A story about a bird and a hot chilli from Nagaland. There is a an excruciatingly hot chilli found in Nagaland. A man named Panmei came across this beautiful red chilli in the jungle. He mistook it for a fruit. He ate it and had the most acute pain. He was rolling in the forest in pain, when a kind bird saw him. The bird decided to help him.

He went to the wild, paddy patch and dropped the raw paddy on him. Panmei started eating the paddy grains and it soothed his stomach. Once he recovered, he took the chilli and the raw paddy home. The villagers started growing both of them and have eaten them since then. They honour the birds by observing a period of abstinence when they do not hunt and kill birds. They express their gratitude to the birds.

Dear ones, we can practice this also and abstain from possessing and killing any birds. Are you aware how much trafficking is happening in birds? Many of us hanker to have talking parrots and other exquisitely plumed birds in our homes. All I can say is that birds are most beautiful in their natural habitat.

Those who cherish birds allow them to fly.

Aim Hrim Klim

Tale 1 – About trees
Tale 2 – Two rivers in love
Tale 3 – The Peacock from Meghalaya
Tale 4 – The tears from Arunachal Pradesh
Tale 6 – The mermaid’s song from Puducherry
Tale 7 – Tigers are family
Tale 8 – The Hornbill’s curse
Tale 9 – Coconut palm
Tale 10 – Cuckoo cries all summer

Photo by Donna Koch on Unsplash