Birding at Palampur

After a long stay of 48 years at Palampur I had to relocate to Zirakpur near Chandigarh last year due to health reasons. But I keep going back to Palampur from time to time to be with my friends and other acquaintances as also to pursue my hobby of bird photography.Palampur is a birder's delight because of its rich diversity of common and not so common bird species. It is also a destination for some birds that migrate from the higher ranges during winter when there is snowfall.My favourite areas for bird photography around Palampur are Awarna, Saurabh Vanvihar, Kandi, Lohna, Wah Tea Estate, Bundla and Sungal. There may be others but I have not explored them. Of all the sites mentioned by me, I personally like Awarna village and its surrounding area along the water channel (Kuhl) that runs from near Neugal bridge to Awarna village. This area has a variety of bird species such as Long-tailed Minivet, Verditer Flycatcher, Blue-capped Rockthrush, Black Francolin, Crimson Sunbird, Fire-breasted Flowerpecker, Small Minivet, Rufous Sibia, Paradise Flycatcher etc. There are some birds which are present throughout the year which include Great Barbet, Blue-throated Barbet, Plum-headed Parakeet, Speckled Piculet, White-capped Redstart, Black Bulbul, Himalayan Bulbul etc. Then there are birds which I have photographed around Palampur but these are rarely seen such as Chestnut-headed Tesia, Bar-throated Minla, Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon and Scaly-breasted Cupwing. The enumerated list is not exhaustive, many of the birds that I have photographed are not included and there may be many more that I have not encountered so far. However everytime that I go birding at Palampur I am rewarded with sighting of bird species not seen before. During my recent visit in the last week of February 2025 I photographed Bar-winged Flycatcher and Slaty-blue Flycatcher for the first time. Birding at Palampur is always a very satisfying and enriching experince but I hope the ongoing rapid building activity in the area does not destroy the bird and wildlife habitat. If that happens it will be great a loss for wildlife enthusiasts.

Visiting old memories

 Yesterday I visited Patiala to pay obeisance at a temple in the city. I have connection to this town dating back to early fifties. In fact the family moved to this princely city in 1950 when I was about 7 years old. I went to school and college there before joining Medical College at Srinagar in J&K. After staying in the city for 2-3 years the family relocated to a village which was somewhat midway between Patiala and Rajpura town. The village was called Kauli. Incidentally kauli or katori , called a pannikin in English language, is something we use on the dinning table. I have no idea how this place came to be known as such. But this is the place where I grew up and most of my memories of early childhood and adolescence pertain to this place only. 

My father came to this village to manage a big agricultural farm. The road from Patiala to Rajpura passed through the farm. And there was a small railway station, too, known by the same name as the village. We lived on the premises of the farm. It was quite a spacious house built of mortar and bricks with basic amenities like clean water and electricity. It was a carefree living with open space to move around and plenty of fresh vegetables and pure milk for nourishment. Adulteration of food articles was unheard of in those good old days. The time not spent in studies was used to play "Gulli-danda" with boys of my age, riding a bicycle which, incidentally, was my favourite pastime. As I grew up I learned to drive a tractor, and sometimes plough the fields with it. My first driving license was for a tractor ! I learnt a little bit about farming  practices too.  The time spent at the farm is part of golden years of my life. Then in 1962 I bid adieu to this place and moved to Srinagar to study medicine . But  I would visit my parents there during the winter breaks. Then my parents moved to our home town Nalagarh in Himachal in 1971 and I lost touch with Kauli.

As the road that I took to visit Patiala passed through Kauli, I decided to look up the place. As is the case with every village, town and city in our country, a lot of construction has taken place, some times at the cost of existing structures. The imposing buildings at the farm, like offices, carpentry and storerooms, garages for farm machinery, bins for the farm produce had been razed with no sign left of having any of them being there. In the absence  of these landmarks it was with some difficulty that I located the place. The farm had long since been sold there were precious little memories that I could revisit. But luckily for me the house in which I lived and grew up in was still there though with some additions and alterations. I took out my mobile and clicked a picture of the house. 

