A Strange Biography

The author has tried hard to bring the book closer to facts and truth by listing more than one hundred and thirty five reference materials. The book is credible because it cites the findings of studies by zoologists and evolutionary biologists. There is a greater need for such science-based books in the superstitious Nepalese society.

All the books in the world are written by humans (homosapiens), but only recently, artificial intelligence has arrived. It started to write articles, draw pictures, fill music. But since that too is based on human algorithm programming and data input, we still have no basis to say that artificial intelligence has written the book independently.

In the same background, Dadi Sapkota's book 'Jivgatha' was published in the year 2080. A biography is essentially no different from a bird story. However some articles are related to plants and insects.

Through 58 short articles, Sapkota has drawn mesmerizing sketches of fauna and flora. Awe and interest are the hallmarks of the book. The world of birds is more diverse and interesting than we think. We consider humans to be the most intelligent creatures, but when reading books, we feel that birds are ahead of us in some respects. Even without language, birds have created a wonderful world by exchanging signals, sounds and chemicals. On the one hand, the amazing character of Charajagat makes you laugh, on the other hand, some of the scenes make you laugh. Let's look at one or two examples.

According to scientists, male peacocks select a specific place for breeding during the season. Males will do everything they can to attract females. In the open space, the leaves are cleaned by moving them with their feet. Sitting on it, he shouts and calls the female. Shows a gyrating dance. Funfuni dances. Males show off their beautiful feathers by dancing back and forth to show the females that they like their beauty. What less females? Where do the roosters run when they dance! At first they act like they don't mean it. The rooster looks around the bark of the bush so as not to catch the sheep watching his dance. They hide and listen to his songs. Even when the rooster calls, they walk away as if ignoring it. Snoring... (page 34).

A bird is no less than a man to act in love. We are amazed to know that the seemingly stationary bird has made various appearances. The book 'Jivgatha' has become a window to understand the nature and behavior of birds and plants. 'Jivgatha' can be taken as an introductory book to inspire interest towards the animal world. The descriptions of the suffering and pain of the birds are similar.

“The fact that a feisty bird weighing about 12 grams, the Blackpoll Wabbler, can fly more than twenty-four hundred kilometers without stopping anywhere seems incredible. What is even more incredible is that this bird flies that distance in two to three days (page 30).”

For ease of understanding, this bird can travel from Mechi to Mahakali in Nepal in one day, considering the length of the country as 850 km. This bird follows the path of water because it has to travel a long distance to either die or reach. Either they reach with risk, or they fall into the sea and die. There is no other option. Each year they reach around the same goal as the previous year. That's where the bachera are harvested. But because it is a very risky journey, only 50 percent of those who set out on the journey reach it safely. The rest die on the way (page 30).” It fills us with sadness to know that half of these birds, which go on a journey in the number of hundreds, thousands, die on the way before reaching their destination.

While reading the above lines, I remembered a National Geographic or Nat Geo Wild Channel scene I watched many years ago. Dozens of migratory birds are flying towards their destination over the deep blue sea. There is no facility to kill fatigue on the sea, nor opportunity to eat when hungry. Nor is there a possibility of flooding in bad weather. Hours have flown by. The herd is flying because no land can be found. Similarly, some birds are tired and unable to fly and fall into the raging waves of the sea. Other birds in the flock have no choice. Ignoring the death of fellow passengers, they continue to fly.