Delhiwale: Tale from a traffic jam

The traffic has stopped moving on Old Delhi’s Urdu Bazar road

The traffic has stopped moving on Old Delhi’s Urdu Bazar road. Truth be told, it scarcely moves on any evening, squeezed between food stalls, pedestrians, autos, e-rickshaws, scooters and cars. But this Sunday evening, a huge red gaadi is standing in the middle of the road, making the traffic jam worse.

Delhiwale: Tale from a traffic jam

It is a fire brigade vehicle. But there is no fire. Curious people are gathered around the vehicle anyway, looking up, though some seem unsure what they are watching. Three firemen are standing on top of the vehicle. One is in khaki, the others in black. Together they are holding a long pole that rises past cables and disappears into the branches of a roadside peepal. The tree is too leafy to see what is happening so high above the road. A fruit cart seller stationed under the said tree says a black kite is trapped up there, unable to free itself.

Some people have stepped out of their autos and e-rickshaws to get a better view of the proceedings. Others are standing beside the street stalls. Many more are carrying on with their business as if the spectacle were just another dull event of the day. In fact, the crowd outside a food stall selling chicken biryani for 160 rupees a kilo is almost as large.

The firemen keep working the pole through the branches. The men are so intent on getting the bird down that they seem unaware of everyone watching. Now and then, another bird crosses the open sky above them.

It is truly rare to see a fire engine block an already jammed Old Delhi road to save but one anonymous bird. Despite its reputation, Delhi does sometimes have a humane heart if its emergency services can be available for a mere bird. Besides, birds happen to be an integral part of Old Delhi’s life, both in the streets and inside homes. Stand on any Old Delhi rooftop in the morning or evening, and you might see scores of pigeon keepers on other rooftops flying their flocks. At Chitli Qabar, a young man who works at night in a Noida call centre has an entire apartment filled with pet pigeons. Old Delhi’s pigeon culture, of course, has been celebrated in movie songs (masakali!). There is also a good reason for kites to inhabit the historic quarter. At fixed hours each day, people at meat shops in various localities toss pieces of unused meat into the air for kites, which catch them before they reach the ground. Then there’s the famous bird hospital opposite the Red Fort, where injured birds are taken for treatment.

Back on Urdu Bazar road, the pole begins to descend. People around the engine start to move away. The bird is no longer in sight. It has flown away, someone says, though it is impossible to tell. The firemen are too far away, and the road too noisy, for anyone to ask them what happened. The three men remain poker-faced. People return to their places in the jam.