Thirukazhukkundram ~ ‘Neophron percnopterus’

The name ‘Neophron percnopterus’ – may not exactly strike a chord !! 

Faqtooni, the wife of Egyptian King Mukhtar, sends her youngest son Bashim to India to retrieve a magical gem and weapon to avenge her husband's death. Aishwarya, the daughter of government minister Mahadevaraya—who, as a descendant of a royal family, is also the custodian of the gem—sneaks away from her home to travel to Jaipur with her friends.  Not fully aware,  Aishwarya,  packs the magical gem in her bag. Aishwarya and her friends meet Sakthi, who acts as their tour guide after they are assaulted by a group of men. While Aishwarya is in Jaipur, Mahadevaraya offers his old friend, Jackie the Great, his entire wealth for the magical weapon, which he came to possess by killing his father. Jackie declines Mahadevaraya's offer. Later, in Kashmir, Aishwarya is kidnapped by Bashim's henchmen. Sakthi rescues her, but Bashim follows them to Hardiwar, where Sakthi discovers the magical gem while swimming in the Ganges.

 

Shakthi -  directed by Meher Ramesh, starring NT Rama Rao Jr. alongside Ileana D'Cruz, Prabhu, Manjari, SP Balasubramanyam,   Pooja Bedi, Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood  hit the screens in 2011.  Mani Sharma composed the soundtrack. It failed miserably !!  

The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture in the monotypic genus Neophron. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, West Asia and India. The contrasting underwing pattern and wedge-shaped tail make it distinctive in flight as it soars in thermals during the warmer parts of the day. Egyptian vultures feed mainly on carrion but are opportunistic and will prey on small mammals, birds, and reptiles. They also feed on the eggs of other birds, breaking larger ones by tossing a large pebble onto them.  

The use of tools is rare in birds and apart from the use of a pebble as a hammer, Egyptian vultures also use twigs to roll up wool for use in their nest. Egyptian vultures that breed in the temperate regions migrate south in winter while tropical populations are relatively sedentary. Populations of this species declined in the 20th century and some island populations are endangered by hunting, accidental poisoning, and collision with power lines.  

The Egyptian vulture was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Vultur percnopterus. The genus Neophron was created by Jules-César Savigny in the first natural history volume of the Description de l'Égypte' (1809).  The genus Neophron is considered to represent the oldest branch of the vultures which consists of separated (or polyphyletic) clades. 

Near Mahabalipuram is the famous Vedagireeswarar Thirukkovil of Lord Shiva – the place is known as Thirukazhukkundram (Thirukkalukkundram) as two vultures were regular visitors to this temple at noon for centuries.     The town is also known as "Pakshi-theertham" (Pakshi- bird; Theertham- holy lake) because of the  pair of birds (most likely Egyptian vultures) that   visited the site regularly  for centuries. These birds were traditionally fed by the temple priests and arrived  before noon to feed on offerings made from rice, wheat, ghee and sugar. Many people in their 50s or 60s who had visited this temple, have seen those Vultures too.

 

Sad, they are not coming any longer !! – the one here was pictured at Vandalur Zoo recently.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
21.2.2025