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O<\/span>n a winter morning in 2004, Chennai-based Joseph Sekar noticed five weary parakeets on his terrace in Triplicane, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city.<\/p>\n Today, these five parakeets have been joined by thousands more \u2014 8,000 to be exact \u2014 thanks to Sekar, who uses 40 per cent of his monthly income to feed them at the same spot every day.<\/p>\n \u201cKeeping soaked rice and water for the sparrows is a family tradition. So after I moved to Chennai some three decades ago, I continued the practice. But this was the first time when I saw parakeets coming to my terrace regularly. That was the beginning of my tryst with the beautiful birds. I didn\u2019t even realise when the numbers touched thousands,\u201d Sekar, a camera repairman and electrician, told<\/a> The Better India<\/strong>.<\/p>\n