Dhak feathers for Durga Puja at the cost of birds

[Guest guest]

Dhak feathers for Durga Puja at the cost of birds

 

Thursday September 14, 10:34 AM

By Ajitha Menon

 

Kolkata, Sep.14 (ANI): The white feathers swoon and dance as the

dhakis sway to their drum beats. It's a sight which gladdens most

hearts across puja pandals during the festive season.

 

The dhaks decorated with white feathers and the black cow tail hair

fans are characteristic of dhakis or drummers from Salar in

Murshidabad district of West Bengal. But these white feathers come

at a cost.

 

Even though it's a tradition for these dhakis to decorate their

drums with these white feathers, most of them do not realise that

almost all birds are protected under some schedule or other of the

Indian Wildlife Protection Act.

 

This means that be it egret or heron, whose feathers are used, it is

an offence to trap or kill these birds. Wild life authorities say it

is unlikely that so many feathers fall off the birds naturally. In

most cases the birds are trapped and the feathers torn out or the

birds are killed for the pristine while feathers. Feathers which

have fallen off naturally can be found only near the nesting places

of the birds, usually in the deep jungles.

 

" This is our traditional trade. We learnt it from our fathers and

grandfathers. Sometimes there is money, sometimes none. The feathers

are costly. There are members of a scheduled tribe here who catch

birds and sell their feathers. These are 'Bok' feathers. We need

these to decorate our 'Dhaks'. The black hair-like decoration is

actually the hair from the tail of a black cow. We buy that from

Kolkata for rupees 3000 per kilo. Those who can afford it, buy

feathers and cow tail hair and decorate their dhaks. Those who can't

don't, " said Avani Das, a Dhaki

 

Feathers can be bought by the kilo in villages like Taragram in

Murshidabad district, where the members of a particular scheduled

tribe excel in trapping birds. The feathers are sold at a rate of Rs

300 to Rs 600 per kilo, depending on the colour and quality both in

the rural villages as well as in Kolkata.

 

" This is not a job for the whole year. It's seasonal. These feathers

can be bought from Kolkata. The cow tail hair also we get from

Kolkata, it costs rupees three thousand a kilogram.

 

Those who can afford to buy do, others don't. The feathers are

bought for rupees six hundred a kilogram. They have to be washed and

then sized before they can be used to decorate the Dhaks. The cow

tail hair costs rupees three thousand a kilogram. I now play only in

the village. I don't go out for Rs 250/300 per day. The feathers can

be bought from the nearby village also, " said Jaladhar Das, another

Dhaki.

 

Another expensive decoration on the dhaks is the cow tail hair fan,

made exclusively from the tail hair of a black cow. It is obvious

that the cow had not parted with its tail hair in a painless manner.

The black cow tail hair sells for rupees 3000 per kg. The dhakis do

seasonal business during Pujas and festival. The decorations on

their dhak are an integral part of their saleable wares. Those who

can afford the decorations do so to acquire respectable remuneration

from puja committee members who want fancier dhaks and dhakis for

their festivities.

 

According to the West Bengal Wildlife Department, thousands of birds

are killed every year for the feathers to decorate the Dhaks. Most

of these feathers come from cat leg, small or medium egrets or 'Bok'

as they are called in rural West Bengal.

 

The Wildlife Department is organizing an awareness campaign both

amongst the dhakis and the puja committee members to stop use of

feathers for decorating dhaks to prevent birds from dying needlessly.

 

The Indian Roller or the 'Neelkant' is another bird which is in

immense danger during this season as it is considered auspicious to

release these birds who, myth says, take ones message directly to

heaven.

 

Actually these helpless birds are trapped in a cruel manner so that

some devotee can have the satisfaction of releasing them again. In

the process most of the birds get injured. With their wings clipped,

they are unable to fly and die.

 

" All Indian birds are covered under some or the other schedule of

Wildlife Protection Act that means that these birds cannot be

trapped, sold, purchased or kept as pets by anyone. This is

violation of the provisions of the act, " said Ujjal Chatterjee,

Chief Conservator of Forests, West Bengal.

 

He further added to say, " Not always fallen feathers are taken

because nobody comes and admits that they have killed a bird and

then taken out the feathers. So many feathers are coming to the

market and naturally we are concerned from where these feathers are

coming. On the basis of information provided, we go and apprehend,

catch and prosecute the culprits. Since this is happening not only

in Kolkata so this year we are very emphatically doing a campaign of

awareness to tell the dhakis and the Puja committee that this is

against the law of the land. "

 

Hurting or killing birds can attract fines to the tune of Rs 5000

and jail for six months. It's more for second time offenders. But it

seems that this is not a deterrent to cruelty to birds even during a

season for devotion and prayers. (ANI)

 

link here:

http://in.news./060914/139/67kdt.html