KUMAON BEAUTIES

Having spent eight years in a boarding school in the Kumaon Hills (at St Joseph’s College, Nainital), they act like a lodestone, beckoning me back every now and then. Whenever I vacation with my family in the Kumaon Hills we look for offbeat locations, where there is rich flora and fauna, and not too many pesky tourists. A high point of earlier trips was spotting a leopard as night fell near Almora (1997) and near Chaukori (2010). But the highlight of this year’s trip was spotting the elusive but exotic Himalayan Monal Pheasant near Munsiyari. It was a veritable explosion of vibrant hues; a crest like a peacock’s, an emerald green head, an orange red collar, parrot green on the nape of the neck, a bright purple body and a rufus tail. That night I could not sleep because I couldn’t identify the bird from “The Book of Indian Birds” by Salim Ali, India’s most illustrious ornithologist. Sensing my discomfiture, my daughter did a google on Himalayan pheasants, and asked me if it was the Monal? Indeed it was. It is the state bird of Uttarakhand and the national bird of Nepal, where it is called the Danfe. Before sighting the Monal, I had considered the Paradise Flycatcher, the Golden Oriole, the Cardinal and the Emerald Dove to be the most beautiful birds of India. Now I daresay that there is no Indian bird to match the Monal, for sheer beauty and vibrancy of colour. My father was a member of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and a subscriber to National Geographic magazine, way back in the 1950’s/ 60’s. He inculcated in us a love for birds and all of nature. At Sitlakhet, 1800 metres above sea level (masl) we discovered a small watercourse amid the charred pine forest. We saw some rare birds. On returning home I contacted Raju Kasambe and Nikhil Bhopale of the BNHS. They helped me to identify the White Throated Laughing Thrush (a babbler like bird with a swollen throat like those with a thyroid problem), the Black-headed Forktail (a drongo-like bird with a pronounced white V on its back), and the Nuthatch (which actually walks upside down on the branches of trees). At Munsiyari (2200 masl) we spotted the Pied Flycatcher Shrike (a black and white bird the size of a bulbul) and the Eurasian Jay (a black-whiskered fawn coloured bird the size of a myna). While descending from Munsiyari we chanced upon a brood of 8 Himalayan Vultures at a carcass, a rare sight. For those who came in late, vultures have almost disappeared from India, because they have been eating the carcasses of milch cattle that have been injected with milk-enhancing oxytocin; which in turn has rendered the vultures sterile. Today the vulture is a highly endangered species. Just imagine, if a drug can annihilate a carrion eating bird, then what will happen to delicate human beings who don’t know what they are ingesting? Sattal (1200 masl) is a bird watcher’s delight. Birds and water go together. There is no dearth of either. We were lucky to spot another Himalayan rarity, the Khaleej Pheasant (crimson red cheeks with a grey body and scimitar tail), rushing through the undergrowth. Birds we had seen before included the Yellow-billed Blue Magpie, the Paradise Flycatcher, the Verditer Flycatcher, the Green Barbet and the Blue Rockchat. While my wife and I were returning from an early morning sighting (we even saw some barking deer – kakar – as well) we bumped into a petite young lady hurrying along with a camera and zoom lens almost half her size! I couldn’t control my curiosity, as most bird watchers are senior citizens like myself! The lady wasn’t happy when I asked her if bird watching was her hobby. Was it a passion I asked, and she smiled. She was Dr Nitoo Das, an Asst Professor of English in Delhi. We later shared notes and she subsequently sent us some gorgeous pictures of the birds, taken with her powerful zoom. My wife, daughter and son are all avid nature enthusiasts. We were happy to meet a fellow traveller among all the “tourists”. People sometimes ask me, “Why do you take so much trouble for just a fleeting glimpse of something in the wild, when you can see it much better in the comfort of your home on Discovery Channel?” I have a standard reply. “ Which is better, curling up on the couch and reading a Mills & Boon romantic novel; or curling up with a romantic woman on the couch, even if it is just a touch or a glance?” Get it? Then get out and discover nature for yourself. It is truly romantic. * The write is a Kanpur based nature lover July 2012