Into Krishnan’s residence tottered the strangest, weirdest-looking bird, ZigZag. He was brought in by Somu’s cook, Visu. About a foot and a half tall, its bald head was fringed with a crown of shocking pink feathers while the rest of its plumage was in various shades of the muddiest and sludgiest brown. Its curved beak was sunflower-yellow and its eyes were the qolour of cola held to sunlight.
Visu introduced ZigZag as Ziggy-Zagga-king-of the-Tonga and that he talks very beautifully. He even added that he could recite French Poetry! In spite of all the praise showered on him, he stood cool and unmoved, with an expression of almosthuman grumpiness in bis cola-coloured eyes.
Arvind, tried his best to make ZigZag speak. He dashed into the kitchen and brought a plate with juicy fruit slices and some nuts. Bored eyes brightened as Zigzag picked up a walnut. It refused to speak., dropped one wrinkled eyelid in a solemn wink and flew clumsily to deposit the nut on the enormous chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Silently and slowly, all the fruit on the plate was transferred to the chandelier and the blades of the ceiling fan. As soon as the cook Visu left,
Zigzag, still perched on the curtain rod, went off to sleep.
“Zigzag is Queer and Weird.”
