-Bob
Dylan
B-I-R-D! This word rings a bell in our
minds to the spirit of freedom, happiness, togetherness etc. For some, they
could even be inspiring. But.. but.. Can you imagine a situation of bird
suicide? And can you imagine this happening in our very own nature hugging
country? Oh yeah! Bird suicide as they call it is one of the biggest mysteries
of the world. Autophonomaniacs i.e. an obsession with suicides is not only a
state of mind of the six sensed humans but also to these free spirited birds
say some researchers.
Jatinga, a tranquil village located 330 km
south of Guwahati in the state of Assam
is a scenic beauty , a visual treat with its massive mountains and lush
greeneries. Well, that’s not all that this hamlet is famous for. The bird
suicide tragedy has been happening in this village over the years. This can be
witnessed between the months of September and November. Avian Harakiri as the locals call it has etched itself into the
pages of the history of this region. The
Zeme Nagas were the original inhabitants of Jatinga. They witnessed the bird
suicides back in 1905 while they guarded their paddy fields on pitch dark
nights. This horrifying site sent a shiver down their spines and they sold
their lands to the present Jaintias and fled the village. Jaintias perceived this
phenomenon as the Gift of Gods! This reassures the theory that what you see
depends on how you see it. Doesn’t it ?
How exactly do these birds suicide? That’s
the next question on your snoopy minds. When the sun goes undercover turning
the blue skies golden yellow, thousands of birds flying at full speed descend
on the buildings and trees transforming the scenic beauty of the skies into an agonizing
grave yard. This bird massacre is confined to 1.5 km of the village. Birds that
commit themselves to this ruthless end include the kingfisher, green pigeon,
whistling doves, grey heron, racket tailed drongo, green breasted pitta and
Indian pitta. As the early days of
September steps in, the locals prepare themselves to brace this horrendous
event. However, the death of these free spirited birds is not grieved for. The
locals are fast enough to get their hands on these poor beings for their flesh.
There are a number of questions revolving
around this mass suicide. Late naturalist E.P.Gee was the first to bring this
appalling incident under the limelight. He drove to the site, unraveled the
mystery behind this dreadful act and found it to be the disorientation at high
altitudes at high speed due to the widespread fog characteristic at that time. Similar
incidents that have taken place in Mizoram, Phillipines etc have been quoted in
the book Birds of Assam by Dr.
Anwaruddin Chaudhary. The birds get attracted to the lights and fly towards the
light source and therefore crash into the buildings. The big flummox is that
most of the birds which end their lives at Jatinga are diurnal birds. They
actually have no business to be flying in the skies after the sunset. Diurnal
birds are meant to be fast asleep at the dusk. Some researchers attribute this grim
act to electromagnetic forces that surround the faultlines of Jatinga. However,
no clear evidence has been produced for any of these answers.
The mystery remains Masked!
With the onset of innovative technologies
and scientific advances, lets look forward to unmask the mystery of Avian
Harakiri.
-N&N
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