Snow Leopard Scouting @Hemis High Altitude National Park, Leh

Blog of the Snow Leopard Scouting Trip with WWF Explorers to Hemis High Altitude National Park, Leh / Ladakh, 10-19 Feb 2014.  


Snow Leopards (Panthera Uncia - an endangered species listed in IUCN Red-list http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22732/0) are the most mysterious and hard to find large cats, colloquially known as the #GREY-GHOSTS of the Mountains, living here in one of the most rugged and harsh terrains, their #Trans-himalayan #COLD-DESERT habitat. 

With 4400 sqkm area, Hemis National Park is the largest in India; the altitude ranges between 3000m - 6000m high terrain of the trans-Himalayan cold-desert within Ladakh district of Jammu & Kashmir. According to experts, Snow Leopards are most likely/easier to be spotted, with some luck, during the peak winter in Feb at lower altitudes around 3500m, and during summer with the prey species of mountain goats and sheep going higher up for grazing, the snow leopards also go to higher reaches around 5400m and above.

A brief WWF presentation on Snow Leopard conservation, prepared by our trip team lead and Snow Leopard researcher Aishwarya Maheshwari is available for download from here. More detailed reports by him on Snow Leopard conservation in J&K (Kargil area), Himachal (Spiti area) and Uttarakhand, are available here.

According to Aishwarya, India's population estimate for Snow Leopards is between 400-700 individuals, and 60% of the population is within Jammu & Kashmir- within that, the highest population density is reported within Hemis National Park. 

Hemis National Park has a great conservation success story, and it really felt good to know about the measures taken there to minimise human-wildlife conflicts (that is a major issue almost all across India). On the last night of our camping, it was inspiring (as it would be for any wildlife enthusiast), to listen to the local wildlife guard Khundrup explain with earnestness and pride about the model system for conservation they too helped set up in Hemis; It was also about his colleagues' and community's initiatives to improve the eco system for both people and wildlife, building awareness and inspiring youngsters with a sense of responsibility and pride about sustaining and protecting their iconic species. While there are community participatory programs with high level of involvement of the local population, there are also eco-tourism initiatives with minimal impact to the ecosystem and waste management, all of which have fed back to make CONSERVATION & COEXISTANCE a ground reality that works both ways! 

For me personally, the experience of camping out during peak winter in the Himalayas for the first time. Even though once I did a 'Himalayan Winter Trek' in the foothills of the Western Himalayas from Dalhousie to Chamba valley in Himachal Pradesh (which happens to be 10years ago!, I realise now), that was nowhere near this experience in the Great Himalayas- Thanks to our organiser Karishma of WWF and our fantastic, pleasant team lead Aishwarya of WWF, who's doing very admirable work- he has been researching Snow Leopards in the Himalayas for 6 years for his PhD, after his masters at Wildlife Institute of India. He has travelled across the Himalayas and beyond for his work!. 

 The Photo gallery [ the shots from mobile phone are not included in this album Slideshow;
 They are shown separately below]

[The following images are all shot with the mobile phone only.]

During Camping @ Hemis High Altitude National Park (campsite at 3630m), Leh,
Western Himalayas

Pug marks of a Snow Leopard (a mother, with that of a sub-adult trailing alongside- see below)
on the frozen Jing Chen river (a minor tributary of River Indus which flows through Leh) with a dusting of an inch of snow from previous evening. This trail on the last day of our camping, led to our lucky 2nd sighting of 2 snow leopards together.

[The WWF guide on Identifying Pugmarks  (pdf document)]

Two Paths Crossed in the Wild:
Pug marks of a sub-adult Snow Leopard and that of  a Red Fox!

Wild Tracks : The Red Fox & The Snow Cock ? (or possibly of the Chukar Partridge)
Early morning, after I went to pee on the snowy rocks around the Campsite, I trailed the red fox footprints- As it crossed the river, the bird's footprints crossed them. 

The Red Fox seemed to be a regular at nighttime looking for tasty bites from dinner plates.

It seemed to be quite foxy to avoid human's eyes as well- As I stayed awake almost all night to watch for it, without any success (while trying to catch the Star-trails on camera with such clear night sky, though photographically that also was spoiled by the bright moonlight, it was some experience in the harsh cold winds, with frost enveloping on the lens after half an hour long exposure!.)

Kazim, one of our guides from Kargil at the Hemis campsite,
fetching water from the river after breaking though the frozen layer

Scouting for Snow Leopard @Hemis High Altitude NP (the habitat ranges from 3000m -6000m of treeless Trans-Himalayan Cold Desert).
India's largest density of Snow Leopards is found here 
(according to some estimates, around 200, in an area of 4400 sq km)
Our WWF Explorers team of 8, (including the admirable, strong-willed 57yr old Rameshji from Chennai, who made the  tough terrain look easier for his physique and age with his tougher psyche; a veteran of WWF outings and a world traveller). 
#MountainPanorama (click to enlarge)

All the campers, mostly foreigners excitedly on the lookout for the 2 Snow Leopards that were spotted early in the morning, with pug marks seen on the frozen river  close to our campsite, within 100m or so!.
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life. Awakening from the stupefying effects of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury, they are trying as best they can to mix and enrich their own little ongoings with those of Nature, and to get rid of rust and disease.” 
― John Muir

Man and The Mountain:
The youngest of the WWF Explorers squad, 17yr old Jonak Joey, sitting on a ridge about 3900m (towards right bottom- see photo below for zoomed shot- click to enlarge), scanning for Snow Leopards on the next mountain where a couple were spotted for about 6hrs, the previous day, when we've all had an eyeful ogling at them relaxing in the sun on a high ridge. 
I climbed a little further from where he was sitting and waiting. 
It was tough steep climb with loose ground and scree, to the site where a bunch of foreign professional photographers who went ahead were scanning for the Snow Leopard.
Among them, were Alex from Germany who had asked me on the way up to take a few shots for him on his Nikon D4, ( searching for Snow-Leopard mood shots :). He said he had spent a month in Kyrgystan looking for Snow Leopards, but without success.
14 Feb 2014.
#MountainPanorama (click to enlarge)

SOLITUDE!
Jonak, who preferred solitude, peering through his binocs, 
scanning the mountains for  the Grey Ghosts.

“Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean…
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn”  
- John Muir

Dorje, one of our guides starts scanning the mountains with  spotting scopes
from early morning before sunrise, looking for any sighs of snow leopards.

The Campsite after a Snowy Night and battering Cold Winds @ -23degC

Fantastic Mr Fox :)
Our fantastic and friendly WWF Explorers team lead, Aishwarya Maheshwari at the Campsite.
He has been a Snow Leopard researcher with Wildlife Institute of India for  6yrs,
with the study area stretching across the Great Himalayas,
with his focus site around Kargil &Dras in Western Himalaya.
He obviously has an enviably huge wealth of information and experience of the Himalayas, its people and its ecosystem.

One of the team mates Partho Roy from Calcutta with our local guide Manla, Taking a break from Snow Leopard spotting ;) .
On the trek back to the campsite from the small Rumbak village @4000m.

When a snow-storm hit while I was out birding on the mountain slope,
spying on some Robin Accentor and Brown Accentor - new species for me, the Trans-Himalayan winter residents.
While I was focusing on a bird that was active and foraging even in the midst of the snow-storm,
and when just about to shoot one, heard Partho calling out for me - an SOS/distress call! He was coming up the slope towards this crag, that he was slipping down and will tumble and fall if not pulled up. When I leaned over the rock from where I was standing here, saw him clinging onto the slope, 'on all three' - trying to pull himself up with one hand, struggling helplessly unable to free the other hand holding a Canon 7D with 100-400mm attached that he can't put anywhere.. either him or the camera or both may have fallen a few meter down anytime if he tried to come out of the situation by himself! :)  I put my backpack down and went down for the 'mountain rescue' ;)
This was shot by Partho when I was back, lifting my backpack and back on to look for birds.

[ That late afternoon, I was hoping for an outside chance of getting a Snow Leopard while snowing (just dreaming,
 after seeing NatGeo's Steve Winter's stunning camera-trap shot of a Snow Leopard in a Snowstorm from Hemis,
 that won the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 award - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7696188.stm ),
 then I settled for a more reachable goal- capturing at least the birds while snowing.. 
But in the end, ironically, all I got was this shot! ;) ]

The Indus Valley:
River Indus flows in the valley between the two Great Himalayan Ranges-
The Ladakh Range in the North and the Zanskar Range in the South (seen here in the background).

In the topo map below, can see R Indus, flowing down diagonally from Tibet (bottom right) - from SouthEast towards NorthWest- to India, passing by Hemis (towards the centre). 

Ladakh - Topo Map

Local Wildlife Map - Around Rumbak village @4000m
The denizens include Argali, Bharal, Tibetan Wolf, Wild Dog, Snow Cock, Marmots, Snow Leopard et al..
Along with 9 families of humans!

#Ladakh #Wildlife #Mammals

Just 2 days after we (WWF explorers team) left Hemis, it was both thrilling and in a way, a bit disappointing (for our luck slipping by 2 days), to read this on Nat Geo Newswatch- 

Witness the First Ever Successful Snow Leopard Kill Caught on Camera

based on shots by the South African photographer from Hemis, whom we were talking to. He was leading a group of photographers at a campsite just next to ours; They got lucky to witness the kill, and capture it fabulously too!.

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Documentary from Hemis National Park: 
SILENT ROAR: SEARCHING FOR THE SNOW LEOPARD

SLOVENIA - MEMORY OF YUGOSLAVIA

An island with a church on Lake Bled, shot from Bled Castle

When I was in school, such a place didn’t exist. On the globe. Or Maps. It was yet to be born, out of one of the coloured patches, that I read out as You-Go-Slavia (near to another stranger sounding, more difficult to read Czech-o-slo-vakia). I knew then, that they were having a lot of problems with each other. Wars, atrocities, genocide, ethnic cleansing. Wouldn’t have thought of such a peaceful place around here- The image created by the media has been that of conflicts and war.

To my surprise, the young Slovenian cab driver I met in Ljubljana, DuŠan (Dushan), in his late 20s, was very much a history freak, and he was great company to discuss political history of the region!. So I made a deal to stick to his cab, and he took me around for couple of days. It’s likely that growing up in a country with politically very volatile neighbours like Bosnia would make one very aware of the political history…

 Over those days, he talked about  imperialism, communism, dictatorship of Tito, split up of Yugoslavia..through to the EU.
An interesting part was when I told him that my first introduction to the politics of the area was what we studied in school about the trigger to World War I : The 1914 shooting/assassination of the prince/Archduke of Austria and princess in the street in Sarajevo/Bosnia (The prince was heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian empire/monarchy which also ruled the Yugoslav area. The youth assassin was a Yugoslav nationalist who wanted freedom from the empire). That’s when DuŠan mentioned about the trial of the assassin where he demanded: 

"I am a Yugoslav nationalist, our aim is to unify all Yugoslavs, and I do not care what form of state is formed, but it must be free from Austria." 

After WWI, “The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes” was formed that formally changed to “Kingdom of Yugoslavia”,  and after WWII, it became a republic with different official terms added to Yugoslavia- among which the longest surviving was Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (made up of 6 socialist republics- Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia ), until splitting up in 1992 into separate states, along ethnic lines. 

