THE SQUIRREL PIED PIPER OF DELHI LODI GARDEN

Paul’s whistling sound gets these timid creatures rushing up to him, competing with invading sparrows for his attention. He remembers the time, five years ago, when he began feeding dogs and birds at Lodi Gardens. Today, the ritual occupies two hours of his daily routine. The squirrels, in those days, maintained distance. Then one morning, one of them came, tentatively took a nut from him and ate it right in front of him. It was as if he had been sent by the other members of his gang. That was it. The ice had been broken and now they come in twos and fours, climbing all over him, eating out of his hands, literally.
Paul says he can identify each squirrel out of the lot and even points out the one which is in the family way.

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