Romancing the birds

During my recent visit to Odisha, after I completed the oft-opted triangular tour of Bhubaneshwar, Puri and Konark, I became aware that the trip would be incomplete without a boat cruise across the famous Chilika Lake and sightings of the dancing dolphins and migratory winged beauties there. The two-and-a-half hour journey by road from Bhubaneshwar to Chilika was a pleasant one as I traversed lush fields, went across River Daya and sojourned the small village of Pipili, famous for embroidery ware and Odishi handicrafts. After half-an-hour’s drive from Puri, I inhaled the unmistakable fishy smell of the waters. Then, I faced the large expanse of the Chilika Lake, which slowly emerged on the horizon.

My guide explained that the lake was a brackish water lagoon at the mouth of River Daya flowing into the Bay of Bengal, engulfing parts of Puri, Khordha and Ganjam, in Odisha. Covering an area of over 1,100 sq km, it is the largest coastal lagoon in India. A seaport existed here earlier, which is mentioned by the Chinese travellers Fa-Hien and Hiuen-Tsang. Also, history says the British are believed to have entered the shores of this lake, reached Puri and occupied Odisha in 1803.

After freshening up at a hotel on the banks of the lake, I proceeded to a jetty nearby where motorboats (for hire) bobbed. In a boat exclusive for my family, I began a three-hour cruise across the expansive waters.

Aquatic show

The north-west side of the lake is the perfect dolphin viewpoint. So, as I stationed there in a boat, dancing to the tunes of the little waves, out jumped a school of dolphins and then dived gracefully back into the water. I stood in awe as they frolicked again and again.

The lake is the only habitat in India for the Irrawaddy Dolphin (Oracella brevirostris), an endangered species with a round head, varying from grey to dark slate blue in colour, and measuring up to 8 ft in length, vouched the guide. They are also found in the waters of Sunderbans mangrove forests of Bangladesh, the Irrawaddy river in Myanmar, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. Their social group number is six to seven and they subsist on fish. The dolphin count in the lagoon nearby is estimated as 130, including a few calves.

Dolphin tourism is the major source of income for many locals. I was told that more than 200 motorboats operate there, assuring every tourist a sight of the happy mammals. Unfortunately, there have been quite a few accidental dolphin deaths either because they got caught in the fishing nets and hooks, or were hit by motorboats.

Nalabana Island is where I reached next. Deemed as a bird sanctuary, it is right in the middle of the lake, covering an area of 15 sq km. Nalabana means ‘a weed-covered island’ in Oriya. According to my guide, the island submerges during the monsoon season. As the monsoon recedes, the island emerges with shrubs and short trees. This is a ready den for innumerable migratory birds that flock here to feed, breed and raise their brood every year, from October to June.

Some travel for over 12,000 km. They come from the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal and remote parts of Russia, Mongolia, Siberia and the Himalayas. I saw a few water birds perched on trees, a few in their nests feeding their young ones and others darting across the waters. I held the sight of the flamingos feeding on fish in the shallow waters. Their long, pink legs rose to pinnacles of snowy white bodies splashed with the colour pink, which glistened in the sun. Birds, birds everywhere! And the sounds of their varied chirping filled the air like the musical harmony of a choir.