The call for monsoon: The chataka bird

Image Source: https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/577768

By: Ishan Singhal

We are at the tail-end of the summer. For weeks many of us have been trying to spot rain clouds, scanning news and weather reports for the onset of monsoons. With dry, sweltry, and parched eyes, all of us have been waiting to welcome the rejuvenation of the rains. No matter which part of this country you reside in, all of us wait for the relief of rains with bated breath. This yearning is perhaps best captured in the folk tales of the Chataka pakshi. A bird that waits all year for the first drops of rain to quench its thirst. Here is its story.

The Chataka pakshi (pied cuckoo in English) is a bird that has been associated with Indian stories and culure for thousands of years. The story goes that this pakshi can only drink rainwater to quench its thirst. Water from lakes, ponds or rivers cannot suffice. Only once a year, on the first downpour from the sky this bird drinks water and satisfies its thirst. Sightings of this bird are associated with the onset of monsoons in many regions of India. The monsoon period of sowing of new crops is sometimes began when the cacophony of these birds break the silence of the summer. This bird is revered and celebrated as the harbringer of monsoons in large parts of Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, UP, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. The stories about its affinity for only rain water have been used as parables of devotion, persistence, patience and yearning. The chataka pakshi finds a mention in the slokas of Adi Sankaracharya where it is used as

an example of the righteous path of longing for knowledge without compromise. Even Sanskrit poet Kalidasa refers to the chataka as the companion traveler of the monsoons. There are variations in highlighting the qualities of the chataka in different poetry styles of different regions, but the bird itself has been a theme of Indian literature for a long time.

The tales and lores of the chataka aside, is there a real relationship between the coming of the monsoons and the sightings of this bird? Yes, there is! India has two prominent species of this bird. One a migrant and another that primarily resides in southern India. The chataka bird associated with monsoons is a rare summer migrant from the African continent. The winds that draw in the clouds over the Arabian sea also form favorable flight conditions for the chataka to visit India. Soaring with these gusts and riding the pre-monsoon clouds, the chataka arrives in India. A link between its sighting and the onset of monsoon has now been scientifically established through this route. An earlier monsoon means an early arrival of the chataka too.

These birds stay until the winter when they start heading back. Like other cuckoo species, the chataka also leaves behind its babies in the nest of other birds. Next year, these birds would follow back to Africa for the winter. And then, come soaring back, bringing the gush of rains. Once again, signaling an end to our yearning for the monsoon.