"Maybe It Felt...": Caged Sarus Crane's Friend On Meeting That Won Hearts

Arif Khan Gurjar, whose friendship with a Sarus crane has melted hearts, wants the bird to get back its freedom once its quarantine at a Uttar Pradesh zoo ends.

Speaking to NDTV, Arif said, "Once the quarantine ends, it should be freed from his cage and moved to a bird sanctuary. This is my request."

The amazing bond between the Amethi man and the massive bird has been the talking point on social media for months. Arif said that he found the bird injured in a field a year back. "I nursed it back to health. Then it went back to the forest and would visit me from time to time," he said. Arif said his home was about a kilometre from the forest area.

Visuals of the bird following Arif as he rode his scooter had drawn a flood of 'likes' on social networks. The videos, however, also alerted authorities. Sarus crane is Uttar Pradesh's state bird and it is illegal to keep it at home. Soon after the videos went viral, forest department officials took away the bird last month and charged Arif under various sections of Wildlife Protection Act.

The action against the Amethi man prompted strong public reactions, with many questioning why attempts were being made to destroy the beautiful friendship. Others argued that law must take its course.

Even political leaders picked sides in the raging debate. Samajwadi party chief and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav took a swipe at the BJP, saying they "do not love the environment of love, whether it is love between man and man or between man and bird".

Union Environment minister Bhupender Yadav said that while there is nothing wrong in caring for a bird from an endangered species, it is a responsibility to inform authorities.

The bird was initially kept at Panchi Vihar and later shifted to Kanpur Zoological Park. The Internet got another dose of the fascinating chemistry between Arif and the crane when he visited it at the end of a 15-day quarantine. Flapping its wings and dancing all around, the bird looked overjoyed to meet him. The vibe of happiness in the meeting made the day for many.

Speaking to NDTV, Arif said he has been upset since the crane was taken away. "It is my friend. You can understand how two friends feel when they part. I have not gone home since the forest department took the sarus away," he said.

Recounting his recent meeting with the bird at the zoo, Arif said, "It recognised me instantly and started jumping. Maybe it felt that now that Arif is here, he will take me out of the cage. But that did not happen. There are rules and protocols in the zoo. So I came back."

Asked how the bird is doing, Arif asked, "How can anyone be fine when caged?"

The Amethi man denied that he had kept the bird at his home. "I did not keep it at home. It lived in the jungle. Whenever it was hungry or it wanted to meet, it would come to my doorstep. I would feed it after which it would return to the forest."

Requesting the authorities to shift the bird to a sanctuary once the quarantine ends, Arif said, "If it wants to come to Amethi, it can fly down."

Asked how he found the arrangements for the bird at its current address, he said, "It is in a cage, alone. Sarus is Uttar Pradesh's state bird so, in my opinion, it is not right to cage the bird. We will follow whatever rules are laid down."

To a question on whether the matter is turning political since so many leaders, including Mr Yadav and BJP MP Varun Gandhi have spoken out, Arif said, "Please don't call this politicisation, people are in support. Everyone wants the bird to be free."