Parrots are part of Indian life. If they aren't screeching obtrusively outside your window, they pop up in the designs on your sari pallu or in the mythological tales you might be reading.
From temple walls, textile patterns, street-side fortune tellers to folk tales, parrots have long been woven into India's cultural & ecological fabric.
On World Parrot Day let's celebrate these vibrant, intelligent birds that are are not just seen... they’re heard, loved, worshipped.
Parrot jyotishya
Fortune-telling involves parrots in India, especially in Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh. Parrot Jyotishya is a longstanding street tradition. A trained rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri) selects tarot-style cards from a deck, which the jyotishi interprets for predictions.
The man who makes parrots for his goddess
Every day in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district, S Raman collects fresh leaves and flowers from the Andal Temple garden. With quiet dedication, he handcrafts a parrot, a sacred offering that graces the hand of Goddess Andal each evening.
Parrots in our mythology
These birds have sacred meaning. The love god Kamadeva rides a green parrot, often a rose-ringed parakeet, symbolising desire & attraction. In the South, Goddess Meenakshi is often depicted with a parrot on her shoulder, a sign of wisdom and divinity.
Parrots as pets
Among India’s most beloved pets, parrots come right after dogs. Often affectionately called Mithu, these birds are cherished for their talkability and cheerful chatter.
A textile icon
Parrot motifs are embroidered into Kanchipuram sarees, Pochampally ikats, and Phulkari dupattas, symbolising fertility and joy.
Tota Hoon Main Tota Hoon
India is home to 12 native species of parrots. The most common: rose-ringed parakeet. As well as the plum-headed parakeet, Alexandrine parakeet, Malabar parakeet. There is something special about some of these Indian fellows. Read on...
Tujhko Mirchi Lagi Toh Main Kya Karu
Hindustani parrots, unusually, have an appetite for green chillies or maybe they have that diet in India. Scientists believe this is because birds lack the receptors that make mammals feel the burning sensation of capsaicin, the spicy compound in chillies.
The Parrot Man of Madras and the Pune Parrot Whisperer
Chennai’s Sudarson Sah, dubbed the Parrot Man, feeds hundreds of rose-ringed parakeets daily. Radhika Sonawane, a financial professional living in Pune has opened her home to parrots.
Never back down
Rediff reader Tushar Raghu shot a parrot couple on the ramparts of Ranthambore Fort, Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. "The pic seems to suggest a story of a recent spat between the two. They probably want to make up but who will make the first move," he says.
Parrots for celebs
Urvashi Rautela chose to sport a parrot clutch at Cannes 2025. Read about it here. Shilpa Shetty adopted Poppy Shetty Kundra few years ago.