PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ New Tehri
The sight of a black crow, sitting in the courtyard of a house to announce the arrival of a guest, is rare now. As a matter of fact, it is seldom seen cawing from its perch on the parapet or flying in groups in the sky. Known as the scavenger bird or nature’s cleaner as it consumes garbage, carrion and food leftovers, the crow is becoming extinct, hardly found nowadays in villages, towns and cities. This is worrying those who pay homage to their ancestors through food offerings during the Shraddha Paksha.
During the Shraddha Paksha, numerous crows were once seen hovering in the sky. However, in recent years, they have been disappearing. Crows, once heralding the arrival of guests, are rapidly dwindling in numbers. These highly intelligent and cunning birds are no longer seen frolicking around courtyards, doorways and rooftops while cawing shrilly.
Despite crows getting less attention than other birds, the ancient writers of the Hindu scriptures gave them an exalted place in their holistic view of life through stressing on their feeding during the Shraddha Paksha as a means of helping ancestors get salvation. This is why crows are considered a symbol of ancestors and are offered food on all days of the Shraddha Paksha. As per the long-continuing belief of the people, crows deliver the foods offered during this auspicious period straight to the ancestors.
This is why the rare sighting of this bird is landing the believers in great trouble. People are placing food on rooftops and courtyards along with water in tune with the tradition but the crows are nowhere in sight.
Asked why their number keeps dwindling, the professor of Zoology, Swami Ramtirth Campus, HNB Garhwal University, D K Sharma attributed this to rampant use of chemicals in farming and increasing dumping of chemicals in the rubbish piles.
According to him and other experts, unless this is controlled the threat of extinction will continue to hang on the crow species and they may become nearly or completely extinct in time to come.
