Bushchat

A

semi-coiled-snake-like
natural water channel
sits on an almost flat
grassland amid a mixed
forest in the Urgam
Valley. The channel provides drinking
water. Unfortunately, there is no high
vantage point to capture bird’s eye view
of the entire channel. The grassland is
named as Bungpani after the snaky shape.
The word bungpani (bung+pani) means
zig zag (tedameda) water in local dialect.
A folklore describes divine origin of the
snake.

The poorly marked very gentle Badginda-
Bungpani trail, passing through dusty lanes
of the village, the woodland, and finally the
forest, requires services of a local guide.
According to my local guide, Indian Army
planned to camp in the area a few years
ago. The institution dropped the plan for
unwilling locals who picnic in Bungpani.

Black-headed jays, minivets, gray-winged
blackbirds, drongos, and woodpeckers
hopped in the forested wilderness. The
woodland played host to bulbuls, chats,
and tits. Bulbuls, bushchats, magpies, rose
finches, shrikes, thrushes, and treepies
hovered in the fields in and around
Badginda, the trailhead in the valley.

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Volume 4, Issue 1 | June 2019