Last June, nine villagers got awarded with certificates, bird books and raincoats for their watchful efforts, while schoolkids who won wildlife quizzes got notebooks and pens. "Their giving is from the heart," says Jatinder. "I can't even give them money for phone calls, yet villagers call me all the time from PCOs to report their sightings." Adds an exultant Gopi Sundar, research associate of the International Crane Foundation: "In pure conservation terms, this is surely India's most shining example of people protecting wildlife."
This conviction comes through in the voice of men like Latur Lal, a singhada (water chestnut) harvester, who monitors Sarus pairs in Ummedganj village and calls himself a "kudrat ka chowkidar", nature's watchman. Unable to afford a wristwatch, he still tells the time of the day by reading shadows. But his skinny chest swells with pride as he says: "First people laughed at me. Now they respect me." Prof B.C. Choudhry of the Wildlife Institute of India, an endangered species expert who has also advised Jatinder on this project, says: "By making people partners in conservation, if we can replicate this for 500 chicks in ten years, we will actually see an increase in the Sarus population by ten per cent." But for now, the marshy-splashy dance of the Sarus along these sprawling mustard fields makes these crane pairs Jodi Number 1 for all children in Kota.
