ok..ok…so i ripped off an agatha christie title…we all get “inspired” don’t we? arre, hum to desi hai bhaiyya….

well, some time ago, my eyes fell on this article that got supremely spotty coverage in news…it was reported in February 2008, over 50 or so peacocks died under mysterious circumstances in village called Tedui in Uttar Pradesh. The deaths were very sudden and the officials suspected poisoning.

but the cause of poisoning the peacocks was unclear.

as i dug deeper, i found out that our national bird, considered one of the most beautiful birds in the world, was a target for poaching much in the same manner as our national animal , the tiger. Destruction of habitats and contamination of food were also reasons for their dwindling numbers.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/over-a-dozen-peacocks-die-mysteriously-in-up-village_10020923.html

Then i came across another article dated just the month before that stated that on an average according to an NGO, 10 peacocks are killed every day in Rajasthan. They are often killed by pesticide (which ties in neatly with the poisoning part).

i never realised that peacocks were being poached- i guess the limelight has always been on the tiger but somehow I guess peacocks fell beneath the radar. I remember as a child visiting Nadhwara in Rajasthan an seeing a peacock dance in the early morning in our hotel gardens an I must say, it is the most beautiful sight possible. I have always been transfixed by that sight and hope to see such a spectacle again.

A lot has been made of Indians respecting animals, stemming from the fact that we have many animals that we worship like Hanuman for example- maybe that was in the olden days but not anymore. I can see widespread disregard for animals. More often than not, animals are a cause of fear with even educated adults succumbing to it. in my colony, which is a gated community and the general demographic consists of masters level, foreign worked families- i have seen emails in the listserve  that ask those ppl that own ogs in the colony to walk the ogs onliy in their lane because of the fear that it causes in their chilren. a) the dogs in question are TAME b) more importantly, if you cave in to your children fears all the time because you want to protect them, how will they become self reliant. the day u die, they would have been so protected that they will have no idea how to live on their own. in my eyes, that’s the worst kind of parenting strategy possible. another incident that comes to mind was when I visited swami nityananda’s ashram  this time in India- i saw a small child play with a stray puppy that was delighted to have found a friend  and was wagging its tail gloriously. next thing, the child out of ignorance, started throwing stones at it and the puppy started wailing( haunts me to this day).the bonehead of the child’s mother picked up the perplexed child and proceeded to hug it , never ONCE telling the child that its actions were wrong. and this was in an ashram.

All living things are worthy of respect and love. all were created by God (if u believe in God), there is no inferior or superior. and an act that causes misery or harm to any living being is still bad karma- whether human or animal.

for that matter, how many times have we seen in india , ppl throw food , taunt , throw stones at monkeys( if the talk of worshipping them arises).

I believe we worshipped and respected animals in the past, not anymore. Maybe some tribal communities are  exceptions ( thank god for that!) anyways, that was my 2 cents on the issue.

with that little digression ,i will get back to poaching. it’s easy to see why ppl poach. widespread poverty, no implementation of the law (many cases the law is sometimes involved!), no respect and regard for animals in the community, the social ill prevalent in society that treats parts of animals as trophies and status symbols are some of the major reasons why poaching is such a widespread phenomenon that has been so difficult to remove.

the  result is the dwindling population of our national bird-the peacock.

again, google comes to the rescue and gifts me Mahamayuri.

Mahamayuri is a peacock deity of ancient deity of India and images of her can be found in the Ellora caves. She became very popular also in Buddhism and is believed to have the power to counteract all poisons, especially snake bites(peacocks have often believed to be able to eat snakes), grant good health and invoke rain (the famous peacock rain dance , anyone?).

there is not too much information about this long forgotten goddess but  i am providing a link to some of her legends but in cases like this one must understand the lack of availability of accredited sources:

http://www.himalayanmart.com/mahamayuri.php

like i have said before, beautiful. i love blogging and am so happy that i have been able to find out all these long forgotten on the fringe mythological characters…wonderful.

keeping in mind the poisons part,  came across this uber ( i know…i know…the love affair continues ) interesting article:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6701-suicide-tree-toxin-is-perfect-murder-weapon.html

an excerpt for u guys if u  r now bugged with the amount of reading I recommend:

“Although the kernels of the tree have a bitter taste, this can be disguised if they are crushed and mixed with spicy food. They contain a potent heart toxin called cerberin, similar in structure to digoxin, found in the foxglove.

Digoxin kills by blocking calcium ion channels in heart muscles, which disrupts the heartbeat. But while foxglove poisoning is well known to western toxicologists, Gaillard says pathologists would not be able to identify Cerbera poisoning unless there is evidence the victim had eaten the plant. “It is the perfect murder,” he says.

Three-quarters of Cerbera victims are women. The team says that this may mean the plant is being used to kill young wives who do not meet the exacting standards of some Indian families.”

the article says it all, I will not say anymore and I have said enough on this topic ( can I hear all of you heaving a sigh of relief )

I had never heard of something like this ….wow- who would’ve thought. mahamayuri is sorely needed in these poor women’s lives.

anyways…this would have thrilled agatha christie as well, considering she was so interested in rare poisons and toxins given her early years working at a pharmacy….

before i sign off ( man, u have to give it to me-this one is super short compared to what i generally write!

here’s a video from youtube about the regal, elegant and majestic peacock and here’s to their numbers never falling short!