India is blessed with numerous animals and birds but with passing time, we are losing many of them. But some good people are working towards a better future and saving these beautiful residents of nature. A Hindu priest or Swamiji at his Shuka Vana Ashram is inhabiting thousands of exotic birds and creating his world of birds in Ashram Shuka Vana.
Shuka Vana is a bird home or aviary in Mysuru which holds a Guinness World Record for the most bird species in an aviary. The remarkable aviary has around 2,100 colorful birds of 468 exotic species. Guinness World Records adjudicator Rishi Nath was invited to Shuka Vana to verify the record and present its creator with an official certificate. Shuka Vana is an aviary, and it is created by Dr. Sri Ganapathy Sachidanand Swamiji, head of the Spiritual, Cultural, and Social welfare organization, Avadhoota Datta Peetham in Mysuru, India.
Swamiji feels a lot about animal welfare and conservation, and that's why he created Shuka Vana to preserve the endangered species. Most birds in this aviary have an incredible relationship with the Swamiji, and he has also trained several parrots to talk and interact with the visitors.
Shuka Vana is an aviary spread across one-and-a-half acres, and it is unexpectedly situated inside the stunning Sri Ganapathy Sachidanand Ashrama. Birds like Macaws, Amazon parrots, Sun Conures, Quaker parrots, and eclectus, among 468 species of birds fly around the 60-feet-tall free-flight aviary. Some birds like Sun Conures, usually don't come close to humans, but surprisingly they approach visitors at this place. And Swamiji thinks that it happens because they feel safe and comfortable in this place.
Shuka Vana has made it to the Guinness World Records for housing the largest number of bird species in an aviary. The certificate was presented to the Swamiji in May 2018. And with its stunning diversity of birds, and 2,100 individual birds, the aviary has turned into an education center of types for children. It is the result of the hard work and patience of Ganapathi Sachidanand Swami, and his love for the birds.
Swamiji currently holds 8 other Guinness World Records titles, and all of those records were dedicated to world peace and universal brotherhood. He started on 31 January 2015, in Tenali, India, when the Most people Chanting Together World Record was broken with the number of 1,28,000 people, under the guidance of Swamiji. On 31 July 2015, at Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple in Frisco, Texas more than 580 people participated in a continued marathon chanting lasting for over 24 hours. In July 2015, Milpitas, USA has seen the Largest Yoga Lesson given for the wellbeing of society. On 31 July 2016, the largest online video album with over 40,000 people from more than 30 nations dedicating prayers for the universal brotherhood outside the tallest Hanuman in India.
On 26 May 2017, the largest Hindu scripture was dedicated to the world for universal collaboration and friendliness. The same day, the world record title was given for the largest display of Bonsai Trees, with a tally of over 2600 trees. Shuka Vana was recognized with the world record for over 2100 birds and 468 exotic species. And the largest stamp measures 2.87 m was achieved by Swamiji at Mysuru, India on 26 May 2018.
Initially, the Shuka Vana was started as a rehabilitation center, providing veterinary care and shelter to injured birds. A few years ago, Swamiji found some sick birds at his ashram and found that they were exotic species. He treated them with the help of vets, and then he decided to help them at the ashram. And gradually, his followers started gifting exotic birds to him. The number grew from a dozen to a few hundred and then to over 2,000 birds from South America, Indonesia, Australia, Philippines, and the Solomon Islands. Some of these birds have been rescued by Swamiji's followers from as far away as Mumbai and Delhi, where they found them neglected by their owners.
The aviary is equipped with an X-ray machine, DNA laboratory, operation theatre, blood testing facility, and an isolation unit for infected birds. Several specialists visit the place twice a day, and there's even a play section for birds. And thus, no wonder a conservation center in the Philippines has recently gifted the aviary a stunning pair of the endangered Blue Hyacinth Macaws. When most of the birds are getting extinct because of rising pollution in the environment, people like Ganapathy Sachidanand Swamiji and his Ashram Shuka Vana volunteers are setting an incredible example for people to save the birds, and most importantly love them before thinking to save them.
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Reference:
(www.guinnessworldrecords.com / Wikipedia)