“Look, there it is, the olanjali. The Indian tree pie. Do you see its tail feathers? Now listen to the whickering sound it makes. Ki-ki-ki…Isn’t that the sound of contempt? It is the custom of birds to perch. Not this one. It has scant regard for custom. Instead, look at the bird’s nonchalance as it skates and slides to the tip of the palm frond and dangles from it. So you see, haasyam can be that as well. Contempt for convention.” ~ Excerpt from ‘Mistress’ by Anita Nair.

Olenjali aka Rufous Treepie, seems to be a bird after my own heart when it comes to haasyam (humor) that takes the form of contempt for convention.