Peacock Sanctuary In India

The Largest Peacock Sanctuary In India

Most of us  haven’t seen even one peacock dance.  Can you  imagine what  it would be like to watch more than 100 of them spread out their colourful feathers and sway to the sounds of  monsoon and thunder.. ? Yes, if you are lucky you can see these grand spectacle during the rainy season in the Naigon   Morachi Chincholi Peacock Sanctuary in Maharashtra, which has nearly 3500 peacocks in its domains and is India’s largest sanctuary for peacocks.

One could almost miss the entrance to village  Chincholi  Morachi, 45 km  from the industrial  town of Chakn near Pune, if not for an arch with two peacocks  made of cement on it.  The name of the village itself  speaks  about its uniqueness.  Chincholi  comes from the Marathi Chincha,  tamaraind,  and Morachi from Mor peacock.  The village  owes  its name to the tamarind  trees  and peacocks  that abound here.   “There have always  been peacocks  in our village”, said Shivaji Baburao Nanekar, a farmer.  “No one is allowed to kill them”  said Kamaltai, Nanekar’s wife and added “Once a visitor killed a peacock.  We had him arrested and buried  the bird respectfully.  For us  peacock  is like God.  After all, it is God Kartikeyas’  vehicle”.

Legend has it that there was a saint called Mathersaheb Dev at the village  whom people revered a lot. The saint used to feed peacocks grains from his hand. The peacocks used to frequent his cottage. The harmony between the saint and the peacocks was legendary. Once a someone hit a peacock with a stone, trapped it and later killed it. When the saint heard about this, he was deeply grieved and pronounced a curse: whoever had inflicted pain on the peacock would go blind. The words rang true and the man lost his eyesight. He came imploring to the saint to give him back his vision. The saint told the man, “It is possible only if you make an offering of a peacock made of silver to the village temple.” The man complied and got back his eyesight. This legend is so deeply embedded in the psche of the 500-odd residents of Chincholi Morachi that they treat peacocks as god, a symbol of divinity There are mainly two reasons for the burgeoning peacock population. The hills around Ahmednagar are formed by a stone and soil mixture known as Deccan Trap and the red soil, mixed with gravely-textured rock chips, keeps the monsoon moisture locked under the top soil layer for many months after the last rains have fallen. The air is humid and warm and the tree symbol of divinity There are mainly two reasons for the burgeoning peacock population. The hills around Ahmednagar are formed by a stone and soil mixture known as Deccan Trap and the red soil, mixed with gravely-textured rock chips, keeps the monsoon moisture locked under the top soil layer for many months after the last rains have fallen. The air is humid and warm and the tree cover remains thick throughout the year. This environment is ideally suited to the growth of peacocks.

Local people have developed an incredible rapport with peacocks in  Chincholi Morachi. This relationship has to be seen to be believed. What’s most interesting is that these residents take care of the peacocks, despite the fact that the birds venture into their farms and cause damage to standing crops. Although the government has set Rs 2,000 as compensation for one hectare of grain loss, the locals do not avail it. The common refrain is: the peacock is our God and it is our privilege that it eats our crops.

Every morning , Kamaltai gives grains to peacocks that come  to her house. Some of them are so used to  the villagers  that they return to the houses where they are fed at night.   The locals  do not want anyone to invade the peace of the sanctuary. But many do. Recollects Puru Bai, “Earlier, people belonging to the Pardi community used to come and throw nets to catch peacocks. My father used to shoo these people away. At that time, there was no forest department to help us. Now, if anybody creates a nuisance in the sanctuary, we inform the foresters.”. Ganesh Chincholikar another resident  says  “If we find suspicious-looking elements, we get in contact with the Range Forest Officer (RFO) and tell him about their movements.” Sanjay reveals many outsiders (tourists) come to their dhaba and offer to pay Rs 2,000 if they get them peacock meat, but are given a stern warning and told to leave.

