Lakshman is 11 years old and lives in the village of Khudi in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan. His village is located in the Thar Desert and he has grown up with miles and miles of sand around him. His father is a farmer. One day, while coming back from school, he almost tripped over a bird. It was large, with long powerful legs and an equally long white neck. The head was also white, but topped with a black crown. He had never seen a bird like this before. It reminded him of an ostrich, pictures of which he had seen in his school. He realised that the bird was injured and unable to move.
Quick thinking
Lakshman did not know what to do. His family was in the fields, so he ran home to tell his grandfather or Dada as he called him. After listening to the description, Dada thought that it could be godavan . He said that when he was young, there were many of these beautiful birds around, but in the past few years he saw fewer of them. He told Lakshman that he had heard about an area close to the village where efforts were being made to help save the godavan and other birds and animals found in the desert.
Dada suggested that Lakshman walk to over and talk to the people there. Lakshman was now excited and did just that. He proudly read the board at the entrance that said ‘Desert National Park’. There were some people there wearing uniforms and they informed Lakshman that they were forest guards. Lakshman explained his problem to them. The guards acted fast and asked Lakshman to take them to the bird. When they saw the bird, they said that it was indeed a godavan and its English name was the Great Indian Bustard. They went on to say, that this bird once the pride of the area had sadly dwindled in numbers over the years, mainly because it was being hunted across the border. The guards told him they there were now attempts to protect the bird by providing safety in this area called Desert National Park. He also learnt that godavan was the state bird of Rajasthan.
The guards thanked Lakshman for his timely action making him proud and happy in having helped save such an important bird. He could not wait to tell his friends.
Conservation and Nature is a series brought to you by Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group (http://www.kalpavriksh.org).
