Delhiwale: Chelmsford Road’s protected rooster

Mithun and his family have a pet rooster named Tippu. The rooster leads a quit life around Chelmsford Road under their protection.

Everyone is walking freely but not him.

Mithun with his pet rooster Tippu. (Mayank Austen Soofi / HT Photo)

One cloudy afternoon we meet a white rooster on Chelmsford Road, the avenue in the city’s central district that goes to New Delhi railway station.

The rooster is standing on a raised pavement; one of his yellow legs is tied to a telephone cable by a plastic cord. He is able to hop up only to the edge of the pavement.

His world ends there.

The only material object available to the rooster is an earthen pan filled with water. Next to it is a shoeshine stall. The rooster is not making any noise. The traffic on the road is dense. He is not being noticed by the commuters though his red crest should catch their eyes.

Soon a little barefoot boy appears. Standing still with his arms on his hips, he possessively looks down at the quiet rooster. “He is my Tippu,” the boy says.

Picking up the rooster, Mithun, whose home is in a nearby slum, says, “Tippu lives with me.” The rooster pecks the boy on his cheek. Mithun kisses him on his beak.

Kake da Hotel, an eatery famous for its butter chicken, is just a few steps away.

Mithun kneels down on the pavement and gently lets the rooster free on the cement floor. Tippu quickly runs up to the wall. The next moment he again hops up to the edge of the pavement. Mithun says he misses Tippu during his school hours.

Just then a rickshaw comes to a stop. “Papa!” exclaims Mithun. The rickshaw puller gets down and embraces the boy. Mithun’s father had bought Tippu a year ago. Mithun plans to live the rest of his life with Tippu. His father says they love Tippu like a family member. He is under their protection.

Unaware that we are talking about him, the rooster continues to look on at the moving cars.