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Ruddyshel Ducks : The story of the Brahminy Ducks or Chakwa Chakwi in India

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Ruddyshel Ducks  The story of the Brahminy Ducks or Chakwa Chakwi in India The term 'Love Birds' applies perfectly to the Ruddy Shelducks also known as Brahminy ducks and Chakwa-Chakwi in India. These are migratory annual visitors to the wetlands and lakes of many parts of India including Assam. In Assam these birds can be seen from great proximity in the Dibru Saikhowa National park. Named as Brahminy due to their Saffron colour that resembled Saffron robes of Brahmins or Holy men in ancient India, these birds are also revered as sacred by the Buddhists and known as 'Birds of Lama'.   Brahminy ducks are known for fidelity as pairs mate fo r life and it is said that if one dies, the other starves to death. So, in some cultures killing this bird is prohibited. The Indian story goes that a sage was disturbed during his meditation by the playful noise of two lovers. The sage getting angry due to their 'sin' of indiscretion, curses
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Khonoma village, Nagaland

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Khonoma village, Nagaland Khonoma village claims to be the first Green village in India. Situated about 20 kms from Kohima the capital of Nagaland, a state in Northeastern part of India, Khonoma is an Angami Naga tribal village. There are 16 major tribes in Nagaland, Angami being one of them.              Entrance gate with traditional motifs. A picturesque village on top of a hill, Khonoma has about 500 households.  Beautiful terraced rice fields in the valley below surrounded by hills is a sight to behold. Khonoma has adopted many green practices like banning cutting of trees for commercial purposes, reforestation, sustainable agricultural practices etc. to maintain the greenery and natural ecosystem of the surrounding areas. People can hike around the village in the many paved walkways dotted with pretty flowers and exotic orchids enjoying the panoramic views all around.  Smaller roads takes one inside the village where on
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Jeypore Rainforest, Dibrugarh

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Jeypore Rainforest : An Enigma A friend had once asked ‘ What is so special about going on a safari inside a Jungle ? ’ I tried to give an appropriate reply and came up with ‘A Jungle breathes life into you’.. To further elucidate my line I narrated an incident that happened in Jeypore Rainforest couple of years back. For those who do not know Jeypore rainforest is the only rainforest in Assam and is located about 65 kms from Dibrugarh town. Also known as Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary it has very thick vegetation and is home to many beautiful and interesting species of plants, animals, birds and insects. Some people call it the ‘Amazon of the East’. On this particular day I had accompanied an elderly couple from Germany on their visit to the rainforest. The guests were widely travelled and now wanted to travel to lesser known places in the world. We had made a special itinerary for them covering villages and forests in Northeast India to get an authentic experience of the pla
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