Kauli Rail Station (inside)

Next I visited the Kauli rail station where I would frequently go with my elder brother to watch the trains come and go and sometimes travel in them too. In those days there was only on big imposing building which housed the Station Master's office and the ticket-office and a small waiting room. But I was shocked to see that structure had been demolished to make way for a spanking new rail station. I was told by the Station Master that the old building was constructed in 1895. It could have been preserved as a heritage building ! But alas !! So there was precious little left of the memories of the place that I could revisit ! With a heavy heart I resumed my journey. Those buildings, those structures may be gone for ever but the memories of my childhood spent at Kauli will always remain with me. I can take comfort in that.

The house where I grew up

Kauli Rail Station (outside)

THEN AND NOW

I grew up in a liberal milieu prevalent in our home. We were taught to be respectful towards our elders and respect religious feelings of others. India had recently become independent from the foreign rule. My parents had lived in a mixed society before independence and  there was an atmosphere of bonhomie amongst the communities. It was but natural that I was free from any religionistic baggage. Then in 1962 I went to Srinagar in J&K to study  Medicine at Medical College there. Srinagar and the valley, though beautiful, was unlike my own. The language and the culture was different from in which I grew up. Even the Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits), though coreligionist, had different customs and cultural practices. But it didn't take much time for me to assimilate in that milieu. I made friends with fellow students from both Hindu and Muslim sects. Things were much better in those days with no overt conflict between the two communities. The customs and culture of the two were different but the common language and centuries of living together bound them. Consequent upon the partition of the country based on two nation theory and the manner of the  Jammu and Kashmir state's accession to the Indian Union , political undercurrents were present but in social and cultural interaction between the communities there was harmony. Tourists from other parts of the country and from foreign land would flock to the valley during the summers contributing to the economy of the state. Also there was massive aid coming to J&K from the Union government the state's own resources being meagre. The younger generation had opportunities to go for higher and professional studies, both in the state and other parts of the country. Students from poor socio-economic background were provided with loans by the state government to pursue higher education in general as well as professional streams. After all  takes a massive monetary investment by the state to provide professional education and this bill is footed by every tax payer of the country, that is India. The recipients of higher education are expected to repay in some measure to the society by serving them in some way. A large number of  students from the majority community of my alma mater, after obtaining specialization in their chosen fields, left for foreign shores for better life and for pursuing still higher studies They were supposed to serve the people of the state and provide them with better medical care after completion of their studies. Some did return but most of them chose to stay back. By virtue of the good professional education that they received courtesy the taxpayers of this country, they have made big in those foreign lands. Surely they achieved this by dint of hard work and good professional acumen, but they did abandon their own people. Sadly these days I come across  posts by some of these worthies on the social media describing themselves as slaves of the Indian state. Slaves who received good education paid for by the Indian taxpayers that enabled them to earn riches in foreign lands, live a comfortable life, live in palatial houses and build luxurious houses back home and yet they call themselves slaves! Things started to deteriorate in J&K in the 70s. The mutual distrust between the two communities increased, aided ably by the disgruntled politicians and our neighbour to the west. And then 1990 happened ! Hapless Kashmiri Pundits were forced to flee their hearth and home and forced to become refugees, euphemistically called 'migrants', in their own country. It was a well orchestrated effort at the ethnic cleansing of the Pundit community from the valley. These so called 'slaves' were complicit in this nefarious plan. None of these worthies have the courage to come forward and denounce what happened to the Kashmiri Pundit brethren. They have proved themselves to be cowards and lacking in moral courage to speak about, and condemn the unspeakable atrocities committed on the Pundit community. While they moan about conditions prevalent presently in the valley, there is hardly any thought for the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits. They seem to suffer from mass amnesia. They behave as if the Pandit community never existed. The minority community, that is, Pundits, has suffered tremendously. The majority community of the valley is complicit by choosing to remain silent, not speaking out. They should realize that Kashmir and Kashmiriyat is incomplete without Kashmiri Pandits. One can't think of Kashmir without Kashmiri Pandits. The famed 'Jannat on earth' will always be incomplete without them.

Thoughts on Indian Elections...

