Himalayan News Service

New Delhi, June 10:

On one of his morning walks in the sprawling grounds of the presidential estate, president APJ Abdul Kalam saved the life of a peacock dying of cancer. With a tumour in its eye pressing into its mouth, the peacock was unable to consume its feed and was perhaps counting its days when Kalam chanced upon it. After specialised surgery, followed closely by the president himself, the bird is back to nature and fighting fit, according to aides at the presidential palace. Kalam first noticed the peacock last week in the picturesque Mughal Gardens, obviously suffering and showing a growth around the right eye. “He referred the bird to the veterinary hospital in Rashtrapati Bhavan where doctors found a cancerous tumour near its right eyeball,” an official said.

The peacock spent two days in the hospital and underwent a two-and-a-half hour surgery for the removal of the tumour. After surgery, the patient’s vision has been restored and its mouth will open more easily, allowing it to have its feed again. Unlike the average patient, doctors thought it prudent to let the peacock return to its natural habitat and heal. Thus Kalam released his little charge for therapeutic recuperation in the Biodiversity Park that has many varieties of herbs introduced by the president himself. But the patient is still under watch, since doctors are testing the tumour to see whether it is malignant. One happy bird now strolls around the grounds, a beautiful sight for the members of the presidential staff who are now thinking of giving it a special name.