Atticus Finch tells his children, “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”.
Miss Maudie explains this means mockingbirds are innocent creatures that only make music for enjoyment, symbolizing harmless, innocent people!
Of course, any humane person would prefer not to shoot any bird for that matter whether the song is melodious or not!
The NYT yesterday had a clue about the song of a Swan!
Have you actually heard a Swan Sing?
But do you know what’s a swan song?
Apparently, they do, but when their end is near!
The term “swan song” originated from an ancient Greek belief that swans remain silent for most of their lives, only to sing a single, beautiful melody just before they die!
That is so poetic and philosophical! Which means that if you do hear a swan sing, then maybe it’s the last song!
In Greek mythology, swans were sacred to Apollo, the god of music, poetry, and prophecy.
In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates argues that swans do not sing out of sorrow, but rather out of joy because they have “foreknowledge of the blessings in the other world” and are returning to the god they serve.
By the 3rd century BCE, the idea of the “swan’s song” (kýkneion ásma) had become a common proverb in Greece. It was later mentioned by writers like Aristotle, Euripides, and Cicero.
Chaucer provided one of the earliest English allusions in The Parliament of Fowls, describing “the jealous swan, against his death that singeth”.
Even our Shakespeare used the imagery multiple times, most notably in The Merchant of Venice (“he makes a swan-like end, fading in music”)!
That’s literature!
But did you know that while the Mute Swan (the species most common in Europe) only makes grunting or hissing sounds, the Whooper Swan has been noted by naturalists for a unique behavior!
As its lungs collapse upon death, the air passing through its long, coiled trachea can produce a series of drawn-out, flute-like notes—a physical phenomenon that likely served as the grain of truth behind the legend!
That last sound would be so melodious indeed since it would have the last bit of air leaving to never return again…Poetic indeed…
Then again only soldiers are the ones who would save their last breath and voice for the country! Like Hoshiar Singh Dahiya!
Now turn on your alarm and sleep!
No bird would wake you up!
Shubh ratri…
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