Early morning, Lake Bled, Slovenia.

My first introduction to the history of this area, was when planning the Greece trip.
Bordering north of Greece, was this confusingly marked country, 'FYROM'. Had never heard of such a place, and it turned out to be Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia- so named, because the Greeks won't allow them to be called just Macedonia, which is the name of adjoining region in Greece as well- that the Greeks are proud of, as the birthplace of Alexander The Great! Though the whole large area was part of the ancient Macedon region, which is now split between different countries. But the Greeks did not want to 'give away' that name for a new country.

When I asked DuŠan about people's view of the change before and after EU, he talked more about Tito, and compared the time he ruled (from Serbia/Belgrade) to the current EU membership of Slovenia.

He said, people are of the opinion that in a way, Tito’s time was better, though dictatorial, he took away stuff from the area but also returned enough. But, after EU accession, there’s more being taken away than being provided to the people or the economy. Share of contribution vs benefits are not balancing out.. Though majority of people were against communism, and wanted freedom, and Slovenia was one of the first regions to get autonomy from Yugoslavia, looking back, in some ways, grass was greener when the flag was redder :)

I guess, like everywhere else, the “tribal” politics of ethnic groups seem to be at the base of it all- From the Lack of trust, fear of exploitation, to the lure of easier trade and support of richer states, and based on these, Deciding what kind of boundaries to be drawn. So some areas have been shift between Making deals to merge and share resources more freely, and breaking away to be independent, to own their resources and trade with more control over them- to feel more power and for better bargaining power, perhaps. Finding the balance between the two options seem to be a very difficult political act!, anywhere in the world.

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POETRY OF THE DREAMY RAINSTORM: 

Sudden heavy rainstorm, Lake Bled.
The Church on this tiny island blurred with rain-mist.

The overnight drizzle hadn't stopped by daybreak.. Very early in the morning, by 7 as I reached the lakeshore, from the long chat on history and politics of this part of erstwhile Yugoslavia (From imperialism, communism, dictatorship of Tito, split up of Yugoslavia..through to the EU..with the very politically aware- almost like an activist, young Slovenian cab driver DuŠan/Dushan in his late 20s- and a surprisingly history-freak, very keen and knowledgable..mostly I'd ask something and listen), I stepped out from the past, into a sudden heavy rainstorm.. and visibility dropped.. the church on the island and the shades of autumn colours started fading into the rain-mist, blurring the details slowly, as if in a sfumato painting..

(Shot it, while getting drenched, making my jacket as hood for the camera..) as I witnessed this and soaked-in the rain-soaked air, there were thoughts coming to me, which were like reflections on the memory of reading from this poem-

THE GARDENER by Rabindranath Tagore 

(His own translation in full, from the original in Bengali )

[ ..

If you would be busy and fill your pitcher, come, O come to my lake.

The water will cling round your feet and babble its secret.

The shadow of the coming rain is on the sands, and the clouds

hang low upon the blue lines of the trees like the heavy hair above your eyebrows.

I know well the rhythm of your steps, they are beating in my heart.

Come, O come to my lake, if you must fill your pitcher.

If you would be idle and sit listless and let your pitcher float on the water, come, O come to my lake.

The grassy slope is green, and the wild flowers beyond number.

Your thoughts will stray out of your dark eyes like birds from their nests.

Your veil will drop to your feet.

Come, O come to my lake if you must sit idle.

If you would leave off your play and dive in the water, come, O come to my lake.

Let your blue mantle lie on the shore; the blue water will cover you and hide you.

The waves will stand a-tiptoe to kiss your neck and whisper in your ears.

Come, O come to my lake, if you would dive in the water.

..

It is cool and fathomlessly deep.

It is dark like a sleep that is dreamless.

There in its depths nights and days are one, and songs are silence

.. ]

-This blog was written in Oct 2013.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra : On Zoroastrianism

From 2 parallel exhibitions on #Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest existing religions.

[The two parallel exhibitions on Zoroastrians(and Parsis in India) @ British Museum and 
@ SOAS.ac.uk (School of Oriental & African Studies, Uni of London. For this larger exhibition, Sponsors include The TATA Group, and Zubin Mehta as a chief patron).
They were GREAT opportunities to explore the beginning of one of the oldest known existing religion.. It has given interesting insights into how  Man creates Gods, 'promotes' and 'demotes' them, and even shifting some between Gods & Demons!- and their links to Hinduism's earliest scriptures!, for which I've been trying to dig for and gather bits and pieces ever since reading Early History of India by Romila Thapar.]

Popular modern image of Zarathustra.
Ironically, modern images from 19th century are in fact based on
a Sasanian rock relief near Kirmanshah, Iran, from about 363 AD, showing the god Mithra, who was demoted as a god by Zarathustra himself, who made Ahura Mazda as the only/supreme deity to be worshipped!
Zoroastrian Fire Temples are called Dar-e-Mihr, the gateway to Mithra.  

King, Fire & Prophet: Modern Parsi tiles from Mumbai, India.
Zarathustra is shown on the right with white priestly outfit, holding a bull-headed mace.
The holy fire in the centre is flanked by tongs and ladle used in fire rituals. Gujarati inscriptions refer to various legendary fires. Left shows an ancient Persian King/Shah Lohrasp, whose son was the patron of Zarathustra.

THUS SPOKE ZARATHUSTRA! 

[Exhibition @British Museum] Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, an Iranian scholar at British Museum (of pre-Islamic world & -coins from Persia, who head some committees of Iran Heritage Foundation, and who curated other exhibitions like IRAN BEFORE ISLAM) giving a members' evening special exhibition gallery talk- 
about #Zarathustra and the beginnings of #Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia..around 1500BC.
She is also the head of some commitee of Iran Heritage Foundation.