The RFO R S Gavhand says tree cover is important to sustain peacock population. However, the biggest problem is that of cattle grazing. It is for this reason that the forest department has started planting neem, sitaphal, mangoes etc on the undulating terrain of the sanctuary But the RFO is confident that with the participation of the local residents, the forest department will be able to succeed in its attempt. He reveals that when a recent fire broke out, it was these people who helped him combat it. Says Gavhand, “We ensured that the peacocks did not get touched by the blaze even though many of us burnt our hands in dousing the flames.” However, every February, at the end of the winter, the birds shed their feathers in the natural course of their growth, and forest folk collect these to sell to tourists

There are basic facilities available for visitors coming to see the peacocks.  Best times to see the peacocks are in early morning and six p.m in the evening. If you were to reach the place at 8 a.m in the morning you can stay with one of the village homes  see the peacocks by 6 p.m and return to Pune. This tourist service that includes half days’s stay  will cost you 250 rupees including your breakfast and lunch. If you want to stay overnight so that you can see the peacocks in the morning, then the one day stay costs you 700 rupees per person. (• If you are planning for overnight stay ( 1 day & 1 night )  Check In/Out : 10:00AM).   One day trip includes, Snacks, delicious  lunch with full of desi ghee & tea/milk ) provided by the villagers accommodating you. Lunch  is  typical rural Maharashtrian fare – Bhakri (thick chapatis or bread made of white millet flour), matki (a dish with sprouts), turi chi Bhaji (dish made with ridge gourd), daal (pulses) and Bhaat (Rice), and all of us tucked in with gusto. You can contact the tour coordinator Mr. T.M.Thopate  at e mail tanmaya@chincholimorarchi.com

The Central Government has not earmarked any fund for the sanctuary and the money that comes from the State Government is a trickle, only Rs 1.2 lakh annually on an average. Protecting a 29.90 square kilometre sanctuary with such a budget is close to impossible.  But recently the Maharashtra Government has sanctioned 50 lakhs for building the infrastructure facilities at Chincholi Morarchi and 20 lakhs for building a guesthouse at the village for visitors coming to see the peacocks. Let us hope that this will make Chincholi-Morarchi a grand success as a tourist spot.

Gaurimarg to Gulmarg

Amongst various tourist spots of Kashmir, Gulmarg happens to be the most frequented place. Like in the past, this year too thousands of people, including tourists from various places visited the green meadows of Gulmarg.

However, besides being a place of tourist attraction in the present times, Gulmarg is historically important as well. Ever since the rule of Chak dynasty in Kashmir, Gulmarg has been a place of attraction for royal families.

Gulmarg originally served as grazing fields and was called ‘Gaurimarg` the name of Lord Shiva's wife by shepherds. It was in the 16th century that the name was changed to ‘Gulmarg’ by ruler of the Chak dynasty, Yousuf Shah Chak.

“It was called Gulmarg because the fragrance of flowers would fill the air all the time. ‘Gul’ means flowers and ‘marg’ means abode,” says writer Zareef Ahmad Zareef.

Gulmarg is believed to have been favorite haunt of Mughals, particularly that of Jahangir. However the development popularity and development of Gulmarg came with the British rule in India.

“Gulmarg was the most favorite place of Britishers. They lived in tents there,” Zareef Ahmad said. Golf was also introduced in Gulmarg by the Britishers. It is believed that Britishers opened it for golf lovers in the year 1904 and started the golf club. Today Gulmarg has the highest golf course in the world.

“When Britishers lived in Gulmarg they started writing about it and inviting people to this place which in a way marketed Gulmarg,” said Zareef. He says that the ambience of Gulmarg was calm and serene, with no noise or pollution which served as best environment for recreation to people.

Zareef added that other tourist places like Pahalgam were non existent. The place was unknown to the common people of Kashmir and was visited only by elites.

“It was because of the shrine of Baba Rishi that common people of Kashmir started visiting Gulmarg,” reveals Zareef. Shrine of Baba Rishi is located few kilometers from Gulmarg.

Gradually, Gulmarg began to be developed for resorts and hotels to provide facilities for visitors. All construction work was done in wood.

Situated 56 kilometers from Srinagar city, today Gulmarg is a major tourist destination of Kashmir. It is the only places here which support winter tourism, with highest Ski slopes in the world. Different developmental works are being undertaken to make it a world class tourist destination. Nonetheless, no attention is being given to the rising pollution level of the place.