By Vishal Gulati

New Delhi, Mar 7 (IANS): Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, is the Adi Kavi (first poet) who spontaneously uttered the first verse in the epic that begins with 'Manishada' when he was moved by the killing of a male bird to the utter agony of its partner.

The verse means, "You, who have killed one of a happy couple, may you not yourself live long!" It is believed that the avian couple was Saras, also spelt Sarus, crane, a non-migratory bird. It is the largest flying bird in the world.

A Saras couple is considered the most devoted. When one of them is killed or dies, the partner starts creaking till it can no longer creak and dies of agony. Small wonder that it is revered.

The Dhanauri wetland near Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh is home to about 100 Saras birds. It is also found in many north and Northeastern states. Its total population is about 8,000.

It was in search of this bird that journalist-turned-birder A.J. Philip went to Dhanauri in the company of two of his birder friends P.G. Rajeev and Ajit G. Maniyan. He published an e-book entitled 'Bird Photography: In Search of Saras' (Amazon.in, Rs 199).

Philip attributes his interest in bird photography to the first nationwide lockdown imposed to contain Covid-19. "I had nothing much to do at home. I had a Leica camera with a fixed 28-400 mm lens. As no vehicle moved those days, there was absolute silence, except for the chirping of birds.

"I noticed that the bird population had increased suddenly. There were many varieties of birds, some of them unseen there. I began shooting them from our little courtyard. I got one picture, which I uploaded on Facebook and raised money for an NGO, of which I was the chief executive at that time."

Philip, who held senior editorial positions in the Hindustan Times, the Indian Express and The Tribune, has been dabbling in photography for more than four decades.

"I had heard a lot about Saras birds from my friends. So when the lockdown was lifted, we went to Dhanauri in search of Saras. I had an astounding experience there.

"As I was looking for the birds, I found two Saras birds landing so closely. It was a stunning sight. Later, I watched the landing of India's first Rafale aircraft at Ambala in Haryana. The Saras landing was far more beautiful than the Rafale's. Unfortunately, I was so engrossed in watching the birds that I forgot to click."

The people who live in Dhanauri are poor but they never harm the birds. Of course, they have to pay a price for their affection. An adult Saras reaches a height of six feet and consumes about 500 gms of food, mainly grains, a day. It is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh.

However, birders fear that the birds may not survive in Dhanauri once the Noida International Airport, now under construction, becomes operational. The wetland is home to many other species of birds, as Philip realised while searching for Saras.

For instance, the weaver birds found in the area. They are the greatest architects in the world, building beautiful all-weather homes for themselves. Philip photographed a tree full of such nests.

The people of Dhanauri might not have heard about conservation but they are natural conservationists. They allow the birds to build nests and live there.

"Sometimes, snakes climb the tree to swallow the baby birds. If we see the snake, we drive them away," a resident told Philip. There are many bird photographers who go to Dhanauri regularly.

In 2021, two motorcycle-borne robbers snatched a photographer's camera bag and fled. The news spread among the birders who rallied behind the photographer and then complained to the police. Within a day, the robbers were arrested and the camera was recovered.

Photographers are never considered intruders in Dhanauri. In fact, two days after Philip visited the wetland, his friend P.G. Rajeev received a call from a village functionary that a Saras bird had laid eggs in a particular place.

Birders have their sources to inform them if a new species is sighted. Talking to IANS on Monday, Philip said his friend Manoj Nair photographed a black-necked stork. It had a ring struck around its beak which prevented it from eating or drinking.

Nair kept a vigil till the bird fell on the ground due to dehydration after a few days. The Forest Department built a special cage where food and water were given to the bird. When it recovered fully, it was released much to the satisfaction of birders the world over.

Responding to the threats of the Sarus crane, an unusual species in having adjusted to areas with a lot of farming, K.S. Gopi Sundar, Co-chair at IUCN Stork, Ibis and Spoonbill Specialist Group, told IANS this special is a strong indicator of the well being of rural India -- as concretisation increases, the Sarus declines.

The NCR region, especially Noida and Gurugram, have lost most of their Sarus underscoring the peril of rural livelihoods in these areas. Sarus also highlights areas with good water resources, mostly community-managed.

Their ongoing declines in Noida may well be the harbinger of water problems becoming much more acute in that region, adds Sundar, the Editor-in-Chief of Waterbirds: the International Journal of Waterbird Biology.

Uttar Pradesh, home to the largest global population of the breeding Sarus, is also the place in which the cranes found a conducive environment for the longest time.

Gujarat is next in terms of numbers followed by Rajasthan, while Haryana has relatively few breeding Sarus pairs.

Philip hopes that his book will inspire the readers to be bird lovers. As the saying goes, once a birder, always a birder!