THUS SPOKE ZARATHUSTRA: He is asking these questions to Ahura Mazda, The Wise Lord.
GATHAS of Zarathustra in Old Iranian Avestan script.
 Zarathustra, poet, priest and philosopher (whose words captured the imagination of the classical Greek Philosophers centuries later-  (Plato and Aristotle.. founders of Western philosophy & science.. See the painting below by Italian Renaissance artist Raphael in 1509, with descriptions on this).

@SOAS.
Text from Avesta, the sacred text of Zoroastrians, contents dated around 1500BC, written much later in Avestan, the ancient Persian language closely linked to Sanskrit, but written right to left. These #EXISTENTIALIST hymns, "arguably the most poetic part of whole of Avesta", by Zarathustra (Prophet Zoroaster), asking rhetorical questions to AHURA MAZDA(The Lord Wisdom, the only God, Creator of All &the Universe).
Avesta fascinated Greek philosophers centuries later.
This part is mentioned as "Arguably one of the most poetic sections of the whole Avesta, Yasna #44, consists of rhetorical questions asked of Ahura Mazda about the creation of the universe, such as who established the path of the sun and the stars, who made the moon wax and wane, and who holds the earth in place beneath the clouds."
The daily Yasna (worship) ceremony which priests must learn by heart is the most important of the Zoroastrian rituals and include 17 hymns, the Gathas, which are attributed to Zarathustra.

Zarathrustra (meaning 'Gatherer of Camels'; Ushtra being camel in persian, she said, a word still in use) is believed to  have lived sometime between 1700~600BC, south of the Central Asian Steppes where he trained as a priest, and preached in Balkh/Bactria(current Afghan region).
From her research, Vesta Sarkhosh puts his dates around 1200BC. She did mention that though the beginning of Zoroastrianism as a religion is attributed to Zoroaster/Zarathustra, he only reformed an existing, more pagan religion of Mithraism- for instance, one major change he brought was promoting Ahura Mazda (as The only one/Supreme Lord Wisdom) and demoting Mithra & Varuna as 'Divine Beings', from earlier being Lords. 

• [From 'The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism': "Mithra was one of the principle gods of Indo-Iranian tribes (even before they parted company  and went their separate ways into India and Iran ). Mithra's 1st appearance in a historical record is in an inscription found at Boghazkoy in easter Anatolia dating from 14th century BC, and commemorating the treaty with two Indo-European people: The Hitties and Mittani. Their 5 divinities : Varuna, Mithra, Indra, and two Nasatyas, IDENTICAL TO THOSE WHO APPEAR SLIGHTLY LATER IN the Rig Veda, the oldest book of the Hindu sacred canon. In the Rig Veda, Mitra and Varuna and Asuras, always mentioned together, often as the double-or-twin-god Mithra-Varuna." ]

After the talk, when I got some 15min to speak to her, I mentioned reading about Ahuras/Asuras &Devas and some terms in Rig Vedic sanskrit being closely linked to words in Avesta, as described in Romila Thapar's "Early History of India". Her face lit up suddenly, saying she knows Romila very well, and is a good friend etc.

After the collapse of Sassanian Empire in 651 AD,
Zoroastrianism (which was state religion from 224 AD)
was gradually replaced by Islam as the state religion of Iran.
After Islamic conquest many Zoroastrians left their Iranian homeland for India,
where they are also known as Parsis.

Faravahar / Fravashi, the winged symbol of Zoroastrianism,  symbolises the immortal spirit of each human being that defends the material world against evil. (Symbol evolved from that of the head of the Assyrian pantheon in Mesopotamian religion that existed around 2500BC- That is around 1000years before Zoroastrianism began).
 Faravahar has now become a national symbol of Iran, and apparently sought after by the youth, irrespective of their religious affinities. Here it is shown in a key-chain.

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More here: From the section, "The Context of the Rig-Veda"
[Chapter: TOWARDS CHIEFDOMS & KINGDOMS (1200 -500 BC),
from The History of Early India, by Romila Thapar ]
When the earliest kingdoms were formed in India, during the Iron Age/Vedic Period -

  http://greenwich-times.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/aryans-not-race-from-history-of-india.html
Two parts which are more relevant here from that blog is added below. Click images to enlarge and read]

Mithra's 1st appearance in a historical record is in an inscription found at Boghazkoy in easter Anatolia dating from 14th century BC, and commemorating the treaty with two Indo-European people: The Hitties and Mittani. Their 5 divinities : Varuna, Mithra, Indra, and two Nasatyas, IDENTICAL TO THOSE WHO APPEAR SLIGHTLY LATER IN the Rig Veda, the oldest book of the Hindu sacred canon.

The Linguistic relationship between Avesta texts from Iran and Rig-Veda from North India.
Indra is demonic in the Avesta, as are the daevas (devas or gods in Sanskrit) and Ahura/asura emerges as the highest deity.
 This lead to the theory that originally the Old Iranian (ie., Avestan-speaking) and Indo-Aryan  speakers were a single group but dissensions led to their splitting up.

The possibly break-away group or those who gradually migrated to Indian subcontinent is now considered as those who formed the core of Vedic People in India (who assimilated some local cultures, possibly including the already-dispersed Indus civilization people), and who brought with them the Horse used in the Vedic Rituals, an animal alien to India. Meanwhile the native Elephants are treated as alien animal in the early Vedas! (As elaborated in this History of India book.Though the Hindu hardliners in India or abroad like the BJP,VHP,American Hindu Assoscn and other partisan political/religious entities don't like this interpretation of serious historians with hard factual/scriptural/archaeological/linguistic analysis!)
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Between Gods & Demons! :
Did the roles of Gods/Devas & Demons/Asuras get switched due to tribal political difference, resulting in related migrations of the breakaway group from Ancient Persia/Iranian plateau to Indian subcontinent ?? 

