Every evening, just as the Chennai sun begins its descent toward the horizon, something extraordinary happens on a quiet street in Chintadripet. The sky above one particular rooftop begins to fill with green — thousands of emerald wings catching the last golden light, circling and diving in great swirling clouds before landing. In less than twenty minutes, approximately 6,000 wild rose-ringed parakeets have come home.
How It Started: A Single Act of Kindness
In 2008, Mr. Sudarson Sah — a retired man living on his pension in a modest Chintadripet terrace house — noticed a small group of rose-ringed parakeets visiting his rooftop. On an impulse, he put out some leftover rice for them. They came back the next day. He put out rice again. Within weeks, the numbers had grown. Within months, hundreds. Today — sixteen years later — the parakeet population that visits daily has grown to an estimated 6,000 birds.
This is not a managed wildlife park. There are no cages, no nets, no training programs. The birds are entirely wild — they roost in parks and trees around Chennai and choose, every single evening, to fly to this one man's rooftop for their meal.
The Science Behind the Gathering
Rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri) are highly social, intelligent birds with exceptional spatial memory. Scientists who study urban bird behaviour point to several factors that explain why Sudarson's rooftop has become such a powerful gathering point.
First is reliability. A feeding site that provides food consistently, day after day for sixteen years, becomes deeply encoded in a bird's mental map of its territory. Parakeets communicate information about reliable food sources to other birds in their flock — and their flocks communicate with adjacent flocks. Over time, knowledge of Sudarson's rooftop has spread through much of the wild parakeet population in central Chennai.
Second is the quality of feed. Sudarson provides rice, peanuts, and bird seed — a nutritionally rich meal that wild parakeets do not easily find in the urban environment. His consistency and generosity have made his rooftop the premium dining destination in the city.
Third is trust. Perhaps most remarkably, the birds have learned that this particular human means them no harm. Wild parakeets are naturally cautious around people. But after sixteen years, generations of birds raised with Sudarson's presence have lost their fear entirely. They land on his arms and shoulders without hesitation.
The Sound of 6,000 Wings
Nothing fully prepares you for the moment the gathering begins. First you hear it — a distant roar, like a river rushing or a stadium filling. Then you see them: dark specks appearing on the horizon that resolve, within seconds, into streams of brilliant green birds. Within twenty minutes, every feeding platform on the rooftop is packed, the air is thick with beating wings and parakeet calls, and the sound is unlike anything most urban residents have ever experienced.
Visitors regularly describe the experience as meditative, overwhelming, and profoundly moving. Many report it as one of the most beautiful things they have ever seen. That reaction crosses cultural and national boundaries — the sanctuary has welcomed visitors from over 50 countries.
Sixteen Years and Still Going
What makes Sudarson Sah's dedication truly extraordinary is its constancy. He has not missed a single morning or evening feeding in sixteen years. He wakes before dawn for the 6:00 AM feeding — a private session the parakeets have come to expect — and again prepares food for the 4:30 PM public gathering.
He spends a significant portion of his pension on feed. On some months, the cost of feeding 6,000 birds strains his budget considerably. He has never asked visitors to pay. He has never commercialised the experience. He feeds the birds because he loves them, and because — as he says — they are his family now.
What Visitors Experience
The sanctuary is open to visitors every evening during the 4:30–6:00 PM window. Entry is free. Advance booking is required (daily capacity is limited to protect the birds and ensure quality for all visitors).
Visitors access the rooftop and spend the session watching, listening, and photographing the gathering. Sudarson is present throughout — walking among the birds, speaking to them in Tamil and Hindi, the birds landing freely on him. It is, without exaggeration, one of the most unique urban wildlife experiences available anywhere in India.
