Trust Odisha's Birdmen, Who Care For The Feathered Ones, Hang Water Pots Across Cities

By Bikash Kumar Das

Bhubaneswar/Dhenkanal: When the summer sun blazes mercilessly and unrelentingly, the streets grow deserted and people hide behind shades and chilled rooms. But braving the sun's blistering rays, far above and beyond the comfort of walls, wings flutter desperately, searching silently for few drops of water. For many birds and animals, the season is not only harsh but threatens their existence.

Particularly in Odisha where rising temperature has been creating record year after year, two men have quietly turned into guardians of the winged creatures. Both are not activists nor do they call people to appreciate their efforts, but Pratap Sahu and Subhransu Satapathy - with extraordinary compassion, have been making sure, not one bird remains thirsty.

Angels in the Heat: How The Birdmen Of Odisha Provision Water For Thirsty Birds And Animals (ETV Bharat)

Both the bird lovers hang and place earthen or plastic pots, dried coconut and wood apple shells on trees filled to the brim with water. At many places the water bowls are also kept close to huge trees and roadsides on the ground. These water bowls are the only hope for the birds who do have the capacity to translate their requirement into words that humans understand.

Angels in the Heat: How The Birdmen Of Odisha Provision Water For Thirsty Birds And Animals (ETV Bharat)

Pratap is a quiet social worker and he has been doing this selfless work for over three decades—watering major areas of Bhubaneswar city for the winged creatures. “Since they can’t speak, it becomes our duty to understand their needs. Every summer, I place more than 60 clay pots across Bhubaneswar, from parks to street corners,” he says, while balancing a container climbing on a branch.

Angels in the Heat: How The Birdmen Of Odisha Provision Water For Thirsty Birds And Animals (ETV Bharat)

From 7 in the morning till evening, Pratap keeps on filling pots, checking water levels and replacing cracked ones. All this he manages to do from his own earnings from the occasional work he does besides selling fruits from his farmland in Cuttack. Pratap, staying with an ageing father, mother, wife, and young daughter says he spends Rs. 30,000 to Rs 40,000 every summer.

Angels in the Heat: How The Birdmen Of Odisha Provision Water For Thirsty Birds And Animals (ETV Bharat)

“This work gives me a lot of satisfaction, when I see a sparrow drink and fly off, it feels like I have done something right in my life,” he says.

Not just water, Pratap at times adds glucose and ORS to help revive birds that faint in the sun.

Subhransu Satapathy training kids (ETV Bharat)

Belonging to Dhenkanal, Subhransu Satapathy, a man with myriad accomplishments - an environmentalist, educator, documentary filmmaker and fact-checker, is known as the Birdman of Odisha, and for enough reasons.

Subhransu who once had a well-paying job in a private company melts when he sees the birds chirp around him, anywhere, any city or town in Odisha. On the move always, Subhransu conducts workshops where he teaches students about birds, their need for food and water. "Humans have a big role to play because God has gifted them with a mental faculty to understand what the voiceless need the most. So I used to get disturbed seeing dehydrated birds collapsing in the summer heat and decided to change as much as I can," he says speaking about how he got into fending for the birds.

Angels in the Heat: How The Birdmen Of Odisha Provision Water For Thirsty Birds And Animals (ETV Bharat)

He quit his job and took up the cause full time. Since 2008, he has distributed over 50,000 clay water pots across villages, towns, and cities. Not just in Odisha, but also in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and even Mumbai.

Recognised by the United Nations and Odisha’s former Governor Ganeshi Lal for his dedication to the cause of nature, Subhransu is more than a water warrior. “A single clay pot on a rooftop can save dozens of birds, Even a coconut shell or wood apple shell does the work. Compassion is not about money, it is about the heart that beats for the winged creatures," explains he.

Subhransu Satapathy (ETV Bharat)

Asked how big is his team, Subhransu says with a casual smile, "I have created teams among the locals in every place. Suppose in Dhenkanal, there are four blocks, I have created 20 teams in each block in which about four to five youngsters and children are a part. They take turns to change pots and refill water. And it is heartening to see that the students I had trained a few years back are passing on the knowledge to their younger ones."

Pratap and Subhransu are nature's heroes and they are not the ones to wait for applause or funds. They act because they want to make a difference - quench the thirst of birds and help them fly hydrated and happy.

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