JOIN USKhichan's a big draw for Mongolian cranes
Whenever we plan for a holiday destination, images of the imposing Taj Mahal, Goa beaches, Varanasi riverfront, Rajasthan citadels or a monumental temple in South India props up in our thoughts. However, if the mind is dreaming of a place where the crowd, chaos and cacophony don’t threaten the senses and still there is something amazing to see and experience, then Khichan, a small rural hamlet in the Thar Desert region of Rajasthan, pledges to meet the need.
A nearly three hour drive from familiar Rajasthan hotspots Jaisalmer or Jodhpur takes you to this sleepy village that hasn’t yet been strongly on the radar of human tourists but for over four decades has been extremely popular with cranes from Mongolia, Russia and North China. They are named Demoiselle by the 18th-century French queen Marie Antoinette for their grace. Every year, around early October, when winter sets in their breeding grounds, they, in large numbers, fly almost 5,000 km across the Himalayas to reach warmer Khichan for their sabbatical vacation for the next six months.
Their arrival transforms sleepy Khichan into a unique bird sanctuary, worth visiting not just to see the avian spectacle, but also to appreciate how the local villagers follow the age-old tradition of Atithi Devo Bhava and look after the overseas guests during their six-month stay. This includes a dedicated plan to organise 2,000 kg of cereal grains for their meals every day.
During the day the birds can be spotted around the sand dunes, waterbodies, bushlands and neighbouring salt pans, but the best exhibition is early in the morning when they congregate at a village courtyard where the local villagers lay the food for them.
Truly, it’s a sight to behold watching thousands of these grey bodied, red-eyed, two-legged graceful creatures with a long black neck, pure white plumes and a wingspan of over a metre descending on the scattered grains to fill their bellies. From a distance, the feeding panorama looks like a patch of grey and black flipping up and down on a splash of yellow. Few exciting things amaze onlookers. The birds do not enter the ring until it’s clear of all humans. Before plunging, they wait and watch the space from nearby sand dunes and begin to descend only after receiving instructions from their leader who can be easily recognised. As the feeding arena, often referred to as the open-air cafeteria, has limited capacity, it’s incredible to observe the way the first batch of droves descend, eat and fly out to make room for the next.
“Warm weather and easy access to food draw them here,” says 40-year-old Sevaram Mali who has dedicated his life to the welfare of these winged creatures flying to Khichan since the early 70s. Initially, the numbers were very low, all fed by villager Ratan Lal Maloo in his backyard. He was a Jain, and feeding the birds was a part of his religious routine. However, as the news of food availability got passed on by the cranes on return, season after season more and more started flocking into Khichan.
“The current numbers are estimated to be around 35,000,” informs Sevaram who not only maintains a logbook on their movement but also takes care of any birds falling sick or wounded during their stay. He also fights insistently with local electricity authorities to get overhead powerlines, which can often become death traps for the large-winged cranes, replaced with underground cables. His efforts are well appreciated by the local and international media as a commendable example of the human-animal relationship.
As a result of this hype, Khichan has been slowly drawing attention in the domestic and international tourism circuits as a bird refuge worth visiting. During the Indian winter months, it’s increasingly finding a spot as a day trip in the itineraries for tourists visiting popular destinations of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner from where Khichan is less than a four-hour drive.
How to get there: Khichan is less than 200 km by road from Jodhpur or Jaisalmer, connected by air, rail and road.
When to go: October to March.