"Indra is demonic in the Avesta, so are Daevas (Deva or Gods in Sanskrit), and Ahura/Asura the highest deity." 

INDRA- GOD OR DEMON ??
Indra sits on a turquoise rock, by the River Ganges & mulls his future
Between Gods & Demons! : Did the roles of Gods/Devas & Demons/Asuras get switched due to tribal political difference, resulting in related migrations of the breakaway group from Ancient Persia/Iranian plateau to Indian subcontinent ??
"Indra is demonic in the later versions of Avesta, so are Daevas (Deva or Gods in Sanskrit), and Ahura/Asura the highest diety." 

Click to enlarge

• ["Daeva in Ancient Persia's Avestan language -of the Zoroastrian religious texts called Avesta,circa 1500 BC- meaning 'a being of shining light', is a term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics.(The word 'devil' is derived from their name.)
  
  In ancient Persia, Ahura ('Lord') is the title of gods, and the name for gods and spirits. The name was used to make a clear distinction between the Ahuras and the Daevas, who originally belonged to the same classification of godlike entities. The Daevas were in later religion degraded to the lesser kind of beings, demons or devils, they are now.
  
  Much of the information about Persian (old-Iranian) gods can be found in the religious texts from Zarathustra such as the Avesta, and in later sources such as the Bundahishn and the Denkard. The original Avesta dates back to 1400 - 1200 BC but it was destroyed by Alexander the Great when he invaded Persia."
  http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/middle_east/persian/articles.html ]
• From ‘Land of The 7 Rivers - A brief History of India's Geography’: "Use of the terms 'deva' and 'asura' - In the earliest Hindu scriptures of Rig Veda, the terms apply to different sets of deities and do not have clear connotations of good and bad. The god Varuna, for instance is described as an asura. However, in later Hinduism, the asuras would be identified as demons and devas as the gods. In contrast, devas refer to demons in the Zoroastrian tradition of Persia while the word asura is transformed into Ahura Mazda- The Great Lord. Since the deva-asura dichotomy is not clear cut in the Rig Veda but becomes very distinct in later texts, it is reasonable to argue that these opposing sets of meaning came to be attached at a later date. What caused this separation? Did the clans have religious disputes??..(between Bharatas and others?) ..One may never know for sure..
  
  There is a great deal of evidence that links the Rig Vedic Indians to the ancient Persians. The Avesta, the oldest and  most sacred text of the Zoroastrian religion, is written in a language that is almost identical to that of the Rig Veda. The older sections of the Avesta-- called The GATHAs-- are said to have been composed by the prophet Zarathustra himself. They can be read as Rig Vedic Sanskrit by making a minor phonetic change. The Avestan 'h' is the same as the Sanskrit 's'. Thus Sapta-Sindhu (mentioned in Rig Veda) in Sanskrit become Hapta-Hindu (mentioned in Avesta). A similar phonetic shift survives in the modern Indian language of Assamese and is easy to master"

• But (according to the latest book published in Dec 2013 during the SOAS exhibition, 'The Everlasting Flame, Zoroastrianism in history and Imagination',) in the oldest texts of Avesta, the Gathas attributed to Zarathustra, Daeva still means 'god', albeit a false one who should NOT be worshipped, while in the Younger Avesta texts, a Daeva has become a 'demon'(!). 
  A characteristic innovation of the religion of the Avesta is that the worship of Ahura Mazda is coupled with the rejection of the Indo-Iranian gods, the Daevas. Not only in the Zoroastrian texts but also in all Iranian languages, the Indo-Iranian and ultimately Indo-European word for god, *deiwo-, has changed its meaning from 'deity' to 'demon'
  The Gathas represent the Daevas as having been produced by the destructive force of 'Bad Thought':
  [ Yasna 32.3] : But you, (false) gods (daeva), all of you 
  are offsprings of Bad Thought,
  and (so it the one) who greatly worships you.
  Seed from Deceit and Pretension (are)
  known in the seventh part of the earth.
  The downgrading of the gods of earlier generations/cults/religions (before Zoroastrianism) and their subordination to another power, form part of a belief system that divides everything into good and evil. These two distinct groups are mutually exclusive, diametrically opposed to one another and described in the Gathas as 'life-giving' and 'destructive'.
  ...According to the Avesta, the Daevas rushed around on the earth unhindered and openly gave vent to their lust. Moreover, they attacked human beings and raped women (Yt 19.80)
  
  (I wonder whether this comes from some tribal raid between groups- such raids of villages and settlements of other tribes and groups to steal cattle etc is known among many tribes across the world..  and some of them involve rapes.. even today.. I sometimes wonder, the behavior during riots etc are remnants of such tribal past! :)
  
  ...The emphasis of the Zoroastrian tradition on the worship of Ahura Mazda and the vehement opposition to that of the Daevas has produced a number of elaborate scenarios of reward and punishment with regard to an individual's allegiance during life. After death, a person will reap the fruits of his or her good or bad thoughts, words and especially deeds. 

• 

  Zoroastrian Moral Code.

The Zoroastrian texts inspired the Greek Philosophers + Zoroastrians, Jews & Christians:
 "Iranians, Jews and Greeks were in contact from the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire (Persian Empire) from 559 BC onwards, leading to exchange of ideas between different communities, especially between Jewish Rabbis and Zoroastrian priests. This has left numerous traces in Jewish biblical literature and theology. One area where this is especially noticeable is in the field of Jewish Law (civil, criminal and private), particularly in the Babylonian Talmud.

