When a bird’s cry becomes a poem – GetBengal story
Badal-rate dakile ‘Piya Piya Papiya/ bedanay bhore oṭhe naki re kaharo hiya,‘Piya geche kabe pordesh Piu kaha ḍake Papiya"or, ‘Chokh gelo pakhi re…’
("On a stormy night, when the bird calls ‘Piya Piya Papia’ / does someone’s heart fill with pain?" "The beloved went away long ago to a distant land—where does the papia call now?")
The voice of a bird, and the emotions it evokes, can be captured in so many ways in song, as these Nazrul Geeti songs prove. Those who have heard them will agree. Some birds have a distinct way of calling. In earlier times, Bengalis would name birds by imitating their calls. They could recognize a bird “in a single call.” How much does the current generation know about this? Now we neither have that sensitivity, nor the same environment.
In India, the calls of different birds are interpreted differently in different regions. In Bengali, the common name for the papia (Common Hawk-Cuckoo) is "Chokh Gelo" (“I lost my eyes”), while in Hindi it is "Piu-Kaha" (Beloved - where?). The call is most often compared to the pangs of separation.
The Common Hawk-Cuckoo, or papia, can be seen all over Bengal, though many researchers believe it is a permanent resident of Hooghly district. Like the koel (Asian cuckoo), its call is very familiar in Bengal. From the end of winter, its sharp call can often be heard in rural areas of the district, and even in the greener parts of cities.
The bird’s call begins loudly and sharply, and with each repetition (about five or six times) it rises in pitch and intensity, reaching a certain climax before suddenly stopping. After a brief silence, it starts again. The intensity grows in layers, almost frenzied. If it keeps calling without pause, one’s head and ears start buzzing, perhaps that’s why it’s called the “Brain Fever Bird.” Many will recall the scene from the film Dhanni Meye, where the heroine sings, “Ja ja behaya pakhi, ja na, keu koreni mana” (“Go away shameless bird, no one stopped you”), in response to the continuous “Chokh gelo, chokh gelo” call. Poems, rhymes, songs, and stories have all featured this bird.
The papia’s upper body—head, back, and wings, are ash-grey. The throat, chest, and belly are whitish with brown streaks. Its tail is long and broad, with wide, dark ash-grey crossbands. From a distance, when perched, it can look like a hawk. The eyes are yellow, with black pupils, and a thick yellow ring around them. In immature birds, the brown streaking on the throat, chest, and belly is much lighter, and the underside is far whiter.
Apart from the spring breeding season, the bird becomes so quiet the rest of the year that it is hard to spot, and in some areas, people consider it a winter migrant. It mainly feeds on caterpillars and various larvae, though it also eats other insects and berry-like fruits. Like the koel, it is a brood parasite but instead of crows, its natural hosts are different species of turdoides babblers. Breeding usually happens between March and June, but the timing can shift depending on when its host species breeds.
Outside of spring, it prefers densely wooded areas. From late winter in Hooghly district, especially on the bare branches of tall trees, it can be seen sitting. Along the roads connecting Chinsurah to Tarakeswar, and from Mogra through Akna, Sultanpur, Gurap, and Bhastara to Dashghara, it is often spotted perched on roadside trees, telegraph wires, or cable lines.
Note : Translated by Debamita Ghosh Sarkar
To read the original Bengali article , please click here :
Source credits: Pashchim Banglar Pakhi by Arnab Nandi, Pakhi-Prakriti by Sravani Chatterjee
