A few years back, In the month of October, the weather was a bit cold as it was the start of winters. A tourist boy was wandering in the streets of Assam Aachal. This tourist then reached Hyoflong. He had an urge to visit some beautiful or historical place as he was already impressed with the natural and scenic beauty of the state.
He lit a cigarette as he came out of the Railways Station and saw an old man who stood right in front of him. He looked at that man. He looked like as the head of some Clan. He already had read a lot about the mysterious ways of life in the mountains of Assam and he was very curious to know about the lifestyle of the people.
To impress the old man, he offered him a cigarette. With a little hesitation, the old man took one cigarette and lit it. He took a big puff and closed his eyes while releasing out a dense cloud of smoke. The boy laughed and asked him if he is enjoying it?
The old man laughed and said, "If you want the real fun then come along with me. The boy took his suitcase and bag and started following him. After coming out of Railways Station, he sat on the bench and signalled the boy to sit. The old man took out something from his pocket and then rubbed it with Tobacco and filled the empty cigarette tubes with the mixture. They both smoked and now the old man asked, are you having fun now?
The boy started laughing. Then they started talking. The train arrived at the right time and they both boarded the train. This train, in comparison to the other train, was just like a toy. Compartments were as big as a matchbox, narrow railway lines. The Haflong station was only 20km from where the boarded the train. They both got off the train at Haflong.
It was dawn now. Darkness was slowly taking over the brightness of the day. What is this? Suddenly that boy looked at the left of the station, He saw thousands of Lamps shining like stars. He saw that 100's of people have gathered around in a circle. He went there with the old man.
It was a very mysterious and strange atmosphere around. The boy was stunned at what he saw. He saw that thousands of birds were jumping in between those lamps and would die and those who still had some life in them were being beaten to death by the villagers who were gathered around. This all kept going for an hour. He was mesmerized by the events he witnessed. It felt like as if some strange force is compelling them for suicide.
He went to the village "Jatinga" with the old man. People from this village brought the dead birds along with them and then they roasted the birds and feasted on them. He was also given the same to eat. It all felt like a miracle to the boy. It felt like as if there was some magic in the air which threw a spell on this birds.
He could not sleep at night. He had a lot of questions in his mind but he did not know whom to ask? The host understood his restlessness and he asked Do you have any questions?
Yes, I am not able to sleep. I am thinking about the behaviour of the birds. What could be behind this strange behaviour and colonial suicide? What is the mystery behind all this? said the boy.
The old man replied I do not know about any mysteries. You are a well-educated man. You can understand things better than I can. All I know is this that our elders came to "Jatinga" from the mountains. They migrated in 1885. Our tribe is too small now. We grow Oranges around here. I forgot to mention one thing. Saying these he suddenly stopped.
And what is that? the boy asked.
I forgot to tell you that I am the head of this village.
You also forgot to tell one more thing, buddy. (The boy smiled with hope)
What else did I forget? about the birds?
Yes, that is what's bothering me since I witnessed it.
There is a story which was told to us by our forefathers. All I can tell you about this is that story. It happened in 1905. A tiger took one of the cows from the village. Our forefathers went into the Jungle to find the cow. They could not find the cow but they saw a strange thing. All of a sudden they saw birds jumping on to their torches, on their shoulders and dying. This way they got a lot of birds to feast on.
Our forefathers were happy now. They started making huge fire and 100's of birds would get attracted towards the fire and would sacrifice themselves. He took a deep breath and continued. It's all going on since then. It all begins, a month before "Dussehra". We do this every day until the festival and eat birds for the whole month. It's all going on since then. Saying this the old man turned and went to sleep.
The boy was still restless and kept thinking that what is about this place that forces birds for sacrifice. I don't know if he got his doubts cleared or not but later many Scholars and Professors have thrown some light on this and I can tell you about the result of their research.
There is a particular time for this and all this happens between August and October. Secondly, the place of sacrifice is always same and it happens in the stretch between "Jatinga" Railway station and "Village Health Centre". This is the place where the birds come for sacrifice due to some mystical reason.
The famous Professor Dr E.P.G has explained this in his book "Wild Life Of India". He went there and surveyed the whole area and also collected some samples. Then he went to the "Society Of Natural History" to meet Dr Salim Ali. According to Dr Ali, these all birds are local species. There are no migrant birds in that region, Neither are they Nocturnal birds.
In 1977 Dr Sudheer Sen Gupta who was working with Zoological Survey Of India tried to explain this Phenomenon. After studying he came to the conclusion that birds who attempt suicide include Ruddy Kingfisher, Little Egret, Hurial and Green Pigeon. All these birds fly during day They can't fly fast and fly up to the height of 6000ft only. They get attracted towards the light and gather in the sky above the source and then jump towards it.
Birds those commit suicide do it only after 3 hours post meal. So we can say that they sacrifice themselves only after digesting their food. Those who do not die after jumping lay there and wait for death. They refuse food even. This tendency of sacrifice is strange. Why they get so determined to die?
Dr Sengupta says, that magnetic feature of underground water in this area gets altered due to change in weather. This change abrupts the physiological rhythm in the birds. This is the reason behind their strange behaviour.
Still we cannot claim that we have understood the mystery completely. There are questions left behind. Why birds behave like this only in "Jatinga". Why they get attracted towards the light? Why they sacrifice, empty stomach? The answer to these questions lye in the womb of Future.
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