Of food, endangered birds, conservationists and ex-poachers

17Nov08

Forest Naturalists: Those who stay in jungle resorts, know their birds and animals, do nature photography and help themselves to Italian magazine covers, spend time with guests who can afford jungle cottages worth 70K per night, eat gorgonzola cheese with them (sometimes) and get offers of Cannon 20 D as a tip. Have u started hating your job yet! Yeah, ur inner voices are true, it sucks.

Mangalajodi Wetlands: Mangalajodi village with a population of 3088 is located about 5 km from Tangi town in Khurda District, Orissa. It is one of the villages situated along the banks of the Chilika lake. Thousands of migratory waterfowls and resident birds visit and breed each year in the wetland marshes of the village. In short – paradise for birders and nature lovers.

Pahala: The definitive Rasgulla joint on the road between Cuttack to Bhubaneswar on NH. If you know your Rasgulla and you haven’t heard of Pahala, sorry mate but it gives me immense pleasure to prick that inflated ego of yours.

Chilika Dhaba: Approximately 35 kms from Mangalajodi near Barkul panthanivas. Heaven for seafood lovers.

A recent trip back home was a memorable one. An old partner in crime, who is a naturalist with Taj Resorts, was in Bhubaneswar which made a trip to Mangalajodi wetlands possible. Will be talking about that trip later in the post.

Met a new friend who has been proclaimed an “Earth Hero” by Sanctuary magazine. We got news that Bittu Sehgal, editor of Sanctuary Magazine, was in town for a talk on nature and conservation and all three of us landed there along with a budding filmmaker who is a lawyer by qualification. The talk was brilliant and confirmed my worst fears – we all are going to die pretty soon if this rampant abuse of nature and environment persists.

After the inspiring talk we were informed of a new Dhaba near Phoolnakhra famous for its Handi Mansa (Mutton cooked in an earthen pot) and no time was wasted. We ended up having that and a lot more. A special mention must be made of the mouth watering Keema Kaleji (Minced liver curry). On the way an obligatory thulp at Pahala was inevitable. After helping ourselves to steaming hot Rasgullahs at 10:00 pm in the night we returned back to Bhubaneswar.

The plan to go to Mangalajodi was set in motion by one and accepted by three of us – the lawyer deciding to give it a miss.

The other day at around 2:00 pm we started for Mangalajodi wetlands from Bhubaneswar. On the way we had some very nice fish curry, rice and beer for lunch. After a lovely drive on the NH 5 we reached Mangalajodi by 5:00 pm where our conservationist guides, Prakash and Madhu, were waiting for us. I came to know that they were once poachers who have now become conservationists for Wild Orissa. I was very much intrigued by this news and wanted to know more about them. How it feels to conserve something which you have spent a lifetime destroying it. But I was happy to meet them. With their sheer knowledge of the flora & fauna of the wetland area they can easily compete with any naturalist of repute.

Ex-Poachers turned nature conservationists

We went on a dinghy ride across the swampy area – remaining silent yet observant about any bird movement that we could notice.

During the ride they told us stories about how poaching is rampant in these areas. Coming from two ex-poachers it was very ironic. It’s not only poaching that is wiping out the birds. It’s a strange case of revenge killing by the people living in that area. The people of the nearby areas feel this vast tract of land can be used for some factory / plantation or anything but a conservation area for birds. something which will earn them a livelyhood.

Many bird species were seen who alas couldn’t be captured through my camera for the lack of a decent lens, which is essential for bird photography.

So I ended up taking some landscape shots and portraits and left all the bird photography for my naturalist friend.

After spending three very pleasant hours in the wetlands we came back to find accommodation for the night. Initially we were planning to stay in the watchtower at night but the buzz of the mosquitoes immediately brought into mind – dengue, malaria and chickengunia – and we decided otherwise. Apparently the decreasing population of birds has resulted in a huge increase of mosquito population at the wetlands – Food chain for dummies.

We spend some time with Mr. Nanda Kishore Bhujabal, Vice Chairman of Wild Orissa, a naturalist and philanthropist par excellence. A very humble man Mr. Bhujabal shared his concerns and worries about the rampant poaching and the politicization of the conservation society. After bidding him adieu we left for Chilika Dhaba to indulge in gluttony.

If you ever make a trip to Chilika, dinner / lunch at this place is must have. Lip smacking good. Cooked in traditional Oriya style, full of spices and chilies, the curries are heavenly and the size of prawns and crabs will put all the swanky restaurants, famous for their sea food, to shame. The sweet crab meat has to be scooped out from the hard shell and here they don’t give you any mallets. It’s an effort to eat it that way but nonetheless an effort worth it.

After the indulgence we stayed in a not-so-shady motel during the night. We headed back to Mangalajodi at 5:00 am in the morning. On the way the naturalist friends told me about the nest of a white-bellied sea eagle on a eucalyptus tree on the wayside. Although a common sighting near coastal areas it was a lifer (a term used by naturalists / bird watchers when they see a bird for the first time) for my friends. I was thrilled no doubt to see it myself but couldn’t fathom their immense joy, what with one of them comparing the sighting with a kiss from a certain Katrina Kaif !!!

The sighting delayed us by an hour and by the time we reached Mangalajodi again the sun was out in all its wicked glory.

Prakash and Madhu were waiting for us again. Without wasting any more time we went to see the migratory birds which had already arrived. On the way Prakash told us about a particular flower which is a favourite of all migratory birds and how it is poisoned by poachers. Each pollen can kill a bird and each flower produces at least a thousand pollens. A thousand birds at one go. Scary, isn’t it.

A dead bird

We ate the pollens of the flower (certainly non-poisoned as u are reading this post) and they tasted like barley although the stink was next only to a durian. During the course of the same discussion Madhu disclosed that it might be Prakash who was the brain child of this ingenious plot to kill the birds. Suddenly Prakash was like John Laroche and I was transported into a quest for the elusive ghost orchid.

After about an hour or so we saw the birds finally. I felt we should rather call it a bird census than a bird spotting trip. There were so many of them. So many that I started thinking about the scary Hitchcock movie. What if they think we have come to kill them and they strike back? What if they recognize Prakash and Madhu? The flutter of their wings was creating an atmosphere of oceans and open skies, of tides hitting rocks at the sea shore. Nature was at its unspoiled glory. I was intimidated and humbled by these beautiful creatures of nature.

After spending an hour or so we returned back to the watch tower.

We paid and thanked Prakash and Madhu for their help us in making this trip a memorable one.

Birdy Num Num - Birders discussing

While coming back I just couldn’t stop thinking about them. What do two ex-poachers and now reformed nature conservationists feel about their earlier life? Do they feel any guilt or any remorse? Or do they think of their new profession as insulting and not financially satisfactory. Do they still feel the urge? What if they are frustrated with this job, which though legal and respect worthy, is obviously not as lucrative and adventurous as their previous one. With such thoughts I dozed off in the car while my friend drove us back to Bhubaneswar.

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Tags: Bhubaneswar, Birding, Birds, Chilika, Chilka, Conservation, Food, India, Mangalajodi, Mangalajodi Wetlands, Nature, NH 5, Odisha, Orissa, Photography, Poaching, Rasagola, Rasgulla, Restaurant near Chilika, Restaurant Review, Seafood, Travel