Question

‘Sairandhrivanam’ is called Silent Valley because of:
1. The absence of birds
2. The absence of noisy cicadas
3. The presence of lion-tailed macaques
4. The presence of a silent river

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : The absence of noisy cicadas

Silent Valley:

• Silent Valley National Park located in Nilgiri Hills, Coimbatore – Palakkad District in Kerala is known as “Sairandhrivanam” which means Sairandhri’s Forest.
• Here Sairandhri refers to Draupadi who disguised herself as Sairandhri, queen Sudeshna’s assistant during the exile of Pandavas.
• Silent Valley National Park is called so because of the absence of chirping cicadas.
• Robert Wight had historically explored this national park.
• The park is the core of the Nilgiri International Biosphere Reserve and is part of The Western Ghats World Heritage Site, Nilgiri sub-cluster under consideration by UNESCO.
• It is one of the few bio hot spots in the world. And it is home to rich biodiversity, sustained in an ecosystem, which is fragile and needs to be handled with care.
• With a total area of 237.5 sq km and a core area of 89.54 sq km, the Silent Valley National Park located in the Palakkad district of Kerala is unique in many ways.

Hence, ‘Sairandhrivanam’ is called Silent Valley because of the absence of noisy cicadas.