Kiran Subbaiah/Texts by KS/Flight Rehersals
It was only after applying a considerable amount of time and effort into practicing the act that the physiognomy of birds evolved to become suitable for flight. The prerequisite for any creature learning to fly is firstly to have an inborn aspiration for it and secondly an intuitive understanding of its operation. I always believed that I possessed these prerequisites and set about practicing the act at a very early age.
Before I was taught Newton's law about what makes an apple fall to the ground I owned a rubber ball that bounced. And before I learnt of Leonardo's flying machines I was aware of the fact that I could jump up quite high. Putting together my knowledge about such miraculous properties in the things around me and in myself, I set about conceiving my means of taking flight.
I had to take care to avoid being discouraged by the interrogation of responsible people regarding the purpose of my endeavor. I flew to serve no purpose but simply because I desired to and it was an apparent possibility. So I practiced only in hiding, a few hours before sunrise.
My method was quite straightforward but demanded rigorous practice in order to be mastered: First I would leap up into the air as high as possible. Then, very quickly, before there was time for gravity to act, I would jump again into a higher point in the air. And so with a series of leaps, each following the preceding in rapid succession, I would manage to elevate myself well off the ground. Once I'd attained a certain altitude the act could be performed with considerable ease, as my body would be further away from the Earth's gravitational field.
The ability to fly naturally brought with it the gift for understanding the language of birds. When the neighborhood cockerel crowed "KO KA KOOOOOO KU" I would immediately understand what he meant. It is difficult to explain in English (or in any other human tongue for that matter) the exact meaning of "KO KA KOOOOOO KU" for we have not yet invented words so heavily loaded with meaning. But the neighborhood cock was basically putting into a nutshell his explanations for having washed his wings off the whole aviation business.
His arguments would induce in me an unbearable sense of vertigo. I would toss about for a while, groping for clouds, and wake up just in time to feel content, to find myself lying in bed.
 
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