The Babylonian Jewish community began with the Exile, the deportation of the Jews from Egypt to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II from 597 BC, not long before Cyruss II became the first king of the Persian (Achaemenid) Empire in 559 BC and captured Babylon in 539 BC.
The Talmudic period of in Babylonia began when the legendary Jewish teacher Abba Arikka (Rav_ moved from Palestine to Babylonia around 220 AD, when it was part of Sasanian Persian Empire (in which Zoroastrianism was the State Religion), that lasted until the Arab conquest and the introduction of Islam. The Talmudic period, the most important source of Jewish law, the Babylonian Talmud was produced by  Babylonian Rabbis. It shared numersous intellectual and cultural concerns with the Zoroastrian priests, their neighbours in the capital of Sasanian Empire."

Greek historian Herodotus, circa 450 BC wrote that the Persians had their sons educated in 3 subjects: Horsemanship, archery, and TELLING THE TRUTH.

From Histories of Herodotus [5th Century BC], speaking of the Persians in Achaemenid Empire:

"[1.136] Next to prowess in arms, it is regarded as the greatest proof of manly excellence to be the father of many sons. Every year the king sends rich gifts to the man who can show the largest number: for they hold that number is strength. Their sons are carefully instructed from their fifth to their twentieth year, in three things alone, - to ride, to draw the bow, and to speak the truth. Until their fifth year they are not allowed to come into the sight of their father, but pass their lives with the women. This is done that, if the child die young, the father may not be afflicted by its loss."

From the records of greek historian Plutarch (circa 50-120 AD) and others, it is known that the Zoroastrianism was of great interest to the philosophers associated with the Platonic Academy in Athens in 3rd and 4th centuries BC.

[click to enlarge and read the description] 

Zoroaster in Italian Renaissance artist Raphael's painting 'School of Athens'(1508) -shown along with Plato, Aristotle etc. It is one of a group of 4 frescoes showing different branches of knowledge: philosophy, poetry (including music), theology and law. It represents the ancient knowledge of the most famous philosophers centred around Plato & Aristotle whose doctrines dominated Western thought from Antiquity upto the late 17th century. Zoroaster is usually identified as the figure on the far right holding a globe.

@SOAS

By 3rd century AD, communities of Syriac-speaking christians co-existed alongside Zoroastrian neighbours in the Persian Sasanian Empire.
Zoroastrians were almost always referred to in the western sources as Magi-- from which the term Magic is derived.

 THE THREE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST,
The Magi in the Nativity story of the Bible- were Zoroastrian priests.
 Guided by an 8-pointed star, they approached and offered their gifts (of gold, frankincense and myrrh)
to Mary and Child.
[wiki] : The Magi are popularly referred to as wise men and kings. The word magi is the plural of Latin magus, borrowed from Greek μάγος magos, as used in the original Greek text of the Gospel of Matthew. Greek magos itself is derived from Old Persian maguŝ from the Avestan magâunô, i.e., the religious caste into which Zoroaster was born, (see Yasna 33.7: "ýâ sruyê parê magâunô" = "so I can be heard beyond Magi"). The term refers to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism.[8] As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science. Their religious practices and use of astrology caused derivatives of the term Magi to be applied to the occult in general and led to the English term magic.

IMPERIAL IRAN / FORMATION OF FIRST PERSIAN EMPIRE:
Between 1200 and 1000 BC, Iranian tribes migrating from Central Asia settled in the region of the inner Zargos mountains. The tribes 'Medes' occupied the region around Hamadan, while the 'Persians' moved further south to the Elamite Kingdom of Anshan, which later became known as Parsa. They were settled there for several generations before Cyrus II (circa 559-530 BC) founded the first Persian Empire.

According to Darius I (c. 522-486 BC), the Persians traced their ancestry back to Achaemenes, after whom the dynasty was named. In this dynastic line, Cyrus II was the son of the Persian Cambyses I, and Mandana, his wife, the grand-daughter of Cyaxeres, who founded the Median Empire (Medes & Persian tribes thus linked), following the death of the last great Assyrian king, Assurbanipal (c. 668-627 BC).

[ "Assurbanipal is famed for amassing a significant collection of clay tablet documents in cuneiform script, one of the earliest forms of writing, for his royal palace at Nineveh.This collection, known as the Library of Ashurbanipal, is now housed at the British Museum"The oldest surviving royal library in the world, was on the banks of Tigris river in current city of Mosul in northern Iraq. A project was setup by British Museum to use technology to make its contents accessible to modern readers]

Persian Empire (Achaemenid Empire), 500BC,

stretching from Indus in the east to parts of Greece, Egypt, Libya in the west.

Cyrus II founded his dynastic capital as Pasargadae, a site that provides the earliest examples of Ancient Persian monumental architecture and iconography. The great palaces built by Darius I at Persepolic and Susa, his rock relief at Bistun and the burial monuments of the Achaemenid kings at both Naqsh-e- Rostam and the hill above Persepolis preserve iconography and inscriptions (in Old Persian, Akkadian, Elamite, Aramaic and some in Egyptian hieroglyphs). These are valuable sources of information concerning the religious beliefs and practices of the Ancient Persians.

The 'Persian religion' also entered recorded history at this time through the accounts of Greek historians such as Herodotus and Xenophon.

