Two villages that play host to birds…

It is amazing that there are two villages in India one located in south and another in the north part of the country that share love for birds. Birds are quite sensitive creatures, migratory birds in particular are quite cautious in their dealing with human beings. So when they settle amidst human habitation it only shows the trust. In these two villages the process of respect and trust between human beings and birds took many centuries to consolidate. Now that is incredible. This blogger had the fortune to visit these two villages that are located thousands of miles apart. Two villages that speak different languages but understand birds. In one village it is about Pelicans and painted Storks wherein the other it is Demoiselle Cranes, apart f rom these there are host of other species of birds. Both villages though are economically quite backward with some very poor people. But the houses and lanes are mostly clean and people have dignity about themselves. Infact in both villages I was offered food, how unprofessional!

So here is this blogger’s travel diary of these two villages.

Kokkare Bellur (Mandya District. Karnataka)

The translation of the village name means homes of Storks. This village is located about 80Kms from Bengaluru (Bangalore). From the Bangalore-Mysore highway about 70odd Kms just after Maddur there is a road going inside. From here it is about 45minutes journey into some fertile land and cluster of villages (it is amazing that few Kms from big cities almost always are small villages). There is bus service but it is once in an hour. Amazingly enough Kokkare Bellur signals itself much earlier with many birds flying around. But it’s only in Kokkare Bellur that Pelican and painted Storks like to settle, even the villagers have no explanation for this just that it is happening for centuries. Almost all the canopies of trees are taken by these birds. While painted Storks don’t mind small trees, Pelicans only nest on taller trees with sturdier branch. There are also other birds like egrets, pond and night herons (grey heron come to roost at night), even white ibis. There are hundreds of other species that could be found in an around the village (apart from common birds I spotted bush chats, robin, hoopoe…the snaps though didn’t come out that well).

In 1996 ‘Mysore amateur naturalists’ started a pen for orphaned birds (in last decade or so they have put back over 300 hundred pelicans into wild). Nanje Gowda was the man who took care of the pen, he was a proud man who could converse in English (anyway my Kannada is quite bad; I haven’t really picked up this language despite some efforts, can understand though. I guess as one tends to get older conversing becomes limited). Nanje Gowda introduced himself, and yes he is a graduate (and so while he glanced through a newspaper he mentioned that it is going to be hung parliament!!). The pen was rudimentary mostly running on donations it had wired enclosures few pelican chicks were being fed fresh fish- that was caught from the river nearby. One chick had its wing broken “will not be able to fly ever” informed Mr. Gowda. On weekends during holiday season they conduct awareness programs for children from cities as also summer camps. In recent years outreach programs have been initiated aimed at creating awareness about birds and conservation to surrounding villages that share foraging space of the birds. Over a tea in the nearby shop (they use jaggery instead of sugar that taste quite good) Mr.Gowda mentioned that there have been no support from the government, the initiatives of creating awareness and saving orphaned birds were from contributions by people. He mentioned that the government has infact done harm when few years back they allowed high voltage transmission line through the village. This has killed many birds “they could have chosen a different route or maybe cover these wires with insulation” he says. Don’t know whether the bureaucrats understands these! These long winged birds are in constant danger of being electrocuted.

I spent few hours roaming around the village and outskirts. It is an amazing sight to see huge birds sitting on branches nearby while people carry on with their daily chores. I saw some very active people. While some women were involved in packing tamarind, many household were into sericulture, most though were involved in agriculture related activities.

I found this old man who was mending his house roof with coconut palm leaves, I stopped to observe him. He saw my shadow and asked without looking up “from which place”, I said “kerala”, he said “that’s good” and enquired whether I had my lunch. All this without even looking at me!! Clearly he was used to intrusive tourists!

