The Language of birds and trees - Girija & Giridhar

Have you ever met humans that are sweet as a cherry and bubbly as a bird? Whose lives are so intricately braided into a landscape that is flourishing with biodiversity? Here is a story about Girija and Giridhar from Wayanad who run an orchard-homestay called Sharanyam nestled in a quiet valley of the Ghats. 

We missed lunch but promptly arrived famished to indulge in the sumptuous Chakka Ada (jackfruit dough steamed in bay leaves) and freshly fried jackfruit chips to accompany our coffee. As we walked up to our rooms to check-in, all the trees around were brimming with fruit and we couldn't help ourselves from snacking again. We plucked some boozey Barbados Cherries, Star fruits that were glaringly sweet, luscious purple Cherry Guavas that taste like strawberries, candy-like Lemon Drop Mangosteens, the melodramatic Miracle berry that tricked our brain and many shades of Rose Apples that were as juicy as can be.

We were told that there is a special sadhya-like dinner waiting for us just because we were ecological designers, so we seated ourselves at the dining well in advance to meet the wonderful hosts of this lovely home. Giridhar poured us a glass of his home-made Chikoo wine and began to tell us a story we will cherish forever. The family moved to Wayanad from the city a decade ago, where they had to shut down their nursery and tissue culture lab business. They then bought this parcel of land and have been nurturing these 1.41 acres with every fruit and vegetable one can dream of. The orchard is a conservatory of species, an arboretum of fruits and the garden floor sprinkled with fallen fruit for every member of the food chain.

Giridhar is a rare horticulturist who is very well aligned with the native ecology of his bio-region. He has a holistic understanding of the multi-disciplinary relationships between elements of ecology and farming. The farm is naturally built on principles of regenerative agriculture in response to his keen eye for observation and his deep passion for the natural world. 

At nightfall, we noticed a five-member family of Red Spurfowl nimbly hopping their way up to a mango tree branch to roost for the night. Girija aunty who had just finished cooking dinner, sprung out of the kitchen to tell us all about her bird friends. She only speaks Malayalam but she had so much to share in her implicit ways. "The birds mainly come to our farm to make nests and leave their hatchlings behind for us to foster," she says. "The Peacocks cannot resist the chillies just as the Bulbuls are obsessed with mangoes". Her cheeks were flushed in excitement as she described the dietary preferences of each bird while also getting distracted by the birdsongs during this dramatic narration.

"Birds are all one species, they may have different faces and colors like relatives within a family but they deeply care for each other as kin. On the days I fall sick and don't step out to the courtyard, our resident Magpie Robin and the Bulbul fly into my room to start the chitter-chatter. If they find me loitering outside late at night, they wake up from their sleep to scold me back into the safety of my house". She also believes that birds mourn each other's death. When a bird is found lying dead, even the other species gather around to mourn its death. One day, she noticed the resident Puff-throated babbler's partner had passed away, and was shocked to see a Myna accompany the lone babbler in its bird songs at dawn and dusk. Mynas are great mimics and likely the only ones who could match up to the babbler’s melodic skills.

"Birds will trust you and interact with you once you perceive the stillness in them. They only know to live in the moment" says Giridhar. With countless varieties of trees and even more fruits than a village can possibly eat, Giridhar also runs an organic terrace nursery. He grows almost all of the food they consume most organically, with his own concoctions of organic fertilizer, compost, pesticides and a diverse range of mulch. His nursery is full of rare, grafted fruit and flower saplings. From the Malabar chestnut tree to an endangered Wayanad Lemon, the nursery is a little museum of nearly 60 species of fruit (both native and exotic) of which 22 of them are Guavas itself!

After over-indulging in one of the best and biggest 20-course, farm-to-table Mallu meals for dinner that night, we sat and watched lightning flash across the clouds from a storm faraway for nearly two hours in our balcony. With our hearts, stomachs and souls so very full, we left the next morning with bags full of fruit and inspiration from Girja & Giridhar. On how to regenerate land and amble through its abundance with generosity, to keep your feet grounded and mind tender in order to resonate with the language of birds and trees, to reap the fruits of great biodiversity and circulate this ecological wealth in exchange for smiles and love from all lifeforms that cross paths with you.

Happy World Biodiversity Day 2023 :)