This year I came to the US in the middle of October to be with my sons and siblings and also celebrate the festival season. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New-Year are the important festivals which are celebrated with great fanfare and enthusiasm here in this country. Back home the elections to the state assemblies in Gujarat and my home state Himachal Pradesh were approaching. Though the Election Commission had not yet issued the official notification to this effect, yet the election fever was catching on. There was more interest in the Gujarat election as it would be a make or break situation for both the opposition and the ruling dispensation. I didn't mind missing the show. Thankfully it is over now. Recently at a small gathering of friends here in the US somebody commented on the tenor of various utterances by political figures during the course of campaigning in these elections. A very valid observation no doubt. And I quite agree. Come to think about it, in the last few elections the standard of political discourse has seen a steady decline. The pertinent issues are given a go by, the focus is on denigrating the opponents. Those in power and those out of it unabashedly indulge in this behavior. The guiding 'Mantra' is stoop-to-conquer, stoop as low as you can ! But why blame those who aspire to rule us. They are only speaking in the language that electorate likes to hear ! Why grumble if the politicians pander to our desire to hear such sleazy and partisan rhetoric ?  The masses seem to enjoy such drivel. We have become so parochial in our vision that we are swayed by caste, creed and regional considerations. We are woefully lacking in distinguishing between right and wrong. Do we care for what is good for us as a nation or our greed has taken the better of our reasoning ? Every community wants some kind of reservation for them and the unscrupulous politicians are ever ready to promise the moon in there quest for power. Whatever happened to that adage 'First deserve then desire' ? So my countrymen do not cry for we get the Caesar that we deserve ! Or we get to hear what we want to believe !!

Of Gurus and God-men...

Presently I happen to be in Chandigarh and what a visit it is turning out to be. I came here for a medical check-up, but it appears that it will have to wait. Chandigarh and its satellite cities  of Panchkula and Mohali are in a state of upheaval. All this because  of an impending court verdict on a 'rape accused' on friday the 25th by a CBI court in Panchkula in Haryana. That the 'accused' also happens be a 'god-man' with a huge following in the states of Haryana and Punjab has added to the chaos.There has been a large influx of his followers into the region  as a show of solidarity and the administration has responded by bringing in additional security personnel to maintain the law and order. How the situation evolves will be apparent in a few hours time when the verdict is pronounced.

Let us stop for a moment and ponder how did the gurus of bygone era metamorphose into the god-men of the present era. The institution of 'God-men' is of recent origin, it came into being in the last century only. The 'Guru-shishya' tradition prevalent for ages denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in traditional Indian culture where teachings and knowledge were transmitted from a guru (teacher) to a shishya (disciple). The former took the responsibility for the spiritual well-being and progress of the latter. The word 'Guru' is so profound that 'teacher' or 'guide' are inadequate terms to describe the meaning of the word. The disciple desired to acquire knowledge from the teacher but this did not mean unquestioning acceptance of all that the teacher said. Even Arjuna in the Gita questions Sri Krishna on many occasions.

'God-men' is a colloquial term used in India for a type of charismatic 'gurus'. They usually have a high-profile presence and are capable of attracting attention from a large sections of the society. They claim to possess para-normal powers and an ability to influence future events. As in Hinduism there is no centrally established religious authority, so people tend to follow such personalities. These so called 'god-men' even enjoy patronage of politicians and high ranking bureaucrats. People look, not for knowledge or spiritual emancipation, but seek worldly comforts and materialistic possessions and the 'god-men' take advantage of such greed. The result is a 'Cult-following' of such charlatans !

Random Thoughts !

