“Early Birds of New Forest”

Story of some of the frisky, playful barbets and wood packers amidst the estate of Roman empire at Forest Research Institute of Dehradun. It is told, that early birds like Koel, Cuckoos and Orioles used to sing wishful prayer, in the morning, appealing for natural wealth of richness and urging for natural affluence. Birds, no longer, appear now to sing the same song. Early birds are too few and occasionally look to have become infrequent. Barbets more often cry and wood packers don’t dig the bark too deep... A K Singh

One way to find playful humor of barbets and wood packers is to make a plan to visit an old estate of British Imperial Forest School of Deitrich Brandis 1878 at Dehradun in Uttrakhand. This will take you over the wild woods emerging from Roman pillars where brain-fever-bird each morning sings a song of new findings. Where some orioles, fly with joy, squeaking with a new tidings full of inquiry evolving from high rising Grecian style Olympian temple and red vented bulbuls squealing tirelessly in a profound shrill and recurring accent insistently reminding us to keep practicing all our important ideas inexorably in ever evolving new models of doctrines. Another way to know more about it is to wander, quite aimlessly in the midst of corridors of camphor trees seeking to stumble upon a wide passage evolving from courtyard, this will likely to take you where barbet birds actually perch at the top. One more way to hear the secret gossip of owlets, night jars and hornbills is to straying pointlessly peeping into the deep and darker woods of new forest which tells us the desperate tale of a ferocious leopard who quite often is said to barge upon innocent

creatures in the civilized surroundings. Few doves keep on bustling from amongst dangled twigs finding no place to perch upon, too few barbets go on yelling, for they were left unheard for too long and an owl in his solitude, keeps on cursing for those ideas which could not be put into practice despite the havoc of natural disasters. Indeed, the indiscriminate use of natural resources and growing concern for forests gave birth to scientific forestry and research when Lord Dalhousie in 1855, Governor General

of India established this ground for Forest Research first time in India. Eating berries, drupes and corns is the nature of wild parakeets. Piercing the fruits from its beak unnecessarily is also the habit of too few pigeons, felling gobbled up achene and driving away its flesh is the vice of few pheasants and malkohas. This can not be prolonged further any longer. Birds of other department cannot soar over in the woods for too long. When Lord Canning appointed Dietrich Brandis, he set on course of running the wild lands of India for some time till he realized the restraint on actual productive potential

of these and its sustenance. Living a life under a tree for too long and breathing few moments of forest life is not so easy constantly. Some skilled lapwings, trained babblers, and expert weavers are required to build, repair and protect the nestlings in the vicinity. Their food is in peril, their shelter is shrinking, their flying universe is dwindling. Knowing this, most of the Mynas stopped singing the songs on art of trees and their felling, some of

the lapwings have of late halted shrieking on wood dissection, some babblers have paused reciting a choral on use of twigs and timber. Kingfishers ceased to relate the story of use of wild gooseberry, honey, edible seeds, cashew nuts, spices, medicines and condiments. As you enter the pavilion of forest research institute, whole world of flying birds can be heard in a mild resonance, as you pave the way on corridors, the horizon of all other airborne birds appear to spin around, as you stand besides corinthian pillar the world around you seems trifling. As you walk on the floor, ancient post and lintels on upright beams some times teem with flutter of

doves and mynas. New forest is the land of museums both static and dynamic. Cuckoo flies from the museum of pathology, to silviculture, from timber museum to entomology, from social forestry to bambosetum. Birds try to understand, whether the man knows importance of age of antiquity and the significance of what is deep rooted and ancient. Birds realize the sentiment of man that he is no more concerned about them, He is too busy in the fool’s paradise of his own making, immensely occupied in his own music of melancholy. All rose ringed parakeets return back to their nestlings in the afternoon beating the retreat on the same passage of the air, with twigs in their beak, with seeds in their gut, and the food filled in their belly churning for more thoughts, feelings and judgment. Again they go back to the field to search for truth, to explore the life and to find out essence of life. When C G Blomfield erected the edifice of FRI in greco-roman architecture, ancestors of the birds were optimistic about their progeny. Their hopes rambled high enough. Even now quite often green estate of Roman empire fills with high hope and aspirations when few new parakeets are recruited afresh. Some of the skilled orioles live better, make their own ground and leave the space for other lessor birds to flourish and prosper. Some of the owls, eagles and falcons have refused to return back. Some of the Pariah Kites disappeared for better nutrition. Vultures abandoned the sky high tree tops. Goshawks seldom fiddle on the roofs. Shikra passes by on the beaten track silently. Flycatchers discover that their pathways of flight are under siege. Corridors of singing shall prevail upon pavilions of whistling. And the time shall come when facades of fluttering shall domineer upon hallways of melody and shall take the place of aromatic tune of ascent. Most of the doves, pigeons and parakeets shall come out of their tiresome nestlings and shall start making sanctuary of their taste, recoiling back to their old roman empire, bustling with activity, in pursuit of wisdom, with their own interest when they will be given dignity of freedom and more space to vent their feelings.

A K Singh is the member of Indian Forest Service in the Government of Karnataka. Write up is a metaphorical deep rooted satire, on the present state of affairs of life, verve and its vivacity of living habitat and surroundings. Contact: aksinghifs@gmail.com , +919481180956