MANGALAJODI

The perfect place for bird watching Mangalajodi is a village in Odisha located on the northern banks of Chilika Lake. The perfect nesting ground for birds this place is best for bird lovers and all those people who find out some ways to escape from the hustle-bustle of everyday life. It is referred to as 'Birds Paradise'.Some of the birds seen in the marshy waters of Mangalajodi are Lesser Whistling Duck, White Throated Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, etc. These are just to name a few. This village comes under Tangi which is a town and block in Khordha district, Odisha. I was lucky to visit this beautiful place during one of my visits to Tangi. I first heard about Mangalajodi from one of my friends from Bengal. She visited Tangi on a certain occasion for her research work. She mentioned this bird paradise on her journey back to Bhubaneswar. I dreamt of visiting this spot and enjoyed regaling in her thoughts. That was one year back. And then when finally I got this opportunity to visit it. I was super excited and thrilled. The more I explored the virgin woods traveling through the winding rustic landscapes the more I explored. A billboard von the wayside read   Mangalajodi. I feel journeys are beautiful when you have a bunch of people who match your taste, who don't tire traveling. You dance with them as you travel, sing with them, and create evergreen memories. In our car, we tapped our feet to songs of the legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika 'Dil Hum Hum Kore' from the Hindi movie Rodali, Bihu songs from Assam. Finally, when we reached this bird site we found out that the place is home to 150000 birds who travel from different parts of the world. I got down from our car leaving my friends to enjoy the beauty of the place around and delve deep into it. As I got down I got to see more and more birds, some feasting on the fishes in the marshy areas around and some flying to delight my mood. So excited I was that I got down from the main road just in case I could track some more birds. But then I had limited time and I didn't have binoculars with me. Far away I saw a few buffaloes. We were calling each other names thrilled to see so many birds. I called out my friend's name 'Nibi sua emanbur sorai' (See Nibi, there are so many birds). I had even visited Chilika, the brackish water lagoon. There are also many birds to be seen there. But somehow I couldn't spot many birds there but I was fully satisfied after visiting Mangalajodi. I clicked a few pictures and when I was about to return I saw a boat with some fisherman with their nets traveling through the marshy waters. Visitors can hire these boats to spot the birds. I wanted to spend some time more but then I had some works to be completed at Bhubaneswar. This I feel how our lives are. Mangalajodi gave me some beautiful memories which became a part of me to be entrapped in my heart forever.

                                                                                 Beautiful Mangalajodi