Another year is coming to a close and everybody is getting ready to ring in the new. Looking back, the high point of the year was my visit to the US to spend time with my son and his family. While there I had the opportunity watch the preliminary rounds of the great American slug-fest - the fight for the American presidency. The result was a surprise for everybody. Back home it was the 'Demonetisation' and we are still feeling the aftershocks.Without going into the merits or demerits of the decision taken by the government I feel that the common man has taken the hardships thus caused in his stride. It is the political class that is shedding copious crocodile tears on behalf of the 'Aam Aadmi'. We have seen such shenanigans in the past too and they are welcome to it.
Talking of the coming year everybody has expectations. People look to it from their own perspective. To the young it holds the promise of new vistas to explore, new challenges to confront and overcome. Dreams of new relationships and beginning of a new life ! For them time is like an endless ocean to sail into. That is as it should be for the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.It was no different for the likes of me in our heydey. However, things are not the same now that we are getting on in age. Everyday that goes by is a bonus. We look for ways to pass the time. Some urdu poet has described this dilemma in a couplet :
                                        'Fikr-e-maash, ishq-e-butaan, yaad-e-raftgaan,
                                         Iss zindagi mein ab koi kya karey ?'
(concern for livelihood, love of women,memories of the past, what else is there left to man in his life)
Not exactly. There are a few things which can keep us occupied and help break the monotony such as gardening, pursuing some hobby, listening to music and the company of books. I find reading by far the best. It adds to the knowledge and stimulates the mind , not forgetting that it helps to relax.
I had the pleasure of reading some books. I choose books based on the reviews in the popular press or, at times, by the title of the book. A few were fictional works which helps the mind to relax. And some were thought provoking , 'Being Mortal' by Atul Gawande was one such book. Some were simply'Soul-searing' like 'From Home to House' and 'A Long Dream of Home'. These two are anthologies of writings by Kashmiri Pandits living in exile in their own country. Every contributor has something to say about the pain of leaving their homes, the inhuman conditions in which they had to live for more than two decades in the refugee camps, their yearning to go back to their roots. They are the children of snow and mountains living in the stark and scorched plains without any sense of belonging. A lost and scattered people living in the elusive hope of returning to valley from which they were brutally forced to flee. Not satisfied with the ethnic cleansing of the community from the valley their religious and cultural symbols are being destroyed.
A community is dispossessed of its home and hearth,  in danger of losing its language, its identity and its glorious heritage in its own country and the nation remains silent. What a shame ! Will the new year be any different for them ?

Footloose in the US of A

My six months long visit to the US is coming to an end and time to head home to Palampur. During this period I received lots love, care, and affection from my son Abhinav and daughter-in-law Ritu . A wonderful time that I had visiting places in their company and also in the company of my two sisters who are also in the US. This is my third visit to this country in about ten years. As always it has been a very enjoyable trip having experienced a bit of autumn, summer, and a bit to fall too. And a variety of food to eat and lovely places to see.Every time I go back I carry happy memories that last me till my next visit. What wonderful people, working hard, being honest and so law abiding. They work hard and have means to enjoy the fruit of their labour. It is not, as if, there are no poor here but they also manage to eke out some kind of living. And then there is the Social Security available to the citizens. Like in any other democracy elsewhere the law bestows rights to the people and expects them to shoulder responsibilities too. Social and civic obligations are discharged in a routine manner.

Both India and the USA are referred to as the big democracies of the world, one is the biggest and the other oldest. Let us have a look at the constitution of the two countries. The US constitution is around 30 odd pages long adopted in 1776. It has seven articles and 27 amendments to it. The first ten amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights, were adopted in 1791. These define the liberties that the citizen enjoys and are secure from infringement. Its simplicity is admirable. The First Amendment "prohibits making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing the freedom of press, interfering with the right of peaceful assembly , or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances." The framers of the American constitution had the foresight to  adopt a constitution that is relevant even after 225 years ! The individual's life and liberty are valued and protected. Nobody, even the high and mighty are above the law. Sometimes back a US president had to resign his office because the offices of the party in opposition was broken into with his tacit approval. US coins bear the inscription "In God We Trust" and every body is free to practice his or her religion and religious practices with hindrance from any quarter, public or governmental. In comparison the Constitution of  India is the longest written constitution with 395 articles and 8 schedules. Citizens are promised liberty, freedom of speech and other such freedoms, 'Secularism' is professed. But these are observed more in violations. Dictionary defines the word Secular as 'Not concerned with or related to religion.' However, the political masters have given the word a totally different meaning. The religious feelings of various sects are played upon to garner political power or create dissension among the followers of different faiths for political gain. Many laws enacted during the colonial period still find mention, probably to be used against political opponents or to deal with inconvenient dissent. Relatives and cohorts of the political satraps are above the law. An innocuous comment referring to some political personality or event can easily bring you in conflict with the law and may result in incarceration. So much for the various freedoms that are promised. One's dietary preference, based on religious leanings, may result in death. So much for religious freedom. One can go on ad nauseam.

I digress. It is so easy to get carried away in such matters. While returning home from such sojourns one is invariably tempted to material goods that appeal to our taste or helps improve the physical comforts. These come at some cost to us and plays havoc with the free baggage allowance allowed by the airlines. It is a matter of personal choice, to each his own. Won't it be appropriate if along with the material goods and pleasant memories of the stay we also carry with us a resolve to be more respectful of our laws and better awareness about our social and civic responsibilities and discharge them with sincerity ? It is a thought !