MYSTERIOUS SUICIDE SPOT:
Jatinga, famous for the phenomenon of birds “committing suicide”, is located on a spur of the "Haflong Ridge", the head quarter of the district. It in itself is an offshoot of the main ridge of the "Borail Range". It is centrally located at the junction of the roads leading to Haflong, Lumding & Silchar. Here the mist & fog lie like a veil around the beautiful face of the damsel from September to November. During these late monsoon months, mysterious behavior of birds takes place. However, some other conditions are also necessary for the phenomenon to occur. The air must be foggy, cloudy or misty. If there is slight rain, it would be even better. It should be moonless dark nights. And the best time is between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Curiously, most of the doomed birds do not attempt to fly away after they land near the lights. They look dazed & disheveled, perhaps due to the trauma of the whole shocking experience. Such migratory birds fall easy prey to the villagers. Some of the birds hovering around the light sources are brought down by a vigorous swing of the bamboo poles. Catapults are also used to bring down the birds in flight as well as those perching on the trees and bushes near the light sources.
However, contrary to the popular belief, birds do not commit suicide. Under circumstances not yet fully explained, these birds get caught in the fog & wind, get disoriented & seek solace of the light sources put out by the villagers. They hit against trees or other objects & get injured in their flight towards the light source.
Curious studies have been conducted to unravel the causes behind this phenomenon. The record maintained show that 44 species till now have been attracted towards the light sources. It has been established that the birds are not attracted to the entire Jatinga Ridge but only to a well-defined strip, 1.5 km long & 200 meters wide.
Invariably the birds come in only from the north & attempts at placing the lights on the southern side of the ridge to attract the birds have failed. Another interesting fact has been brought out is that no long distance migratory bird gets attracted to the light traps.
The victims are resident birds of the adjacent valleys and hill slopes. The unusual behavior of the birds seems to occur due to the peculiar weather conditions at Jatinga. There also appears to be a correlation between the breeding period of the birds & the Jatinga phenomenon.
Studies also reveal that the flight of water birds to Jatinga may be attributed to heavy rains & floods & also submergence of their natural habitat in the surrounding areas.It has been observed that there was a high congregation of birds at Jatinga during 1988 which happened to be a year of high floods.
Renowned ornithologists Dr. Salim Ali, Dr. S.Sengupta, A. Rauf etc have carried out researches on this subject. However, no single hypothesis comprehensively explains the Jatinga mystery till date. The problem deserves deeper scientific study from various angles.
How to reach the place:
- By Air. Rowraiah is the nearest airport to Jatinga. Buses, jeeps & auto-rickshaws are available from the airport.
- The nearest station to Jatinga is Lumding junction which is easily accessible from Guwahati junction.
- State-run bus services and those operated by private agencies run between Guwahati, Tezpur, and Upper Assam. Buses to Silchar stop at Jatinga. Also, auto - rickshaws are available for day - trips from Haflong.
By: Dipanjana Deb (deb28.dipanjana@gmail.com)
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