Chhindwara: From the use of the telegraph and Morse code to transmit weather information instantly (1837) to the use of radar tracking technology and balloon borne instruments in the 1920s, to the use of computers in the 1960s and satellites in the late 20th Century and supercomputers today, weather forecasting has come a long way.
But farmers in central India’s Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh still count the eggs laid by the common sandpiper, known locally as ‘tatiri’ to forecast the number of months of rain they can expect. The rain expected helps them plant the right crop.
The number of eggs laid by the sandpiper means that it will rain for that many months. Noorsingh Rai, who has been farming for 50 years, says that "times have changed and farming has also become modern. Therefore, the weather can be easily predicted. How much rain will there be, and which crop should be selected for the rainy season? Before modern technology and weather forecasts on the radio, farmers used to count the eggs laid by the sandpiper bird to forecast rainfall.
If the sandpiper lays four eggs, there will be heavy rain for four months. So farmers used to plant crops that required more rain in the fields. If it lays three eggs, it means there will be rain for three months. Farmers used to plant crops that required less water in the fields. The predictions were mostly accurate. There will be more rain if eggs are laid at a high place.
Farmer Ghanshyam Soni, 85, says that he has been farming since the age of 9. Soni says that apart from counting the eggs, he could also forecast rain by placing four lumps of soil on Akshaya Tritiya and a pot filled with water on the lumps. If the lumps get wet from water seeping through the pot during the day, it indicates the number of rainfall months. Four wet lumps mean four months of rain.
If the sandpiper does not lay eggs on the ground, but on a roof or a high place, it means that there can be heavy rain for four months. Heavy rainfall is predicted because the sandpiper does not make its nest; either it lays eggs on the ground in the middle of the fields, or if it has laid eggs on the ground in any high open place, it means that the rain will be normal.
It makes a nest with pebbles and stones on the ground. The sandpiper is the only bird that builds its nest on a flat surface and not trees, because it uses pebbles and stones in the building of the nest. The sandpiper lays its eggs from March to June, giving the farmer enough time to prepare the fields before the monsoon.
