Koonthankulam A Village with Wings There are quite a few people who watch what the crows do. We see them every day but know little about them and their activities. Needless to say that most of us do not know green barbet and pitta. This is not a big crime in a world where most parents do not observe what their children are doing while they are at the college or at the hostel till they find out that the child is a drug addict. Quality of observing the nature is deteriorating rapidly in a society where money alone matters. We need to train our next generation at least to become keen observers of nature. Bird watching inculcates a good habit of observation power and an interesting hobby to cherish. It is only 125 kms. to travel to reach Koonthankulam for a person residing in Trivandrum, India. Koonthankulam is just like any other village in Tamil Nadu, lush with babul bushes (a thorny bush found all around Tamil Nadu and other parts of India, leaves almost similar to that of a tamarind tree). For those who travel from Trivandrum, they need to pass Nagercoil to take the road to Tirunelveli and turn towards east (right) at Nanguneri (few kilometers after Valliyoor) to reach Koonthankulam, in around 3 hours journey in a motor car. From January to August, this little village and adjoining places are in a festive mood with thousands of birds nesting and hatching all over the trees seen around. There is a vast pond or we call it an irrigation tank with babul trees emerging out of water, which provide a safe nesting place for the migratory birds from Siberia and Germany. Each household in the village takes care of the birds and their falling chicks nested on the trees adjoining to their houses. May be they consider these birds as harbingers of luck. This is the only village in the entire Tamil Nadu where crackers are not made an integral part of the Diwali festival; and for them it is Green Diwali. Even children playing cricket under a tree where birds Bar-headed Goose January 2011ď ŽExecutive Knowledge Linesď Ž33
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