• From the records of Greek historian Herodotus [written around 450 BC], speaking of the Persians (Achaemenid) Empire:

[1.131] The customs which I know the Persians to observe are the following: they have no images of the gods, no temples nor altars, and consider the use of them a sign of folly. This comes, I think, from their not believing the gods to have the same nature with men, as the Greeks imagine. Their wont, however, is to ascend the summits of the loftiest mountains, and there to offer sacrifice to Jupiter, which is the name they give to the whole circuit of the firmament. They likewise offer to the sun and moon, to the earth, to fire, to water, and to the winds. These are the only gods whose worship has come down to them from ancient times. At a later period they began the worship of Urania, which they borrowed from the Arabians and Assyrians. Mylitta is the name by which the Assyrians know this goddess, whom the Arabians call Alitta, and the Persians, Mitra.[1.132] To these gods the Persians offer sacrifice in the following manner: they raise no altar, light no fire, pour no libations; there is no sound of the flute, no putting on of chaplets, no consecrated barley-cake; but the man who wishes to sacrifice brings his victim to a spot of ground which is pure from pollution, and there calls upon the name of the god to whom he intends to offer. It is usual to have the turban encircled with a wreath, most commonly of myrtle. The sacrificer is not allowed to pray for blessings on himself alone, but he prays for the welfare of the king, and of the whole Persian people, among whom he is of necessity included. He cuts the victim in pieces, and having boiled the flesh, he lays it out upon the tenderest herbage that he can find, trefoil especially. When all is ready, one of the Magi comes forward and chants a hymn, which they say recounts the origin of the gods. It is not lawful to offer sacrifice unless there is a Magus present. After waiting a short time the sacrificer carries the flesh of the victim away with him, and makes whatever use of it he may please.

 - See more at: http://www.iranchamber.com/history/herodotus/herodotus_history_book1.php

Gold Bracelet, Oxus Civilization Treasure from around 400 BC,found in modern Tajikistan, showing the fabulous creature with a Falcon's head, Ram's horns, Lion's legs.Possibly used in Zoroastrian rituals.Found along with other gold treasures showing Zoroastrian priests in rituals.Oxus Civilization, related to Indo-Iranian tribes stretches west from Bactria (area north of Hindu Kush mountains in northern Afghanistan, with modern day Balkh as its capital). Traditionally, Bactria is considered as the area where Zarathustra was born Vesta Sarkhosh mentioned that Zarathustra practiced as a priest in Balkh.

Many famous Persian poets came from Balkh, including Maulānā Rūmī (born 1207).
@BritishMuseum

INDO-IRANIAN MIGRATION:

"Zoroastrianism is rooted in the prehistoric Indo-Iranian culture of the 2nd & 3rd millennia BC and shares a common heritage with the closely related Vedic language and culture of ancient India."

Golden Treasure from Oxus civilization  showing a mounted charioteer and warrior. [Reminiscent of Arjuna & Krishna ? ;) ] Horse is a very most important clue to the migration of the people from Central Asian steppes (where horse the horse originally comes from, and it is NOT native to India- nor is it shown in any of the Bronze Age Indus civilization artefacts from 3300-1500BC (The so-called "unicorn" is now considered to be the image of the bull). Horse is also central to Vedic rituals and is prominent in earliest Hindu scripture Rig Veda, which is from the Iron-Age (post-1500BC). The elephant which is native to India, is prominent in Indus Seals, but in Rig Veda, it seems to be almost absent or described as very unfamiliar animal.. But in later Hindu scriptures of other Vedas, elephant is appears gradually as a more familiar animal. 

[The arguments given AGAINST this theory, in Sanjeev Sanyal's 2012 book 'Land of The 7 Rivers - A Brief History of India's Geography', to support Indian tribes moving to Iran rather than the other way around, are too thin, positively VAGUE and very unconvincing with too many hunches, compared to eminent historian and scholar Romila Thapar's 'History of Early India' (details in the blog post mentioned above) which supports the theory of Iranian tribes moving to India- it gives the very systematic arguments with details explained very logically from linguistic and archaeological evidences, and also mentioning what has evidence and what parts do not have etc]

Indo-Iranian Origins.
From the latest book published in Dec 2013 during the SOAS exhibition,
 'The Everlasting Flame, Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination'

...

According to a currently widely accepted hypothesis, the later Indo-Aryans were the first to leave northern Steppes in the late 3rd millennium BC. A group migrated westwards and eventually settled in northern Mesopotamia to form an upper classin the non-Indo-European Hurrian kingdom of the Mitanni. It is from there that the earliest historical evidence for any Indo-Iranian language comes, both in the form of divine names in a 1380 BC treaty between Mitanni and Hittite Kings.

Image from Wikimedia commons: "Archaeological cultures associated with the Indo-Iranian expansion, after the 1997 Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture (p. 310)".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactria-Margiana_Archaeological_Complex

PARSI FIRE TEMPLE:I was very intrigued and fascinated ever since seeing a Parsi FIRE Temple with always closed gates with creepers, on the busy SM Street, the SweetMeat street in Calicut/Kozhikode, which was seen from the Bata showroom.. What an unlikely setup to see Kerala's only Parsi Fire Temple!)
[ More @ The Parsees of Calicut / The Erstwhile Zerdusht people of Malabar: http://calicutheritage.com/parsees_calicut.aspx]

Fire is one of the seven Holy Creations, the son of Ahura Mazda, and the symbol of Zoroastrianism. Sacred fires were established through most of Ancient Persia (Iran) from 500BC until the Islamic conquest of 651 AD. At the coronation of each king, a Royal Fire was lit and kept burning throughout his reign.

