Palak Dil or Palak Lake is the largest natural lake in
Mizoram and is situated near Phura village which is about 391 kms to the south
of Aizawl. Oval in shape, it covers about 1 square km and is surrounded by lush
virgin forests rich in flora and fauna.
Palak Dil or Pala Tipo (Mara language for "swallowing
lake") is the largest lake of Mizoram, northeast India. It is located in
near Phura village in Saiha district, within the Mara Autonomous District
Council. Its geographical location falls under the Indo-Burma biodiversity
hotspot, and is therefore rich in animal and plant species. The lake is a major
component of the Palak Wildlife Sanctuary, and it supports the major biodiversity
of the sanctuary.
Pala is derived from a mythical Mara story for the name of
the lake while tipo means "lake"; it is called Palak Dil in Mizo ṭawng. The lake gives the name
of the region Palak Assembly Constituency under Election Commission of India
Legends abound the origin of the lake. One version says that
before the lake was formed, there used to be a big village here and a large
serpent lived in a cavern in the vicinity and occasionally stole the villager’s
livestock. When it started stealing their children, the villagers decided to
kill the serpent. Using a huge fish hook and a dead goat for bait, they managed
to catch and kill the serpent and distributed its meat to every household for
dinner. That night strange things began to happen. A widow living with her two
children got the serpent’s head as her share and started cooking it in a big
pot. After sometime, when she looked into the boiling pot, she found that the
eyes of the serpent was blinking, rolling and watching her. Frightened and
horrified, she threw out the pot with the serpent’s head still inside it. Later
on, she heard strange noises and ran out of the house to find her doorsteps
being flooded with water which continued to rise. She took her children and ran
away just before the water submerged the whole village. All the other
inhabitants were drowned while they were sleeping and the water formed a wide
lake that has come to be called Palak Dil.
Legends aside, nature lovers are attracted by the
surprisingly great variety of wildlife to be found in this remote area
adjoining the Myanmar forests. It is a home to most of the common wetland birds
and hill birds, and is believed to be a winter stop-over for migrating Pintail
Duck while a few elephants still roam the surrounding virgin forests. Though a
jeepable road connects Palak Lake from Phura, care has been taken to maintain
and preserve the area in its pristine environmental state.
According to oral history Palak Dil is said to be formed
around 800-1200 CE. It coincided with the period of westward migration of Mara
people from Burma. The origin of Palak Dil is a well known folktale among Mizo
people. According to Mara legend the location area was originally a big village
called Hnychao. There were about 300 families. At the center of the village was
a large rock, underneath of which was a cave inhabited by a giant serpent.
Villagers soon noticed that children playing around the rock frequently
disappeared. At night their livetock animals were missing too. The village
hunters caught the serpent using a gigantic fishing pole, and using a goat (or
dog in other version) as a bait. From this point there are two versions:
They killed the snake and the meat was distributed to all
families. A widow with two children happened to get a share of the head. When
she cooked it, the eyes were blinking and rolling, staring at her. Frightened,
she threw the cooking pot into the street. When she looked out, their doorstep
was being flooded and fled for life with her children. The pool rose to a lake
submerging the entire habitation and drowning the rest of the villagers. The
lake was eventually called Pala Tipo.
In an alternate version, when they caught the snake they
could not completely haul out its body and cut it in the middle. The bottom
half fell back into the cave with massive thunder. It created an upsurge of water
from the cave, submerging the whole village. This became a permanent lake and
was called Pala Tipo, literally meaning a "swallowing or submerging
lake".
Hydrology
Palak Dil is oval in shape with a length of 870 meters,
width of 700 meters, and depth of 17 to 25 meters. It is believed that a
village exists below the lake, some people believes that the lake is haunted by
ghosts and demons. Another Legend also
believes that a British Officer once dropped his sword in the middle of the
lake and ordered one of his men to retrieve it, the men dived to retrieve it
but came back only after 3 days explaining that he had feasted and was to drunk
to return. The lake is fed by two main
streams from the nearby mountains. Its drainage is through a small river called
Pala Lui. This drainage area creates a stretch of valley, which remains the
main agricultural area of the Mara people.
Wildlife
Palak Dil is home to a number of resident and migratory
animals. It is particularly rich in a variety of birds, including endemic bird
species. The water is inhabited by common and unique species of fishes.
Different species of prawns, snails, crabs, turtles and tortoises. More than 70
species of birds have been recorded from the lake and its shore. Among unique
species are Nepal fulvetta, white-bellied yuhina, little spiderhunter, streaked
spinderhunter, yellow wagtail, black-capped kingfisher, hooded pitta,
spot-breasted scimitar babbler, and white-rumped munia, which are rarely seen
in other parts of the region. In addition aquatic birds and wild ducks in Palak
Dil are found nowhere else in Mizoram.
Conservation
Palak Dil and its surrounding area covering 15 km2. is
declared by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests as a protected area
under the Palak Wildlife Sanctuary. The surrounding forest is extensively
exploited due to shifting cultivation. The Bombay Natural History Society has
selected it as potential ramsar site for wetland conservation.
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