Words : Doel Trivedi
Photos : Gautam Pandey ©

In an Endangered Paradise
       Keoladeo National Park, a world heritage site
      recognized by UNESCO, has over 300 species of birds...

Doel Trivedi, a project developer with Going To School (a group which makes high quality media for children in India), has worked on a number of wildlife and environmental documentaries. She also helps in the research and production of a one week science special on India for Discovery Channel. Gautam Pandey, her husband, is a filmmaker-cum-animator who presently works with Riverbank Studios, a film production company started by his father Mike H. Pandey, the internationally reputed filmmaker.

At the crack of dawn we piled ourselves into our car and headed off from Delhi towards the Keoladeo National Park, more popularly known after Bharatpur, which is the closest town. It was winter, one of the best times to visit the Bird Sanctuary. The sanctuary which was formed about 250 years ago is named after a Shiva temple which lies within its boundaries. It had evolved out of the wetland that got formed when Maharaja Suraj Mal built a dam. The place eventually became a popular hunting ground for the maharajas of Bharatpur and duck shoots were regularly organized in honor of the British Viceroys. Thousands of ducks were killed, it is said, on each hunting trip and it is even boasted that on one of these hunting trips a record number of 40,000 birds were hunted.

Today, it is a world heritage site recognized by UNESCO and has over 300 species of birds. Migratory birds from as far as Siberia used to fly down and make Bharatpur their winter home.

Smooth drive and smooth stay

Our drive down was quite smooth. We stopped on the way for some stuffed paranthas and steaming tea. Bharatpur is about 200 km from Delhi and 50 km from Agra. You have to take NH2 till you reach Mathura and from there, turn right. The turning in question is on top of a flyover and you will have to take a u-turn first to take the right turn. Once you take the right turn Bharatpur is only 40 km away.

' The hotel looked comfortable, the staff were friendly (they even make you a fire outside in the evenings), and the sanctuary gate was just a 5 minute walk from there 'Finding accomodation at Bharatpur was not at all difficult. There was a wide range of options available from the Laxmi Vilas Palace, a heritage hotel, to smaller budget hotels. Laxmi Vilas is a luxury hotel and offers all the comforts that you could possibly want. Everything about this place was big - the hotel itself, the grounds, the rooms and everything! The tariff coming around Rs.4000 did not include any meals. Though it was all fine the hotel was about 2 kms away from the sanctuary gate. We chose Hotel Sunbird, a budget hotel at Rs.1400 which covered breakfast. The hotel looked comfortable, the staff were friendly (they even make you a fire outside in the evenings), and the sanctuary gate was just a 5 minute walk from there. Right next to the Sunbird was a middle range hotel – the Birders Inn – with a tariff of Rs. 2,500 - Rs. 3,000. It too had comfortable rooms and a beautiful restaurant.

We reached Sunbird around lunchtime. After a fabulous Rajasthani lunch and a sufficient quantity of beer we hit the sack. The rooms were clean and cozy with hot running water. The park closes at sundown, so after a short nap and shower we headed out. After paying for the entry (Rs. 25 for Indians, Rs. 200 for foreigners), we decided to rent bicycles (Rs. 25 per hour). There was no charge for still cameras. (Note: prices can fluctuate according to season!)

Inside the park

Cars are not allowed inside the park. You can walk, rent a bicycle (or get your own), rent a rickshaw or an electric van to see around the park. The bicycles available on rent were possibly the most abused and broken down ones that I have ever ridden. It is better to bring your own bicycles. The second entry to the park was a kilometer away.

In the evening, the park was an out-and-out scene of activity. There was a different species wherever we looked, and they all seemed to have only one thing on their mind... food! Birds of all shapes and sizes from the Painted Storks to the little dab chick were at the lakes which were their buffet tables.

The Rickshaws of the jungle

As we had reached the park gate a little late there were none of the Government authorized rickshaws or guides available and so we had to do our best with a little bird book. Luckily we met Milkha singh, a rickshaw driver on the way out, and settled on a charge of Rs. 50 - 75 per hour.

Authorized rickshaws could be identified by a yellow tin board stuck on to them which says that they are government approved trained rickshaw drivers. The drivers undergo a 3 month long intensive training which imparts knowledge about the park, the birds and how to share information with visitors. They possessed a lot of information to give about the sanctuary and its residents; they know where to find the owlet or the pythons and are the best guides you can choose.

Back at the hotel we tucked in a delicious dinner and enjoyed a drink sitting next to fire before retiring for the night.

You have to be early for the birds and their songs!

5.30 am! After a quick cup of tea and breakfast we clambered into the rickshaw and sped towards the park gate. The idea was to be one of the first few in, before the birds got disturbed and moved further away from the road. The park in the morning was magical. Mist hung over the ground on either side of the road, with dry trees poking their branches through it. It was cold and a hat and jumper were needed for the morning. As the sun rose higher, the park also started waking up. We saw jackals, spotted deer, and flocks of brahminy mynahs. The Brahminy Mynah has been nicknamed so by Sanjay Dutt because of the way the feathers on the head appeared to be slicked back!

The rest of the day was as delightful. We saw dusky owls, nightjars, whistling ducks, India's tallest crane - the Sarus, Brahmany ducks, vultures, falcons, cormorants and hundreds of painted storks. One of the highlights was an area called Sankhla Point. From here we could see thousands of ducks in the water. Milkha Singh told us to wait and keep watching. After a while an eagle appeared and started circling above. As it got closer to the water the ducks spotted it and all of them took to air in panic. The sound of thousands of wings flapping together filled our ears and the ducks filled the sky. The scene was quite something.

Pythons too!

The next stop was the Python Point. Even rickshaws are not allowed here so it was all on foot from here. It was an area which was very different from the rest of the park … it was dry and hot unlike the shady and watery spots where the birds lived. Suddenly Milkha Singh went into a half crouch and told us to approach very quietly and slowly. There were two pythons sunbathing. As we crept closer we saw them - a beautiful pair of rock pythons sunning themselves. Unfortunately a twig snapped under my foot and within a flash the pair slid into their burrow. It was close to lunchtime and one of us had been smart enough to get some sandwiches packed from the hotel. So we headed to a quiet spot to sit and watch the birds while munching on our lunch. Spot bills, Spoon bills, Ibis, Mallards, Darters, and Grey Lag Geese … the list seemed endless!

A crumbling haven?

Satiated and brimming with new pieces of information about birds we had never seen before, we headed back to the hotel. Before retiring for the night I asked myself (Iam sure we all had the same thought) whether Keoladeo would be safe from the pressures of the growing cities, towns and tourists. The park was beautiful but we all had seen plastic bottles and empty packets of chips lying around. A few years ago the water was diverted from Bharatpur and the wetland had shrunk drastically. Many of the birds flew away to find other water sources. They were hunted in unprotected areas and the migratory populations took quite a hit. Even the Siberian cranes visiting India were hunted though they were known to be critically endangered. The last sighting of a Siberian crane was in 2001.

Luckily this year the water was let back in and the birds were back for another year. And so, will we be able to see Bharatpur, which was once a veritable paradise for all those birds, in all its glory again?

© travelbird