Flying Home

It was the beginning of October and everyone in Kheechan was waiting to feed and care for the cranes that visited them every year.

“Mama, when will the koonj arrive?” Raju asked Bhanwar Ram.

“Beta, they will be here soon,” said Bhanwar Ram. “By November.”

Raju began a countdown to the date of arrival. It would take about four weeks for the koonj to arrive from the Mongolian plains where they nested.

They would fly over the Central Asian plains and then over the Himalayas and finally land in Kheechan.

A day went by.

Then two days, then five days.

In seven days, it had been a week.

7 days = 1 week

Then two, then three.

Soon it had been four weeks, almost a full month.

14 days = 2 weeks = a fortnight

About 4 weeks = 1 month

How much longer would it take for the birds to arrive?

Raju was growing impatient.

He had spent the month helping Bhanwar Mama stock up on grains for their feed.

Raju counted, a year has 12 months and the koonj usually stayed in Kheechan for five months. This meant they would be here until the end of March. He would get to spend almost half a year with them.

He would feed the cranes, and look after the wounded and tired ones that had made the long journey.

6 months = half a year

12 months = 1 year

Then one day, Raju looked up at the sky. He saw hundreds of koonj gliding and sailing, soaring and racing.

All the villagers ran out of their homes with bags of millet and scattered it on the ground. Raju ran to join them.

His friends were back home.

The Koonj Calendar

Every year, thousands of koonj, also known as demoiselle cranes, migrate from their home in Central Asia to Kheechan in Rajasthan and parts of Pakistan. They stay there for around five months and the villagers feed them every day.

There are 7 days in a week.

There are 30 or 31 days in most months.

Only February has 28 days.

There are 4-5 weeks in a month.

There are 12 months or 52 weeks in a year.