Khichan
Khichan is a sleepy village located 150 km north of Jodhpur in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan. Towards the end of August, just after the monsoon has ceased, it undergoes an amazing transformation—the sound of ‘krok-krok’ calls fill the air and the sky darkens as thousands of Demoiselle cranes fly in from their breeding grounds in Eurasia and Mongolia.
It all began in the 1970s when one Jain family began to feed wild birds in their backyard. A small number of Demoiselle cranes were among them. Every year, more feed was put out till their numbers swelled. Today, around 25,000 cranes arrive here and stay on till March.
The villagers have created a rectangular enclosure especially for these cranes where they consume up to 5000kg of bird seed every morning. The birds spend the rest of the day at water bodies nearby, drinking and eating pebbles (which helps them digest the grains). At night, they roost in the salt beds 30km away. The smallest of the crane species, the Demoiselle crane is an elegant grey-plumaged bird with fiery red eyes. These birds travel almost 4000 km across the Himalayas to spend the winter in India.
To protect them from feral dogs, the villagers have built a fenced bird-feeding home with a granary. Even those who have left to trade elsewhere, send home money to ensure a steady supply of grains. When a few cranes got electrocuted by the high powered lines surrounding Khichan, one resident got a power line removed from the cranes’ flight path and another line was laid underground.
The residents of Khichan, many of whom are Jains, consider it a religious duty to look after the demoiselle cranes. Called kuraj orkurja in the local language, they find mention in folk songs going back almost a hundred years.
Khichan today is recognised as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) by Bird Life International, a global partnership of NGOs that works to conserve birds and their habitats. It has emerged as a tourist spot, attracting bird-lovers and photographers.
