Nurungukal...contd....

                                As the sun slowly dips into the Arabian Sea the dark night engulfs the surroundings . Then we children sharpen our ears to catch the night call of the Mottled Wood Owl  [kalan kozhi or kuttichoolan ] from its hide out in the nearby sacred grove [pambin kavu ]. There are two such groves in our compound very rich in bio diversity both flora and fauna. It was an abode of many species of snakes and rodents and nesting place for types of birds .Mother used to say on some particular day in a month she saw a bright light moving from one grove to the other at the dead of the night . She believed that the golden serpent carried the Manikyam stone ,hence the light. But unfortunately I have not witnessed this phenomenon in my life. Once in a year there would be a pooja to appease the snake Gods. Both the groves were left undisturbed even today, conserving a very rare echo system ,on a belief or rather fear. Now I understand that such believes and rituals are more sustainable in the aspect of conservation than  enforcement of any laws. Almost all the ancestral Tharavads maintained such a place of worship , especially in Nalukettu system and our fore fathers were more conscious about the need of conservation. Invariably there will be a pond or well  adjacent providing perennial supply of water. The age old trees facilitate to keep the water level high even in summer.

                                Birds like kalan kozhi which are nocturnal can survive only in such surroundings. It takes shelter on the high branches and feeds on the rodents . It makes a rare sound to call its mate, HU HU HUA, HU HU HUA.It can be heard from a distance creating anguish in our mind . In those days it was believed that this bird is an harbinger of death. As soon as we hear the sound my mother used to utter narayana, narayana to ward off the evil effect. I was so happy to hear the call when I made a visit to my ancestral home recently and in confirming the effectiveness of the grove to provide ideal conditions of reproduction for such threatened species and safe guarding the food chain. Let us follow such systems in preservation emulating a time tested practise.