Communication Gap

Recently, I happened to traverse across several places including the south coast of India. I also spent some time at one of my company’s lush green campuses where they have a beautiful pond. This pond houses some very beautiful ducks. These ducks have a very soothing effect on your soul when they have a heart to heart talk with you.

Usually when I would be fagged out and would need some fresh air, I would step out and sit by the pond to have a chit-chat with these ducks. Initially, the ducks refused to befriend me but when they did befriend me, I was surprised at their ability to talk a mile a minute. They would weave one topic of conversation seamlessly into another. They also shared the litany of complaints about the kind of visitors they had. I accompanied all this with a few affirmative oinks, agreeing with everything they shared with me. During the chats, I’d feed them small pieces of bread crumbs as well for I thought they must be hungry and they loved that too. This continued for a couple of days before I received a mass mailer which read something like this:

“It has come to our notice that the ducks in the pond are being fed bread crumbs and crackers instead of duck food. Such food is rich in carbohydrates and is not healthy for the ducks as it makes their internal organs become enlarged and fatty. They have a small pouch in their esophagus to store food before passing it on to the digestive system. The bread gets stuck in the crop and prevents the passage of food to the stomach. The employees are requested not to feed anything to the birds. The facilities management department will take care of their food requirements. We appreciate your cooperation.”

As usual, I visited the ducks again in the evening. They were as happy to see me as I was to see them. We kept talking for a while but today I did not give them anything to eat. They asked why I did so. I inquired if they received any mail from facilities and they shook their head in denial. I told them that they must have forgotten to copy them in. However, as per the mailer, overeating led the ducks to put on weight and consequently, they look out of shape now. So they have requested the visitors not to feed the ducks anymore. The ducks agreed that they had indeed gained some weight.

I tried to comfort them that ‘out-of-shape’ is also a shape and to me, they looked pleasantly plump so they need not worry. As the old saying goes beauty lies in the beholder's eyes. As long as their heart is beautiful, external beauty doesn't matter. They looked a little calm and relaxed. I told them that they will be given healthy food by the facilities department and I will speak to them about the mail bit. I also asked them if they have any other concerns and would like me to be their voice. But they were fine so I took their leave and went to the facilities department. 

I questioned them if they were trying to ruin our friendship with the birds and if not then why did they not mark the birds on that mail. The birds were not happy at what had happened so they owe the birds an apology. They felt sorry and assured me that they will make up for the slip.

I came back to my room, ate my food and slept peacefully.