration this year,” said the birds sadly. “No one would know it’s Avurudu without the Koha-bird’s song.

All the birds were very sad. The Koha-bird was the saddest of them all. He knew he shouldn’t have tried to show-off. But now it was too late. He has lost his lovely voice and he was not sure if he’d ever get it back again. Even if he did get it back later, it still wouldn’t make things right. A year without Avurudu didn’t sound right at all. He sat on a branch and cried a lot. All the other birds felt sorry for him and tried to cheer him but nothing worked. “I let the whole village down!” thought the Koha-bird. “It’s all my fault!”
A few days later the worried Koha-bird flew to the village.

He sat on a branch and stared at the village feeling very sad. The bright red flower buds at the end of the branch caught his eyes. They were ‘Erabadu’ flower buds. They always bloom during the Avurudu season. Seeing these flower buds made him feel a lot better.

Then he looked at a house below. Behind the house was a pile of rope, kept aside to tie a swing.It was always fun to sit on a branch and watch the children play on the swing. They always looked so happy going up and down. And what was that?

The Koha-bird recognized the big white round thing which was leaning against the wall. People took it out, heated it and played it during Avurudu. They called it the ‘Rabana’. The Koha-bird was getting excited after seeing all these things. He closed his eyes and remembered the previous Avurudu celebration in the village. People were all dressed in new clothes and they carried plates filled with all kinds of goodies. There was a smile on every face. And even nature agreed with all this because every tree was covered with flowers and fruits. “What happiness Avurudu always brings,” thought the Koha-bird. And before he knew it he was singing. “Koo…Koo…”

“Look! Look! He has got his voice back!” shouted the birds in delight. “Look! Look! The Koha has come with the Avurudu message!” shouted the little children. “Koo…Koo…” sang the Koha-bird. “It’s time to celebrate everybody, Avurudu is here!”