Dima Hasao District

.... . . . . . a heaven to the senses where one touches the sweetest dream with one’s fingers, mountains float in the distant sky and the clouds descend to lie below one’s feet. . . . .

Adoringly described by the visitors as 'Switzerland of the East', the Dima Hasao District (formerly) known as North Cachar Hills is a district garlanded by hills. This dreamland of north-east is an unending saga of undulating hills and valleys, gently flowing streams and waterfalls, where the very breeze that wafts across the paddy fields and the bamboo forests is redolent with the fragrance of the land in which man and animal live in perfect harmony with nature.

JATINGA

Whether you travels by road or take the quaint train over the century-old track, the scenes that unfold in an unending procession seem like picture-postcards, crafted by gifted hands that understand something of the pristine beauty of nature. The towns and villages that come into view through the rolling mist and the clouds that float around blend so beautifully with the emerald-green landscape that the visitor begins to wonder how this paradise survived so long against the march of progress.

Waiting to be discovered are a hundred other wonders that seem one with the legends and folklore of the land and its people. A fascinating mosaic of ethnic, cultural and tribal mix, the people of N.C.Hills embody in their lives all the values derived from centuries of shared living on the lap of nature. Equally enticing is the flora and fauna of the land, which has the famed Jatinga village where, drawn by some mysterious alchemy of earth and sky, disoriented birds come in thousands in the cloudy months of September and October to a flaming tryst with the dinger.

Savouring the customs and traditions of the people, their colourful festivals and bazaars and their hospitality compete with the local brew makes a visit to NCHills doubly rewarding. The salubrious climate round the year, the leisurely pace of life and the bounties of nature all combine to beckon the tourists with the promise of an experience they would love to treasure.

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Jatinga Bird Mystery

As fog comes on a moonless night......

When the wind blows in direction right....

Jatinga turns into an island of search light, & birds appear like

ghosts from nowhere.

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 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 and 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 behaviour 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. The wind must be from south to north. 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 and disheveled, perhaps due to the trauma of the whole shocking experience. Such birds fall easy pray 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 d fog and wind get disoriented and seek solace of the light sources put out by d villagers. They hit against trees or other objects and get injured in their flight towards the light source. The villagers hit the hovering birds with bamboo poles or catapults to bring them down.
Various studies have been conducted to unravel the causes behind this phenomenon. The record maintained show that 44 species have been attracted to 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 and 200 metres wide. Invariably the birds come in only from the north and 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 behaviour 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 and the Jatinga phenomenon. Studies also reveal that the flight of water birds to Jatinga may be attributed to heavy rains and floods and decline of their natural habitat in the surrounding areas. It's been observed that there was a high congregation of birds at Jatinga during '88 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 theJatinga mystery till date.
The problem deserves deeper scientific study from various angles.
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