A Parsi Fire Temple recreated @SOAS Zoroastrianism exhibition
Zoroastrians are NOT Fire-Worshippers.
Zoroastrian Fire Temples are called Dar-e-Mihr, the gateway to Mithra.
(They worship only Ahura Mazda, the creator of Fire)
But Fire is a Holy element
(One of 7 Holy creations of Ahura Mazda- Sky, Earth, Water, Plants, Beneficent Animals, Mankind & Fire)
  These holy elements must not be polluted.
In the Fire Rituals, Zoroastrian priests have their mouth covered due to this.
Also, the reason why the Zoroastrians do not burn or bury their dead (earth will be polluted)

Parsi Fire Rituals

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TOWER OF SILENCE & SKY BURIAL Funerary Ritual & India’s Vanishing Vultures

Traditional Funerary practices in Iran & India - Sky Burial

From Histories of Herodotus [5th Century BC], speaking of the Persians (Achaemenid) Empire, especially the customs of the Magi / Zoroastrians:

[1.140] Thus much I can declare of the Persians with entire certainty, from my own actual knowledge. There is another custom which is spoken of with reserve, and not openly, concerning their dead. It is said that the body of a male Persian is never buried, until it has been torn either by a dog or a bird of prey. That the Magi have this custom is beyond a doubt, for they practise it without any concealment. The dead bodies are covered with wax, and then buried in the ground. 

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India’s Vanishing Vultures (and Cultures) - by Meera Subramanian

("Zoroastrians use Towers of Silence on Malabar Hill for sky burials— laying out bodies for vultures to come and feast on. But vultures haven't been seen here for years.
The Parsis, like the vultures, are dwindling in number. There are only an estimated hundred thousand worldwide, more than half concentrated in Mumbai. According to the traditionalists within their ranks, conversion and intermarriage are forbidden." )
http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2011/spring/subramanian-vultures/

"Far from the Jorbeer dump, in a posh part of Mumbai, the Parsis continue to lay out the bodies for the vultures that no longer come. Once, it was the perfect system of human disposal. Since the days of their prophet Zarathustra, Zoroastrians have used dhokmas, Towers of Silence, for sky burials. While the vast majority of humans on earth choose to bury or burn their dead, Parsis believe that earth, fire, and water are sacred elements that cannot be polluted by a human corpse. In their native Persia, they placed bodies on natural stone promontories exposed to the sun and vultures would descend to feast. When they migrated to India in the eighth century, escaping persecution and becoming known as Parsis, they continued the tradition on 155 forested acres known as the dongerwaadi in the heart of Malabar Hill, today Mumbai’s toniest neighborhood. They built a series of squat towers, now mottled with moss, where the bodies are still placed after priests have said the prayers and a dog turns its head away in disinterest from the body. It is a ritual so ancient that Herodotus noted it in The Histories in 450 BCE.
The Parsis, like the vultures, are dwindling in number. There are only an estimated hundred thousand worldwide, more than half concentrated in Mumbai. According to the traditionalists within their ranks, conversion and intermarriage are forbidden....."

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http://on.fb.me/195LCy8

(At the closing night of the Zoroastrian Exhibition @SOAS) Iranian Music from traditional Iranian Yalda Night(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaldā) celebrations of Winter Solstice, related to the birth of Mithra, Persian God of Light&Truth(Sun),after the longest night, & Mithraism that existed before (and from which) Zoroastrianism began in 2nd millennium BC .
Zoroastrian Mithra, god of the sun, the first light, god of reasons, contracts and supreme judge, enjoyed a high status in Ancient Persia. Roman Mithras, also identified with the sun, was popular amongst soldiers from 100-300AD. Roman Mithra inspiration came from Iranian Mithra, but much adapted.
At the centre of the Roman cult was the killing of the bull by the Mithras. In Zoroastrianism, on the other hand, it is the evil spirit who kills the 'Uniquely created Bull'. Its seed was purified by the moon and returned to the earth as the origin of animal life. In parts of Iran today, a cow/bull is sacrificed at Mihrigan, the Autumn Equinox, named after Mithra (Mihr). Zoroastrian Fire Temples are called Dar-e-Mihr, the gateway to Mithra.

Audio &Translation of the Song of Laila-Majnoon [from Persian poet Maulana Jalal ud-Din Muhammad Rumi's MASNAVI ] performed here:

 by Polina Proutskova (vocals/Persian) and Peyman Heydarian (santur) :

+++
Further material linked to Birth/Evolution of Religions:

• @TED-Ed: The Five Major World Religions

It's perfectly human to grapple with questions, like 'Where do we come from?' and 'How do I live a life of meaning?' These #existential questions are central to the five major world religions -- and that's not all that connects these faiths. John Bellaimey explains the intertwined histories and cultures of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam.
(Existentialism : At the heart of many world religions, lie existentialist questions like ..who created the universe?, why are we here?, what is the purpose of life?, where do we go from here?... that can also be found reflected in the myths of many tribes around the world, each having made their own versions in answer to such mystical questions)

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• Persian GULF - Recent Geological Origin & The Great Flood stories of different cultures

  http://greenwich-times.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/persian-gulf-recent-geological-origin.html
  
• Interesting article about the origin of Islamic emblem, from the Moon God in Sumeria/Assyria and Mesopotamia - Three States of The Moon :
  http://www.wsimagazine.com/uk/diaries/report/culture/three-states-of-the-moon_20130815074237.html
  
• The Birth of Religion - Gobekli Tepe 

We used to think agriculture gave rise to cities and later to writing, art, and religion. Now the world’s oldest temple suggests the urge to worship sparked civilization.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/gobekli-tepe/mann-text

• Göbekli Tepe - Latest (from last 10-15years) Archaeological find of the Oldest Temple on Earth, around 12,000years old

@ National Geographic Channel [1hr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JfbV21weQE

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• 18th Century Before Christ -

The Hittites -  A Civilization That Changed The World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq9FyI6D-xo