Rearing the carriers of love: Meet the pigeon keepers of Chandigarh
In flight: The birds are intelligent and smart learners, who are also loyal to their owners. Keshav Singh captures with his lens the winged wonders and those who have adopted them
You can love them or hate them. For dewy-eyed romantics, pigeons are carriers of love letters, but for others the birds can be pesky, rather untidy tenants at home, making themselves comfortable on top of air-conditioners or window ledges.
Pigeon enthusiast JagJaspreet Singh, however, loves them for their ability to respond quickly to training.
The terrace of Singh’s home in Sector 30 is reserved for as many as 60 pigeons - of various breeds. “I first got fascinated when I saw a breed known as the Indian garden fantail. Unlike the grey coloured common pigeons, this is a fancy and beautiful looking bird with upturned feathers,” informs Singh.
This restaurateur also says pigeons are very intelligent. “It has very good sense of direction and in the interiors of Punjab, racing pigeons or kabootar baazi is very popular. I’m interested in breeding fancy pigeons,” says Singh who set up a Facebook group, Pigeon Watch Chandigarh, a year ago. “I found many people who shared a similar interest and I organised the first fancy pigeon show in Chandigarh last year,” he tells us.
Among those who showed up with his flock of prized breeds was Arun Parkhi, a resident of Sector 26, Chandigarh. “Did you know that pigeons can recognise the voice of their trainer and understand commands as well,” he asks. Employed with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, he started keeping and training pigeons seven years ago and now has 36 birds. “They are good as stress busters,” he adds.
Parkhi’s favourite? The Malwai breed that is also known as a high flyer. “Pigeons can fly all through the day, even when temperatures are high and are prized for their long distance flying abilities and the heights they can soar to,” he adds.
According to Gaurav Chauhan, who owns 50 pigeons, there’s been a renewed interest in pigeon keeping and gaming in the last few years. Cities like Morinda, Sangrur and Bathinda see a number of organised contests. The stakes are high.
They have a special diet, too. “In summer we have to keep them cool and give them sarson seeds and coconut.” Come winter and it’s a rich diet of homemade malai (cream), desi ghee, bajra and makki,” says Chauhan, a hairdresser.
Akhil Kumar, 22, from Sector 42, started keeping pigeons, much to the annoyance of his family, about a year ago. “I have only two pairs but I am learning to train them for high flying,” he says.
They are quick learners. If you take a pigeon on a particular route a few times, on a bike, it will memorise it,” points out Singh.They can also fly for long distances. “My pigeons fly to Sector 16 and Sector 22 often,” says Chauhan.