Koonthankulam (Tamil Nadu): It is not too difficult to find people making a living working for the disadvantaged, but it is indeed rare to find someone who gives up his earnings or even sells his possessions for the welfare of others. More so, if the ‘others’ refer to animals, who cannot speak and express their gratitude, for whatever one has done for them.

Yet, in rare instances, one does come across individuals of this kind. They may emerge in big cities, or in smaller towns, or as in our case, in a tiny village in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, called Koonthankulam.

Bal Pandi – a self taught bird-watcher and conservationist, was born and brought up amidst the calls of thousands of resident or migratory birds that visit Koonthankulam each year. As he grew, so did his passion for these winged visitors, whose welfare Pandi has dedicated his life for. Now with the support provided by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) under its Rapid Action Projects (RAP), Pandi continues his efforts – to keep birds in Koonthankulam safe.

Koonthankulam village itself has a lot to be praised for. For centuries, birds and people have co-existed here in a symbiotic relation, preserved through morals of tolerance, religion and a general respect for nature. As winter sets in, thousands of birds flock the tamarind and neem trees, and farmlands and waterbodies, nesting and rearing their young in the midst of the residents of Koonthakulam. Killing even a single bird at Koonthankulam earns the culprit a fate similar to the ancient mariner in Coleridge’s famed poem. He is paraded around the village with the dead bird hung around his neck. The villagers even refrain from the usual boisterous celebrations of Diwali, the largest Indian festival, as the noise of the crackers could disturb the birds. To most elders, the birds have been there as far as they can remember. Earlier generations used the guano dropped by them in their fields as natural fertilisers. Quite a contrast from the perception of birds as pests.

Historical records indicate an account of this village from one Reverend Charles Theophilus Edward Rhenius, who lived in Tirunelveli from 1814—38. Later in 1945, Webb-Peploe and in 1961 Margaret Wilkinson also reported on the village in the Journal of Bombay Natural History Society. Playing host to over 170 species, Koonthankulam is now a Bird Sanctuary and is one of the few havens for species like the grey pelican, which once numbered in millions.

Though every villager in Koonthankulam passionately believes in the conservation of birds, for Pandi, the conviction of their well-being surpasses the usual.

Every morning, he takes off to the heronry and scouts below the trees for any chicks which might have suffered nest-falls and are injured. They all find shelter at his home. Pandi patiently caters to their needs, foraging under the heronry for fish dropped from the nests and taking the stash for the chicks to feed on. So much so, Pandi and his wife have even pawned her gold ornaments to buy fish for the orphaned bird chicks.

“I have loved these birds as long as I can remember. But I didn’t know much about them. Then Dr George Silas gave me my first book. Salim Ali’s Book of Indian Birds,” Pandi recalls. Here on, started a life with the birds. The birds were brought closer when Dr Robert Grubb presented Bal Pandi his first pair of binoculars apart from more books on birds to satiate his curiosity.

The Bird Man of India, Dr Salim Ali came visiting to Koothankulam when Pandi was 18 years old. “I still remember how he complimented me for my interest in birds. All this encouraged me to study more about birds.”

Using his knowledge of birds acquired through keen observation and informal education over the years, in addition to hand-raising and rehabilitating displaced chicks, Pandi also safeguards the nests from poachers, vandals or ignorant tourists. He guides visiting ornithologists, photographers and bird-watchers and also spends time with local school children teaching them about birds and inculcating in them a sense of pride in their village’s natural heritage.

“The amount of work that Bal Pandi has done for the birds and the kind of sacrifices he has made is just amazing. We received a proposal from Suresh Elamon an eminent filmmaker, to support Pandi in his conservation efforts. This fitted perfectly under the Rapid Action Projects, the outreach arm of WTI that extends support to individuals like Pandi and grass roots organisations to address various conservation issues,” said Radhika Bhagat, Officer-in-Charge, Wild Aid division, WTI.

“WTI’s support was of immense help to me in attending to orphaned chicks that fell off their nest during this year’s nesting period in Koonthankulam. I was able to buy enough fish for the hungry birds and most of them survived to maturity. There were a few painted stork, grey pelican, spoonbill chicks and all of them flew away in good health,” says Pandi.