Keechan village (Jodhpur District. Rajasthan)

From Jodhpur there is a small town called Phalodi on the north towards Bikaner, it is about 4hours on road, there are frequent State bus service. From Phalodi Keechan is about 20minutes drive (autos ply very frequently on this route, charge 5Rs). This part of the world is semi desert with sandy landscapes and sparse vegetation. It is therefore amazing that Keechan village has been playing host to Demoiselle cranes that migrate from Siberia for five to six months every year for last many centuries. Last few years had been quite bad for this beautiful creature with war in Afghanistan and Iraq taking it toll.

Demoiselle cranes are dainty birds that are very cautious of humans. They come in hundreds and are a sight to watch against the sand dunes. The villagers have provided a space for the birds to feed. Jowar (don’t know the English term. Millet?) is the basic diet that is fed. Tons of feed is spread everyday morning and evening. The expense is covered by donations. Marwaris are rich community that generously donates for welfare of animals and birds. Villagers had opened up their home terrace for tourists to watch these birds when they land for morning feeding (I found few Europeans, with sophisticated cameras), they also have placed chairs and few pages on these storks, and water to drink (all these as courtesy, no money charged. How unprofessional can people get!!). It is an amazing sight to watch hordes of graceful birds alighting and flying away followed by another bunch. In the afternoon these birds rest at the pond nearby, so I came back again in the afternoon to observe them.

Rattan lalji is an elderly man who is responsible for the feeding and taking care of injured birds. He stays in the richer part of the village. Three kids became my guide and took me to his house on the way they talked about the village and themselves. One kids father was a teacher in a school of “1^st to 5^th standard” and he was the only teacher there! While the other kid's father “carried the keys of jail” and he was really proud of it, he explained in detail how his father bashed up few thugs! They also took me around the village and showed me carved elephant of the local temple. I gifted them each a ballpen and some chocolates from a shop nearby.

 Rattan lal ji was busy churning curd when I entered his house! As we got talking his wife took up the chore. He insisted on tea and biscuits “ann ko kabhi na nahi karna chahiye. Kabhi nahi” (don’t say no to food. Never). I meekly agreed, although I don’t like biscuits I ended up eating all, the last few he pushed onto my palm despite resistance! I have experienced this before, in most Indian household they feel the guest is being polite by taking less of what is offered, so the onus is on them to be take up the cause, even vigorous protest don’t work! His wife asked me to shift my chair to other side of the room as I was blocking the path of the cat that usually visit during this time! Rattan lalji explained to me about demoiselle stork and said he considered them as his children, he was quite dramatic about it. He showed me photos of injured birds on my request, as there were no injured birds in the pen. He was very meticulous about keeping records of expense and contributions, people from across the country and around the world had contributed. I too contributed 200Rs, he insisted on writing my details on the book and receipt.

On the way back I met the man who had told me about Ratan lalji. Now this elderly man was someone who loved talking. He said he had come to Bangalore when there was a big circus fire many decades back. Although he spoke quite loud he came quite near me with eyes closed as he gave his version of the birds (as he spoke I took a snap of him!). He poked his finger on my chest and said “ye chidiya bohut chalak hoti hai raat ko pehera rakhti hai. Koi pas aye tho aise chonch se marthi hai aise” (very clever these birds, at night they keep some as their guards if any one comes near they attack with beaks, like this), he poked me again! I thought he was being funny but found him quite serious with his narrations. Then putting his hand on my shoulder he explained other habits of birds (like they are very suspicious, and that they lay their eggs in Siberia and come here so when they go back chicks are ready and so on “bohut chalak hoti hai” was his verdict on storks. (The laying eggs part I am not sure whether true, I am trying to get the details from Net). He also blessed me (?!) for coming all the way from Bangalore to see the birds “Indians kum athe hai, jadather videshi athe hai” (Indians rarely come, it is mostly foreigners)

By the time I came back to feeding area the foreigners had left. I saw few peacocks roaming around the village so positioned myself to take photo, the peacocks didn’t find it amusing and scampered away. In the meantime the news had spread among the kids circle that there is a fellow who is giving pen and chocolates. And so a small group of children waited for me, I somehow managed to convince them about later visit and walked towards the bus stop.

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